Cleveland, Northeast OH Area Real Estate Market March 2013

According to the Northeast Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service (NORMLS) and an article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, homes sales in the region continue to surpass last year's sales figures. Lower home inventory (which is beginning to increase), higher rental prices and higher buyer demand due to low interest rates, is driving this increase in activity and increase in sales prices.  Competition over available homes has been more common over the past several months.
Sales comparing March 2012 to March 2013 show increasing sales figures.  Among the 15 counties in Northeast Ohio, single family home sales are up 15.8% and condo sales are up a 15.6%.  From February to March 2013, single family home sales increased 48.9% and condos increase by 33.3%.  In addition to the increase in sales activity, Northeast Ohio is showing a 6.9% increase in single family home prices and 1.0% increase for condos, compared to last March. 

The key point here is that the market is starting to stabilize and shifting to a seller's market.  Sellers are getting more for their homes than last year, with buyers paying a bit more to purchase a home to take advantage of the low interest rates.  Buyers should note that interest rates have reached nearly as low as they can go, when deciding the best time to make a purchase.  In fact, rates have already shown increases over the past several months.  The data also indicates we have seen the bottom of the local real estate market.



By comparison, Northeast Ohio is showing a higher price increase of 6.9% versus Ohio's 5.2%. The US market actually saw a 0.6% decrease in sales price from the year before, but is showing a home price increase of 6.9%.  Nationally, 4.92 million homes have sold, which is just shy of meeting the lower part of the 5-6 million of annual home sales considered to be a normal or healthy range.

Hop aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

If you are looking for things to do as the weather gets warmer, and if you would like to experience the beauty of Northeast Ohio in a whole new way, why not hop aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad? The CVSR is one of the longest, oldest and most scenic tourist excursion railways in the whole United States. This non-profit organization operates in partnership with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and is dedicated to the preservation of passenger rail transportation in Cuyahoga Valley and the historic Ohio & Erie Canalway.

The CVSR has several special events, tours and educational programs throughout the year, but if you simply want to enjoy a relaxing train ride through a breathtakingly scenic route, you may purchase tickets for just $12 for both adults and kids. There is even food aboard the train, so all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the sights.

For more information on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, please visit www.cvsr.com.

NAR Chief Economist Discusses U.S. Real Estate Market

The National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun joined C-SPAN yesterday morning to discuss the U.S. housing market, and he responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. Topics included the March 2013 jobs numbers, Obama administration efforts to boost the housing market, and the real estate markets in individual states.