Cleveland area housing prices up first time in year

*Compliments of The Plain Dealer 6.24.08.

Home prices in the Cleveland area increased in April for the first time in almost a year, with improvement across all price levels, according to data released Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index looks at existing single-family homes sold in 20 major markets, including the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor area.

Nationally, the index dropped 1.4 percent from March to April. But the Cleveland-area index rose 2.9 percent, marking the first month-to-month home price increase here since May of last year -- and the biggest one-month gain in the 20 metro areas.

The index for lower-priced homes in Greater Cleveland rose the most -- 5.9

This past Saturday marked the third annual Ohio City Run & Crawl.  It consisted of a 5k run followed by lots of celebrating and or “pub crawling.”  This event was significant for a few reasons.

Number one, I participated and it was the first organized run I had ever finished so I was very proud.  

More importantly, however, it was a symbol of what places like Ohio City and Tremont and Detroit Shoreway really offer to their residents.  You are getting more than close proximity to downtown, you are getting a community to belong to, rich in culture, arts and events.  As I was struggling to finish miles two and three, I couldn’t help but notice all the people lining the streets that were out of their houses and cheering us on. Businesses had opened their

There has been a lot of talk about the horrors of rising gas prices.  It will probably be the main topic of debate in the upcoming presidential election.  The fact is, if you really want people to react and pay attention to something it usually occurs when it hits their wallet.  I can’t lie, I am often the same way.

If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that these bloated gas prices can only positively affect downtown Cleveland city real estate.  Gone are the days where working families could justify driving 45 minutes each way to work so they could live in some far off suburb isolated from their job in the city.  

Suddenly people are realizing that maybe living in the city isn’t such a bad idea, and oh by the way, the tax abatement

Robert Selna, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Thousands of new technology industry and other professional jobs and a burst of new housing construction attracted more new residents to San Francisco in 2007 than in any year in nearly a decade and drove the city's population to a new high of more than 824,000.

The 12,284 arrivals were drawn to an estimated 10,000 new jobs and the city's enduring panache - good weather, views, arts and culture, restaurants, and access to the outdoors.

[Check out our database: Population stats for California (2008)]

But San Francisco still has some of the highest housing prices in the world and a long-standing housing shortage, so where will all these people live?

At least

The Catalyst Sales Center is set to open and will begin selling homes on June 21st!
"Construction began at the site in 2007, and we are on schedule to complete the building in late 2008 with move-ins beginning in early 2009. The sales office will feature a full-size model of a one-bedroom home, where you will be able to experience first-hand what a Catalyst home will be like.  Soaring ten-foot ceilings, sweeping floor-to-ceiling windows, contemporary finishes, innovative technology, Whirlpool® stainless-steel appliances and premium imported granite countertops are only a few of the luxurious features you'll see.  We will also be able to tell you more about Catalyst's other amenities, such as the state-of-the-art clubroom, resort-style pool and sundeck

I have been getting a lot of calls from buyers and sellers wanting to know how prices are holding up. I am here to tell you that even though Uptown is currently experiencing a buyers market, prices are holding. In case you are wondering, a buyer's market is signified by having over 6 months of inventory.

The average list to sales price in April was 98% and the average days on the market for the active listings was 101. There are some great properties out there, so start your search! Please feel free to email me or call my office if you have questions about the current state of the market or are looking for an agent who knows the market.