Should I rent or should I buy?

Is now a better time to rent than to go out and purchase?  Take a moment to review this chart and decide for yourself.  To get some help making an informed decision give me a call and we can talk through it.

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Why is being preapproved such an important thing

Why is being preapproved such an important thing when I'm looking to buy a house?  I get asked that by potential buyers and I have actually several answers.

For Starters, sellers will NOT take you seriously if you are not at least pre-approved by a lender.  The market is an ever changing beast and we often find ourselves in situations where the inventory of available homes is small in comparison to the number of buyers looking to purchase.  (Supply & Demand)!  You end up with several buyers all looking to buy the same house and the buyer capable of paying the most money in that situation...wins.  Wouldn't it be great to know just how much you could afford to go in on a house like that...and come out the winner?

That brings me to the point even prior to finding that home.  Talking to a loan officer will help identify any potential credit issues you may have, and will allow you to lay out a plan to address those issue before you get out into the market.  Again, its all about your image and how sellers...and lenders see you.  Having that discussion with a loan officer ahead of your search can help put you in a stronger position when you find that dream house!

When looking to buy a house in Cincinnati, Ohio its important to find an agent that is local...you want to be able to get your hands on them should something happen in the process.  Trust me!  It's a complicated process with lots of moving parts...there are bound to be some bumps in the road.  Having a loan officer that you can sit across from and talk face-to-face can help overcome those bumps much more succinctly.  That helps keep everyone on board, and your closing on time!

If you are looking for some recommendations for loan officers in the Cincinnati area, I have a couple for you:

Ronda Segelke with Fifth Third Mortgage

and

Kathy Lamb with Union National Mortgage Company

Both are local, and outstanding.  Not all loan officers are created the same, you know.  Many loan officers are simply good at selling you the loan - these two know the process.  So if there is a problem with an underwriter, they understand the issue and can get right on it, because they know the Whole Process.  And trust me that is someone you want on your side!

Chris W.
chris@chrisjwood.com

Looking for area school information?

If you are looking for information on local schools?  FREE info here:

http://chriswood.viewcincinnatihomes.com/mischool/zip/45140/

The quality of a school can greatly influence home values in an area. On this page you'll find detailed information on school districts, school ratings, test scores by grade, student-teacher ratio, and much more.

Homes for Sale in Cincinnati - Is NOW the time to list your home?

Looking to do some research on your own - no worries, Visit HERE for some free local info.

12 months of positive numbers!  How sweet it is!  Not everywhere is performing like a rock star, but many places are seeing sustained improvements in units sold as well as avg price.  Cincinnati as a whole is looking like a pretty sweet place to buy a house!

Let's start with a look at the Inventory:

The Red line being 2012 we can see that overall in Cincinnati, Inventory is quite low.  Many sellers continue to sit out the market in a "wait and see" position.  This creates a curious potential for having significantly low inventory amounts as we push out the end of the year.  If this trend continues, it great news for sellers - low inventory creates stronger pricing and the occasional bidding wars over properties...you remember those right?

Next a quick peek at Home Sales:

Here is where we start to see some real goodness - Don't you just love the way that red line continues in an upward fashion?  Now, as you can see 2010 that sudden drop into July.  This is due to that wonderful tax credit that came to an end - once finished, it closed out a quiet and depressing year.  I do expect our numbers to dip through July, and I believe there is a good chance that we may see a dip below 2011 numbers for sales.  It's bound to happen some time and we shouldn't panic - folks are settling in and getting ready for school to start - once the inventory bumps up we will watch that line rise again.

As for Average Prices:

Now here we're jumping quite nicely.  Not so good news for buyers - especially those who have been "waiting for the bottom".  That never works out well - as you can see by this chart, the bottom was in February of 2012 and we have continued up ever since.  I apply this mostly to the lack of inventory - supply and demand...simple stuff as long as you have a supply of what people are demanding.

So based on this information - if you have been thinking about selling your home in Cincinnati area - NOW is the time to get that puppy on the market!  Give me a call, email or text and I'll be happy to help you figure out what the market is willing to pay for your home.  But if you are looking to do some research on your own, check out this great resource.

Homes for Sale in Loveland, Ohio

A quick peek at homes for sale in Loveland Ohio shows us that things are starting to move along however, it also shows us that we will likely continue a trend of ups and downs.  Loveland Ohio is particularly interesting as it's median list price continues to be well above its median sales price.

We seem to be getting further apart as the summer goes on.  So what is driving this trend?  We have to go back to the old stand by of supply and demand.  An increasing number of homes coming on the market with decreasing number of buyers.  This translates into a 90.3% drop in sales posted from the previous month.  (Mind you - that number will adjust as we approach the end of July...but OUCH!)

Also, you can see that there are few distressed properties in Loveland.  This has helped sellers maintain their asking prices, however, buyers have continued to press those prices down, as the move from market area to market area.  Keep watching these numbers as we approach the end of summer and we will likely see that asking price fall dramatically.

Looking for Open Houses This weekend?

Are you headed out to find open houses this weekend?  Are you armed? - I mean, with the proper tools of course.  Here - take a couple of tools of mine that you can use for FREE.

While you're our, go to starone.com on your mobile phone browser and you can use our web app.  Smart and intuitive it can help you locate open houses near you and provide you with some needed directions on how to get there.

It's very simple to use and can help you search for any home - not just the ones being held open.  The best part, is that there is nothing to install so it doesn't take up space on your phone and it interacts with your favorite mapping apps already on your phone.












For a quick tutorial on how to use this service - just watch the video below and see it in Action!

So good luck this weekend!  Don't go out unarmed or unprepared.  And if you have questions, please shoot me a text, email or give me a call!  I'm glad to help.

Chris W.

New Website with Better Search Features!

If you are looking for homes for sale in Cincinnati, Ohio I have a site for you!  I am currently in the process of launching a new website with far better search features and more timely information.  This new site will be directly tied to our local MLS so that when new listings come on the market, or current listings have changes or updates you can be notified immediately.

I will begin asking folks to register on my site - mainly this is to help me stay in touch with my clients.  And honestly, the information is so good I had to ask for something.  All you need to register is your name and email and you can start to receive listings emailed to you as they come on the market.

Because this site is tied with our MLS, I can also provide much more accurate information about neighborhood sales, trends and market information.

Go Ahead...Give it a try: