Home sales actually increased in number as well as dollar amount in Beachwood, Ohio in 2009. This despite all of the negative news about real estate in the media! Here's a snapshot of sales in Beachwood, Ohio in 2009 versus 2008.   YEAR HOMES SOLD     AVG PRICE BEDROOMS      BATHS      D.O.M. 2009      118     $256,618.00          3           3     111-155 2008       95     $251,483.00          3           3       92-137   It should be noted that it did take homes longer to sell last year than it did in 2008 but as the figures above indicate it was worth the wait for home sellers. The average days on market in 2008 ranged from 92 to 137. The average last year was between 111 and 155! FIND A HOME IN BEACHWOOD OHIO: http://markostrovsky.com 02/11/2010

This just in from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) ... existing U.S. home & condominium sales increased 13.9-percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. More than 30-states actually saw sales increases in the double-digits! Even though distressed property sales accounted for more than 30-percent of the sales, this number was down from the prior year's 37-percent. Experts claim that Low mortgage rates and the first-time buyer tax credit get responsiblity for the surge in residential sales. To Find-out How Your State Fared: http://www.realtor.org/research/research/metroprice FIND A HOME: http://markostrovsky.com 02/11/2010

Education is a huge priority in Beachwood and the High School could use a facelift. On this basis the Beachwood Board of Education passed a resolution for voters this May to approve a $2.5-Million bond issue. If approved the High School would receive a sort of combination renovation/new construction improvement. There would be two prospective funding sources: 1) A bond that would generate $30-Million for 30-years which would cost property owners a relatively small increase in their property taxes, I.E., $16.00 more per/month on a $250K property. 2) Also, last summer the Beachwood School District was awarded $5.6-Million from the Ohio School Facilities Commission. These funds will not increase residents' property taxes. Construction could begin as early as summer 2011. For more on this s... 02/11/2010

"I'm listing my house with the agent who comes in with the highest asking price on my property."   "Tis an old maxim in the schools That flattery's the food of fools Yet now and then your men of wit Will condescend to take a bit."   The great writer Jonathan Swift understood that flattery is powerful enough to trick otherwise very bright individuals ... and that was some three hundred years ago. Yes, some agents know that a good way to get the listing is to flatter you by inflating the value of your house. Or they may sort of lie by omission and go along with "your" unrealistic price without objection. This is what's known in the trade as "buying the listing." The agent figures that you'll eventually burn-out and place a real price on your property. If you let this happen, it's really y... 02/10/2010

Yes, the market is stabilizing to a certain degree but experts like former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros claim that recovery is tenuous AT BEST and that stimulus programs like the first-time homebuyer tax credit absolutely "must" continue if we are to avoid a so-called "double-dip" recession. Follow this link for Cisneros' interview: http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/former-hud-secretary-argues-in-favor-of-homebuyer-tax-credit FIND A HOME: http://markostrovsky.com 02/10/2010

If you're looking for some family-friendly activities and would like a great $5.00 breakfast on Valentine's Day then look no further. The City of Beachwood will host its annual Winterfest & Pancake Breakfast on February 14th at the Beachwood High School at 25100 Fairmount Blvd. Admission includes as many pancakes as you can stand to eat, sausage, coffee, fruit, tea & cocoa. If you want to create your own omelet it's only $3.00 extra. Activities include face-painting, karaoke, crafts exhibit, remore racecar driving & more. Children under five are admitted free of charge! 02/04/2010

Don't hold your breath if you're waiting for the real estate market to return to what it was like before the downturn. The author of a new study called "Housing in America" claims that we can look forward instead to what he calls a "new normal." John McIlwain, the Urban Land Institute's resident fellow says that 2010 will bring an additional ten-percent decrease in residential property prices as well as increasingly more borrowers walking away from underwater mortgages. McIlwain says he expects the subsequent market recovery to be a one to two-percent per/year appreciation in home prices, and that the number of Americans who own homes will drop from 67-percent to 62-percent. Other predictions include that many Generation Y will rent instead of buy, that seniors will prefer more urban se... 02/03/2010

"I expect my agent to hold an open house every weekend until my house sells." When your property is first listed on the M.L.S. your real estate agent should hold a broker's open house because this is a terrific opportunity for your property to be exposed to the local real estate community. Here every agent who participates in the M.L.S. is invited to preview your home. Whether they'll actually show-up is another story, especially in a market where supply far outweighs demand. Agents sometimes offer lunch or a raffle for a gift certificate as an inducement to get other agents to attend. As for Sunday opens your agent should have one within the first few weeks after your property is listed, and then as often your agent feels is necessary. The downside of the Sunday open house is having no... 02/02/2010

"My house isn't selling because my agent isn't spending enough on advertising." Every seller likes to see their house featured in an expensive newspaper ad. Sure an ad can attract a buyer but ads more often merely serve as publicity or personal marketing for agents and their companies. Buyers are increasingly searching for homes on the Internet and this is not good news for the print media. Recent statistics suggest that 76 to 80-percent of buyers begin their home search on line. Think about the demographic that's most likely to buy your house. Are they in their thirties, their forties or older? One thing's for certain ... if they're younger they're shopping on line. If they're older they're probably shopping on line too. Your agent can place an expensive picture ad in the best newspape... 02/01/2010

"I expect my agent to find a buyer for my house. I'm comfortable having my agent on both sides of the deal." Does it make sense that your agent can negotiate the best price for you ... and also negotiate the best deal for the buyer of your home? If you were in a lawsuit would you feel comfortable sharing the same lawyer with your opponent? What we're trying to say is that A real estate transaction is inherently adversarial. Yet many sellers can't forsee the complications that may arise when their agent brings in their own buyer. When you hire an agent to list your house think of it mainly as hiring someone to "market" your property and to negotiate on your behalf. The agent places your house on the M.L.S., which is an information system where agents in the community cooperate with one a... 01/31/2010

"I'm going to price my property higher than what I expect to get because it's smart to leave room for negotiation." On a good day savvy sellers relied on their real estate agent's Comparative Market Analysis to price their house. With the expectation that prospective buyers will negotiate on price, many sellers often created a sort of buffer zone by padding the price a liitle, and sometimes by a lot. This is a bad idea in today's buyer's market where thoughtfully priced houses in good condition sell and overpriced ones do not. Every venue has its own customs. There may be less harm for instance overpricing your house, for a short time, in a robust seller's market wherever that is these days. You might even get lucky. But most markets today are controlled by buyers so don't play games. Y... 01/25/2010

The National Association of Realtors reports that existing home sales plunged 16.7-percent in December, 2009. This adjustment comes as little surprise since, prior to the extension of the Tax Credit, it was expected that November would be the last month in which buyers could qualify for a federal tax credit in an amount up to $8-Thousand. Under the new deadline buyers have until the end of April to take advantage of the Tax Credit, plus there is the addition of the $6,500 credit for move-up buyers. For more on this breaking story follow this link: http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata FIND A HOME: http://markostrovsky.com 01/25/2010

Cuyahoga County Real estate or property taxes are paid twice a year, though you have the option of making one payment or paying in monthly installments. Unlike many jurisdictions across the U.S., the taxes in Cuyahoga County vary from one suburb to the next. Property taxes are the primary source of support for Cuyahoga County's schools as some 60-percent of the money residents pay in property taxes goes to fund the school system. In addition the taxes cover special assessments & levies. If you believe that the County Auditor's office made a mistake or charged too much money in their assessment of your property, you can file a Complaint with the county's Board of Revision. We have written about that process in a previous post. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE 2009 RESIDENTIAL COMPARATIVE RATE CHA... 01/21/2010

"My house sold too quickly because my agent convinced me to under-price it so they could make a quick sale." How long do you think an agent would stay in business if they made it a practice of under-pricing homes? Alienating clients is not a good business model when you consider that successful agents depend on referrals for future business. The CEO of our former company used to say that "People hire you because they know you, they like you, and they trust you." Two out of three doesn't cut it. You may not "literally" know your agent personally but you should know your agent's reputation. Trusting and connecting with your agent is critical and like any good marriage or partnership, the last thing you want is a toxic and unproductive us-versus-them environment. There may occasionally be ... 01/20/2010

LOW CREDIT SCORE? HIGHER FHA DOWNPAYMENT! The Federal Housing Administration has announced that it is raising its minimum down payment for buyers with lower credit ratings. Those with a credit score below 580 can now expect to put down at least 10-percent. Those whose credit score is above 580 can still put down only 3.5-percent. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums for those with below a 580 credit score will also increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. The FHA will reportedly seek Congressional approval to raise the amount of "annual mortgage premiums" over the life of the loan. The current maximum is 0.55-percent. Just a personal sidenote: We're sometimes seeing problems for borrowers with a credit rating below 620! Check out Reuters for more on this news: http://in.reuters.com/article/governme... 01/20/2010

THE DOWNSIDE OF A HOME LOAN MODIFICATION With hundreds of thousands of upside-down homeowners suffering from the housing market meltdown,  more and more of us are looking to loan modifications as the answer.   If you're lucky enough to even get a decent loan modification your credit score will amost certainly take a hit. In fact you may find yourself unable to subsequently qualify for a car loan or a credit card! One positive of a loan modification versus a short sale or a foreclosure is that it will appear as a blemish on your credit report for only a few years. The other options are likely tp show-up for seven years. For more information check-out this artitcle:  http://rismedia.com/2010-01-18/can-loan-modifications-cause-trouble-down-the-road-2/#more-43403a   FIND A HOME: http://mark... 01/19/2010

Today the Association of Foreign Investors reported the results of its most recent survey that the United States is still the best place in the entire world to invest in real estate! 51% of those surveyed claim that U.S. real estate presents the greatest opportunity for capital appreciation, which is a higher tpercentage than was reported in 2008, 2007 and in 2006. The U.K. came in second with 30% of the votes followed by China at 10-percent. The last time the U.S. fared this well in the survey was in 2003. The most favored cities (in order) are Washington, D.C., N.Y.C., San Francisco, Boston and L.A. For more on the survey's results: http://www.afire.org/foreign_data/2009/2010PressRelease.pdf FIND A HOME: http://MarkOstrovsky.Com 01/18/2010

It's hard to believe that some 42 years have passed since Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered by an assassin's bullet. Today the Maltz Museum of Jewish History here in Beachwood, Ohio paid tribute to Dr. King with guided tours of An American Story, the theme of which was "Stop the hate, the struggle against discrimination and hatred in Cleveland, U.S. & World History. The event was a "HUGE" success, drawing a great crowd who came to hear stories about the March Toward Freedom, a terrific musical performance with Unchained: songs from the time of slavery to the days of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement; as well as guided tours. As it turns out my father, who was the Judge of the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court, met Dr. King in 1967 when King made one of his his last Cleveland, Ohio app... 01/18/2010

Mortgage foreclosures rose 20-percent over 2009 and according to RealtyTrac the crisis is far from over.   The culprits thus far of course have been over-valued housing and poor lending practices and now unemployment is taking its toll. The next wave of foreclosures will likely be the result of Option ARM mortgages that are expected to reset for many home owners who are upside down. Fo more on this check-out this Wall Street Journal video interview of RealtyTrac's Rick Sharga: http://online.wsj.com/video/more-foreclosure-trouble-ahead/58FF9A4A-74C5-4228-820B-3091506C96AC.html FIND A HOME: http://markostrovsky.com 01/17/2010

SHUT-UP, CLEAN-UP & GET LOST! Apologies if this sounds harsh but Sellers please consider the following: You may have a terrific personality so it perhaps comes as a surprise that the last person a prospective buyer wants to run into at your house is you! This holds true whether it's an open house or a showing. This isn't personal and that is precisely the point. Buyers don't want to get personal and instead want to objectively check-out your house without you hanging around. Staying away is to your benefit as well. We've seen many sellers insist on being present during a showing and then say or do something that seems benign enough at the time, but then later comes back to haunt them. It's almost magical. Your other job is to keep your house neat at all times during the listing period. ... 01/17/2010