A Quarterly Market Update for Northeast Ohio

Let’s take a look at the year-to-year changes in our market.

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Today, we’ll be discussing our fourth-quarter market update of the Northeast Ohio area.

The market has been great over the last year. There’s been an average 6% appreciation of home values in our markets—something we haven’t seen in years! Unfortunately, interest rates have risen. In October 2017, we were around 3.8% to 4%. Now, they’re closer to 5%. Outside of increased rates, the market is still strong and it’s a great time to buy. The economy is doing great as well, giving you more confidence in purchasing a property. This means it’s also a good time to invest in real estate.

What is in the forecast for the next couple of years? Economists are predicting an increase in prices for the next year and a steady rise in interest rates. Though rates will continue climbing, we’ll eventually see them come back down—it’s believed that these rates will begin receding in 2020.

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Though rates will continue climbing, we’ll eventually see them come back down.

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Here are some statistics I’ve found showing our year-to-year changes:

• Cuyahoga County: The average sale price is $126,000 with a 0.8% quarterly appreciation and 6.3% yearly appreciation. 
• Geauga County: The average sale price is $230,000 with a 1.9% quarterly appreciation and 6.1% yearly appreciation. 
• Lake County: The average sale price is $145,900 with a 0.8% quarterly appreciation and 5.1% yearly appreciation. 
• Lorain County: The average sale price is $139,400 with a 1.9% quarterly appreciation and 6.7% yearly appreciation. 
• Medina County: The average sale price is $196,000 with a 1.7% quarterly appreciation and 6.6% yearly appreciation. 
• Portage County: The average sale price is $156,700 with a 2.5% quarterly appreciation and 4.3% yearly appreciation. 
• Summit County: The average sale price is $131,200 with a 0.9% quarterly appreciation and 5.8% yearly appreciation. 
• Carroll County: The average sale price is $106,000 with a 2.1% quarterly appreciation and 9.7% yearly appreciation. 
• Stark County: The average sale price is $125,200 with a 1.5% quarterly appreciation and 6.9% yearly appreciation.

Because inventory is going to start decreasing as we head toward winter, it’s a great time to think about listing your home. We sold 267 properties in the winter months last year. We can help you do the same. If you are looking to buy or sell, have any questions, or would like further information, get in touch with us. We look forward to hearing from you.

What’s the Latest News From Our Cleveland Area Market?

As we reach the halfway point of 2017, inventory is low and home values are
on the rise in the Cleveland area.

Looking to buy a Home in Northeast Ohio? Search all Northeast Ohio homes for sale. Selling Your Home in Northeast Ohio? Use our home evaluation tool.

What’s happening in our real estate market as we reach the midway point of 2017?

To start, inventory continues to be low. If you’re a buyer, this means you and your Realtor need to be aggressive in finding a home that suits your needs.

They should set you up with automatic email updates every time a new listing hits the market, and they should be doing things like sending email blasts and mail orders to developments you want to live in. You can also have them go door-knocking in a community you’re thinking about living in. Be creative in finding the home you want.

Low inventory also means home values continue to rise. In Cleveland, they’re up 9.9% over the last 12 months. That’s the most I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. The reason for this is there has been more than $19 billion reinvested in the city by developers in over the last seven years.

If you’re a seller, it doesn’t get any better than this.

How have the surrounding areas fared in the last 12 months? In Akron, home values are up 3.1%, which is fantastic. In Canton, they’ve risen 8.9%. On the east side of Cleveland, Mentor’s home values have appreciated roughly 3%, and they will continue to rise these next few months. On the west side of Cleveland, West Lake’s home values have risen 6.3%.

If you live in one of these communities and you’re looking to sell a home, you might want to take a look at your own home’s value and see if it’s risen in the last year.

Interest rates have been hovering right around 4%, but the Federal Reserve raised their rates to the banks once again recently. Banks borrow from the Federal Reserve, so I feel that in the next few months we will see interest rates go up, which means it will cost more to purchase a property.

As a whole, it’s a great time to lock into a low interest rate if you’re a buyer and get creative with your purchasing. If you’re a seller, it doesn’t get any better than this. Once these interest rates go up, buyers won’t be as willing to purchase a home because of the increased cost. Naturally, inventory will stack up and you’ll face more competition among other sellers.

If you have any more questions about our market and how you can take advantage of it, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I’d be happy to assist you.

Mid-2017 Northeast Ohio Real Estate Market Update

What’s the latest from our northeast Ohio real estate market? I’ve got the recent stats to share with you today.

Looking to buy a Home in Northeast Ohio? Search all Northeast Ohio homes for sale. Selling Your Home in Northeast Ohio? Use our home evaluation tool.

It’s halfway through the year 2017, and it’s time for a market update. So what’s going on in our real estate market?

Inventory continues to be low. That means if you’re a buyer, you have to be aggressive. Let your Realtor set you up on an auto-email that notifies you every time a new listing hits the market. Have your Realtor be aggressive in finding a home that suits your needs. Have them send email blasts, mailers, and go door-knocking in communities that you’re thinking about buying in. Find that house before it hits the market. Be creative when looking for a property.

You can call us, and we’ll help you find a property. We can give you a leading edge over other buyers who can’t find these houses before we do.

Inventory being low means home values are continuing to rise. Home values in the city of Cleveland have risen 9.9% over the last 12 months. That’s the largest increase that I’ve seen in my lifetime. The reason for this increase is that there has been over $19 billion reinvested into Cleveland by developers over the last seven years.

Inventory being low means home values continue to rise.

Akron home values are up 3.1%, and Canton has seen an increase of 8.9%. That’s fantastic. In the east, Mentor is hovering around 3% and Westlake has seen an increase of 6.3% in the last 12 months. If you’re a seller and you’re looking to sell your home, let us help you figure out what your home is worth and get it on the market.

Interest rates have been hovering right around 4%. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the Federal Reserve raise their rates for the banks that borrow from the Fed. I think what we’re going to see in the coming months is another increase in interest rates from lenders. That means it’s going to cost you more to purchase properties.

What that means for you as a homebuyer is that now is the time to find a home and lock in the lower interest rate for the life of your mortgage. If you’re selling, there is no better time than now to get your home on the market. Once the rates go up, it’s going to cost buyers more to purchase, and they aren’t going to be so willing to pay as much. That means that inventory will start to stack up and you’ll be facing more competition from other sellers to get your home sold.

If you have any questions or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give me a call directly or send me an email. I’d be happy to help!

Be Informed and Get the Best Deal: Your 2014 Cleveland Real Estate Forecast

Looking to buy or sell a home in Northeastern Ohio? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (440) 974-0404 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today we're going to do a market recap on 2013 and then I'm going to tell you what to expect in 2014.

What Happened in 2013...

• Last year's ultra-low interest rates primed us for a very hot spring with record sales. For the whole of last year, our sales rose by 13%. Home prices also went up, with appreciation rising 3-4% on average. 
• After record months in April, May and June, interest started rising again and we saw a dramatic fall off in sales. Interest went from 3.2% to 4.9% which cut our sales in half. As the year progressed the buyers adjusted to the change in prices and eventually crept back into the market as interest was slightly lower.

What to Expect in 2014...

• As interest rates climb, you will start to see prices stabilize. Prices of homes will still be going up in value, and you can also expect to see some reasonable appreciation in the Cleveland area with values increasing by 3-5%.

If you want to buy a home this year, you need to get approved early because interest is only going to rise and there are still some really great deals out there.

If you need any help finding a property or have any questions, call me at (440) 974-0404 or visit my website: www.themichaelkaimteam.com