BACK FROM EUROPE! CONCERTS & REAL ESTATE!

Well, after returning from Europe a week and a half ago I finally had the chance to catch up on my sleep, pay the bills, and visit with my daughter who was home on break from college. We returned a week ago Wednesday but only had two days off before a rehearsal on Saturday for a program of music by John Williams (Star Wars, E.T., 1941, etc.). Of course the house was packed and the audience loved it. Sunday I taught all day at Oberlin and last Tuesday rehearsals started for this past weekend of concerts, which included Brahms' Tragic Overture, John Adams "Dr. Atomic" Symphony, and the Brahms' 2nd piano concerto. Nice concert!



REAL ESTATE: Had a low-ball offer on one of my listings and negotiations are at that eerily quiet stage (are we losing momentum?) Have a look: http://2505meadowbrookblvd.howardhanna.com/



Another agent threatened to make an offer.. Where is it?? Two other agents showed it this weekend, so maybe we'll get a sale.. Another listing that hasn't gone into the MLS yet should go on this week.



TAX CREDIT- The extension and expansion of the tax credit for home buyers until next spring is a welcome development that hopefully will help get the real estate market back on its feet. Please note: THE TAX CREDIT HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO SECOND-TIME BUYERS AND THE INCOME CAP HAS BEEN RAISED. CALL ME IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS!!



Have a great week and please visit my sites at http://www.scotthaigh.com/ and http://www.scotthaigh.howardhanna.com/

Vienna Update....

Last night the Cleveland Orchestra performed the Beethoven Piano Concerto #4 with Mitsuko Uchida as soloist and after intermission a searing rendition of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Prelude to Act I Wagner’s Lohengrin was the encore. The audience loved it and demanded numerous curtain calls. For those of you who know a little about music history, you might be interested to know that Gustav Mahler’s grand-daughter was in the audience during our Thursday night concert and loved it! Only in Vienna…

This morning at the Wiener Musikvereinsaal the orchestra rehearsed a little bit of a new piece that we have played several times call “Chor” by Jorge Widmann and then spent the rest of the rehearsal on the Brahms Requiem with the Wiener Singverein (Viennese Singing Society) and soloists. The Singverein sang really beautifully and it is not surprising, considering they are the chorus for the Vienna Philharmonic and they were singing in their native language of German. The soloists were Simon Keenlyside, a wonderful singer, and the fabulous Malin Hartelius, who sang so stunningly beautifully in the Cleveland Orchestra’s production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro last spring. The concert for this program is tonight and tomorrow night. On Tuesday the orchestra will take a train to Linz to perform our last concert of the tour. Linz is the hometown of our music director Franz Welser-Most, so it will be a homecoming for him.

Today I’m taking a day off the day from sight-seeing to nap, stay away pastries, and write this blog!
To follow the orchestra’s tour online, go to www.clevelandorchestrablog.com

Wiener Schnitzel and Sachertorte

Greetings from Vienna! In one week the orchestra has visited Toronto, Paris, Luxembourg, and now we are in the beautiful city of Vienna. Last night we performed the first of three concerts here in the famous Musikvereinsaal, the home of the Vienna Philharmonic. With it's gold leaf on the statues lining the hall and it's fabulous acoustics, the orchestra sounded beautiful and the audience loved it. We must have had about 6 curtain calls and we played an encore- the overture to the 3rd act of Wagner's "Lohengrin". This morning I visited the Leopold Museum and saw a very interest exhibit of Edvard Munch (famous for "The Scream") paintings as well as paintings by Viennese secessionists such at Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, etc. We were lucky to have excellent weather in Paris and I had the opportunity to take a boat ride along the Seine River, taking in all the important sites, the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, etc. Don't miss visiting this gorgeous city!

Luxembourg, though quieter, is also a beautiful city with a lot of wealth. (It's a banking center) It has beautiful shops and pedestrian malls and I toured the walls that once protected this city a thousand years ago. There is a an excellent new concert hall there and I heard rumors that we will be returning on a regular basis. We have two more concerts in Vienna to play and then one in Linz, and then home.. I will update this blog in a few days..

Off to Europe!!

In a few days I will leave real estate behind for a few weeks as I travel to Europe with the Cleveland Orchestra. We start in Toronto and then go on to Paris, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Linz, and Vienna. I am looking forward to the trip and I rest easy knowing my listings are covered by one of my fellow agents. Last week one of short sale listings transferred, so that was another sale under my belt. I will blog more from Europe. Happy Halloween!

Cleveland Hts. Residential Property Report

Here's a summary of what happened to residential real estate in Cleveland Heights for the 60 days prior to September 25th, 2009:

Sales

162 homes were listed for sale for an average list price of $166,072.
79 homes were sold and transfered with an average sale price of $125,161.
The average list price for homes that sold was $133,134.
Average market time was 98 days.

Homes that commanded top price were in impeccable condition, had interesting architecural features like crown mouldings and fireplaces. They also had remodeled kitchens and baths.

Supply

There is a lack of supply of home priced $160,000-$200,000 and $350,000 and up.

There is a surplus of home priced $70,000-$160,000

List Prices

The highest percentage of average list prices were in the $160,000-$180,000 range.

What to expect

In my opinion the historically low mortgage rates will help support sales but will be countered by the seasonal slowdown and the lingering recession. The inventory may be reduced as sellers take their home off the market, supporting higher prices, but again we have to see the affect of the unemployment rate as the recession plays out.

New Construction

Rysar Properties is offering condominium lofts and arts & crafts townhouse at the Bluestone on Mayfield Rd. east of Taylor. The condominium lofts range from $239,000-$398,000 and the townhouses range from $398,000-$424,000.

Across the street and a little further east the Coral Company is offering townhouses at the Courtyards of Severance. Each model has the name of a famous composer. The "Beethoven" is priced at $199,000 (1532 sq.ft.), the "Mozart" at $289,000 (2067 sq. ft.), and the "Chopin" at $299,000 (2159 sq. ft.)

Summary

If a buyer can obtain a quality mortgage, they should BUY NOW! Even if a buyer misses the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit the interest rate environment is incredibly favorable for a buyer. According to our Howard Hanna mortgage officer, interest rates may go up to 6-7% almost overnight once the federal government stop buying mortgages, which they probably will do at some point.

I hope this has been helpful... Give me a call if you have any questions.

Big Fun Toy Store

If you haven't checked out this Cleveland Heights landmark store for vintage toys and numerous items from America's past popular culture, click here:



http://bigfunbigfun.com/community/



This is a great way to have fun for an hour!

Sales are brisk in the Cleveland Hts. office of Howard Hanna

Just in case you read too much bad news about real estate in the national media, consider this:
The Howard Hanna Cleveland Heights office ended up with 52 listings and 63 sales for the month versus 55 listings and 58 sales in May 2008. Listings were fewer and sales were UP. Stop by our office at the corner of Cedar Rd. and Lennox to see what's happening!

Historical Information on Cleveland Heights

If you want to check out some really interesting photos of Cleveland Heights' history go the Cleveland Heights Historical Society. There are photos there I had never seen before along with historic postcards about Cleveland Heights. This is a VERY COOL site.

www.chhistory.org

Finally, some positive news in the real estate market...

Despite the continuous bad news about real estate, there are some bright spots that may indicate a turn around in the not too distant future.. Check out the CNN article..

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/04/real_estate/March_pending_home_sales/index.htm?postversion=2009050413

Enjoy spring!

Eco-Friendly Event in Beachwood...

For those interested in eco-friendly products and services, I suggest attending the "Green Dream" 2nd Annual Eco-Friendly Showcase on Friday, April 17th at the Beachwood Community Center, 25325 Fairmount Boulevard in Beachwood. The hours are 1-7pm and it's FREE! There will over 70 eco-friendly businesses represented there.

Cleveland Heights Home Sales Rise during last 90 days

Sales of Cleveland Heights have risen in the last three month compared with the previous three months. Of those single family homes that sold in the last three months, all of them were $55,000 or less, so this may reflect bank-owned homes, foreclosure, distressed properties, or homes whose owners just had to lower the price to get them sold. In any case 131 homes were sold or pending in the last 90 days compared to 121 sold or pending for the previous three months. The down side of this is that there were 410 homes for sale during the last 90 days and only 89 for sale the previous 90 days. This may reflect people taking homes off the market for the Christmas holiday. So, more homes were sold but more came on the market the last three months, so the absorption rate has dropped for single family homes, from 45% to 11%. The same goes for condomiums. We had more sales in the last three months- 9 units compared to 3 the previous 3 months, but there were 67 for sale the last 90 days compared to 12 the previous three months. Thus the absorption rate dropped from 8% to 4%

The figures:

Last 90 days:

Single Family Homes

410 for sale
131 sold or pending (43.67/month)
Monthly Absorption Rate = 11%

Condominiums

67 for sale
9 sold or pending (3/month)
Monthly Absorption Rate = 4%

Previous 90 days (previous 4-6 months)

89 for sale
121 sold or pending (40.33/month)
Monthly Absorption Rate = 45%

Condominiums

12 for sale
3 sold or pending (1/month)
Monthly Absorption Rate = 8%

It seems that the net effect is that we did not really increase the rate at which homes are selling, so we're not out of the woods yet, but we are gradually working through the inventory. Let's see what the spring market of 2009 brings us!

New Tax Credit for First-Time Home Buyers

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Congress is now giving a substantial gift to first-time home buyers! If you purchase a home between now and December 1st, 2009 you will receive a tax credit against your income tax due in the amount of 10% of the purchase price of the home. The maximum credit available is $8,000. The biggest change from the previous $7500 tax credit is that the new credit DOES NOT have to be repaid to Uncle Sam! The income limits are $75,000 adjusted gross income for individuals and $150,000 for those filing jointly. The credit is reduced above these limits until they are eliminated for those filing as an individuals whose adjusted gross income is $95,000 or over and $170,000 for those filing jointly. You also need to keep the home three years or you will be subject to recapture on the tax credit.

One of my clients just bought a home and will have a $8000 reduction of his 2009 income taxes. He may even be due a refund! What a help in buying new carpets, decorating, or paying off Mom and Dad for helping with closing costs or the down payment!! This is a boon to buyers and seller alike and I think it will go a long in helping to reduce housing inventory, and therefore reducing the downward pressure on home prices

Call me if you have any questions about this change in the law. REMEMBER, it is only available until December 1, 2009.

Median Home Prices Have Declined. Buyer, get your pre-approvals!

Click on the link below to see the story about how the median price for non-foreclosed homes has declined 4% in Cuyahoga County.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/cuyahoga_countys_median_price.html

Buyers, make a decent offer so as not to alienate the seller. Trying to time the market and waiting for the "bottom" doesn't work because when you are sure the market has bottomed, prices have already risen and you miss your chance at buying at the "bottom". Prices are substantially reduced already and you can rest assured that you are getting a good discount on most homes! Stay tuned for pending legislation that could provide more tax credits for first-time home buyers!

Heights Real Estate Year End Report

Here is my end of year real estate report for the Heights. These are the latest statistics extracted from the Northern Ohio Multiple Listing Service:

These figures represent the MONTHLY average of sold homes in the last three months...

Cleveland Heights- total for sale at present- 433

Solds/month Absorption Rate/month

$0-$99,999
26 5.9%

$100,000-$199,999
10 2.2%

$200,000-$299,000
2 .4%

$300,000-$399,999
2 .4%

$400,000+
.33 (1 in 3 months) .1%

University Heights- total for sale at present- 125

$0-$99,999
8 6%

$100,000-$199,999
3 2%

$200,000-$299,999
.33 0.3%

$300,000-$399,999
0 0%

$400,000+
0 0%

Shaker Heights- for sale at present- 286

$0-$99,999
10 3.5%

$100,000-$199,999
7 2.6%

$200,000-$299,999
4 1.5%

$300,000-$399,999
2 0.7%

$400,000-$499,999
1 0.3%

$500,000+
1 0.5%

Clearly homes below $100,000 are selling the quickest with homes ranging in the $100,000-$200,000 following behind.

Price trends- comparing the last three months with the July-August-September period

Cleveland Heights- down 2%
University Heights- down 42% (ouch...)
Shaker Heights- down 23%

Obviously Cleveland Heights is holding up better or perhaps its biggest price drops occured earlier. That would require more research.

If you are a buyer, this is a great time to purchase a house. Prices have come way down and mortgage rates are as low as they ever have been. As you can see, there are 844 homes for sale in the Heights so there is a wide selection of properties to choose from!

If you are selling, contact a realtor regarding advice on how to prepare your home to put it in it's best light, thereby increasing your chance of selling it in this incredibly competitive market. Don't forget- EVEN IN THIS MARKET PEOPLE NEED TO SELL AND BUY HOMES!

Due to low mortgage rates, it's a great time to refinance your present mortgage if you have one. Whether is purchasing or refinancng, contact your realtor for more information!

Let's look forward to better days ahead with a positive attitude and I wish you a very Happy New Year!!

Scott