People choose to downsize or “right-size” their home for a number of reasons – simplify lifestyle, reduce housing costs, relocate to a new climate, the list goes on. Whatever your reason for wanting to make the transition to “smaller living,” considering the following tips to help make the lifestyle shift more manageable and less overwhelming. Reimagine Where (and How)...

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been telling you about New Albany’s various residential communities. From the New Albany Country Club communities to those in New Albany Links, there is clearly something for everyone on this Central Ohio real estate market! Today, we would like to tell you about a few additional residential communities located within this city – each with its own...

National and Columbus Average Home Prices Drop 2nd Quarter 2011 The National Association of REALTORS® just announced that prices for existing homes fell an average of 2.8% nationally 2nd Quarter this year vs. the same period last year, with the average home selling for $172,000. The Columbus Board of REALTORS® indicate that average homes prices in the Greater Columbus market fell 3.6% for the same period. New Albany Ohio Prices Up Over 2011 New Albany, Ohio (Plain Local School District) average home sale prices increased 1.6% in the 2nd Quarter 2011, with the average home price at $443,000. Visit newalbanyohio.com to check out the latest market conditions in your neighborhood or contact us directly at info@NewAlbanyOhio.com.

Check your mail for your new home valuation! We know property values have fallen since the last county wide appraisals were done in 2005 but just how much? You’ll know soon. The Franklin County auditor’s office is mailing the new valuations today! It’s unprecedented and will be interesting to see what they look like. While the auditor reports that Franklin County property values are down 6.7% from 2005, I expect to see a deeper decline in the New Albany valuations. What if you don’t agree with the new valuation?

Home Sales Up 29% YTD in New Albany I just pulled the Year-to-date statistics for home sales in New Albany and was very pleasantly surprised at how strong they are. Through May, 2011, 124 single family homes have sold in the New Albany Plain Local School District versus 96 sold through May in 2010. This is a remarkable 29% increase in homes sold this year over last. TY/LY sales for the Greater Columbus area are down 16%. Need Homes to Sell to Sustain Trend With this leap forward in home sales, and a large inventory of homes currently in contract, New Albany is positioned to have a truly excellent year. The only stumbling block that I see right now is if the low number of homes for sale is not replenished. Inventory levels are off significantly. In order to sustain the current trend, it’s time for the “don’t have to sell, but want to sell” sellers to re-enter the market. If you fit that description or are a “have to sell” seller, then we want to talk with you! Call or email us today.

Today’s buyer has many choices of homes to choose from and has the ability to preview as many as their time allows. Using the internet, buyers can preview and “eliminate” hundreds of homes for sale. As they view these homes, they are looking for reasons to eliminate it from their list. The reasons are varied – they may think it needs too much work, is too small, don’t like the color it’s painted, etc. The reality is that the house may be a good fit for them and the reason they choose to eliminate it from the list could be easily rectified.

A look at a few key metrics tell the story. New Albany Real Estate is on the rebound. While first portion of 2010 was driven by tax incentives and first time home buyers, we really just "borrowed" future sales from July and Aug to hit the June 30th deadline. We were really pretty flat through mid 3rd Quarter 2010. Then we had a good finish and pushed ahead of 2009 in these important areas:

OK, so here's the details of So How We Doin' New Albany by neighborhood: NACC Homes Sold 2010 Hampsted Village Homes Sold 2010 New Albany Links Homes Sold 2010 The Preserve Homes Sold 2010 New Albany Park Homes Sold 2010

New Albany, OH Market Update

We recently did a market analysis for a prospective seller in New Albany.  They were surprised that my actual analysis was different from the one they got using an on-line valuation service.   Zillow.com and Cyberhomes.com are two sites that will generate a suggested market value of your home using computer models.  We find their results to be very hit or miss. These programs cannot take into...