Columbus Ohio real estate

Real Living HER Open House List for Labor Day weekend 2010

There are not a lot of open houses this weekend.   It is a holiday weekend!  Happy Labor Day. There are some open houses in town this weekend...  My coworker and friend Loretta Strang is holding her great Worthington ranch listing open... need your Worthington, Sunday,  open house fix? Or need a one story in Worthignton, Kilbourne Village has a good walk score...   Visit Loretta.  Tell her "Maureen sent me"* 

I held an open house 4th of July weekend this year...  I had traffic.

In Central Ohio Open Houses are not for lazy agents I wrote:

"Central Ohio has something that other parts of the country do not actually have.  A brokerage that has elevated the Open House via their website.  The Real Living HER Open House List is the best there is in Central Ohio... but maybe I am biased. "

The Real Living HER Open House List

You have an opportunity to see what will be open in the future on the Real Living HER (formerly HER Realtors) site.  You can do more than just see a list of homes or an Open House  banner on the homes that are open on the Real Living HER Open House list.  You can see the list by area, only looking in Worthington? Only look at the homes in Worthington..   

You can tour most homes on the Real Living HER Open House list with a number of photos, a home tour,  a community video in some cases, mortgage information, a map. 

Some Real Living HER listings on the open house list  have more information for consumers including:

Floor plans

Videos

Next weekends Real Living HER Open Houses!

Quoting myself again...

"There will NOT be a lot of Real Living HER Open Houses this weekend. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Next weekend is the Real Living's third Second Sunday Open House... there will be lots of Open Houses in Central Ohio open house country.

Is your Central Ohio neighborhood in open house country?"

Columbus home SALE prices are up

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® announces...

What does "Maureen sent me" mean? 

Nothing, nada, zilch....

The image at the top is a Real Living ecard.

Delawanda Park homes for sale Columbus OH 43214

Delawanda Park is a neighborhood in north Columbus, it is south of the Worthington city line and north of Morse Road.  It is nestled in between Old Beechwold and Graceland Shopping Center.

Delawanda Park is also a City of Columbus Park along the Olentangy River... Delawanda Park is also known as Kenney Park.

Zillow and Trulia call the area north of Morse Road and south of the Worthington city limits, Sharon Heights.  In Sharon Heights are smaller neighborhoods like Delawanda Park, Tremont Gardens (in Sharon Township NOT the city of Columbus), the real Sharon Heights...  and more.

A map for Delawanda Park homes for sale in RealBird (Google Base) TODAY shows the one house in the Columbus Board of REALTOR® MLS currently listed with  Delawanda Park as the subdivision... my listing. The search is for homes priced $80,000 to $130,000, homes priced above would not show on the map. There are homes priced above $130,000 in the Sharon Heights area.   The map shows listings in Tremont Gardens, Beechwold...  RealBird is my new toy, I have had the free version for awhile. I just upgraded.

Delawanda Park homes for sale Columbus Ohio 43214

More about Delawanda Park, the neighborhood

Delawanda Park the neighbors....

Clintonville conspiracy theory... Realtors changing borders

Clintonville area ... Zillow calls it Sharon Heights

Indian Springs Elementary School earns "Excellent with Distinction"  - Indian Springs School is the elementary school for the streets in the Delawanda Park subdivision.  It is not the elementary school for all homes on the map.

Columbus home sale prices are up...  

OK I really am only looking at a micro area...  in July 2010 Columbus Ohio 43214 average home sale price was up 16.4% from July 2009.  That graph is for a slice of Columbus north of North Broadway up to the Worthington city line.  The Colmbus Ohio 43214 ZIP code includes neighborhoods like  Beechwold,  Old Beechwold, Sharon Heights, Tremont Gardens, Chaseland, Delawanda Park, parts of Clintonville and more.   Yet a pretty small area when you come right down to it.

Columbus Ohio 43214 home sale prices are up

Real estate is really, really local.

The graph shows list and sale prices for single family homes in the Columbus Ohio 43214 ZIP code for the past 15 months, home prices were up 16.4% from July 2009.

Columbus Ohio home sale prices are...

Macro?  Homes in the City of Columbus School District?  ooooh ick prices down 19.5%.

Macro er...  a bigger area the entire area served by the Columbus Board of REALTORS® MLS sale  prices of single family homes were up .6%

"All counties 0.6%"  remember this is single family homes only, not all residential.

I believe all homes in the Columbus Ohio 43214 ZIP code are in the Columbus City School District.  Best to check for each address what school district the home is in.

Closings in July 2010 were homes sold during the tax credits?  Since the tax credits?  A mixed bag?  August will be interesting. September even more so.

Columbus homes for sale - SEARCH

Columbus home sale prices are up or down....   it kinda depends

By ZIP code change from July 2009:

• Columbus Ohio 43054 average home sales price was down 1.9%
  
• Columbus Ohio 43085 average home sales price was up 4.8% 
• Columbus Ohio 43202 average home sales price was up  1.2%
• Columbus Ohio 43214 average home sales pirce was up 16.4%
• Columbus Ohio 43220 average home sales price was up 1.2%
  
• Columbus Ohio 43221 average home sales price was up 18.5%
• Columbus Ohio 43229 average home sales price was down 2% 
• Columbus Ohio 43230 average home sales price was down 12.3%
  
• Columbus Ohio 43235 average home sales price was up 4.6%

ZIP codes are just mailing routes.

By school district change from July 2009: 

• Columbus schools average home sales price down 19.5%
  
• Dublin schools average home sales price up 11.1%
• Gahanna Jefferson schools average home sales price up .5%
  
• Grandview Heights schools average home sales price up 52.6%
• Hilliard schools up 14.1%
• Plain Local schools up 10.4%
• Upper Arlington schools up 26.5%
• Westerville schools down 10.9% 
• Worthington schools up 4.3%

Above are all single family home prices.

The moral of this story?  If there is a moral to this story... I supppose it is that it's tough to buy a house if you don't know the market.

Back to Columbus Ohio 43214 home sale prices ...in July 2010

• Average active price  $221,000
• Average sale price $220,000
• Median sale price $195,000

This post brought to you by a home in the Delawanda Park neighborhood in the Columbus Ohio 43214 ZIP code priced at $114,987,  301 Girard Rd. Columbus Ohio 43214

Columbus Ohio 43214 homes for sale 

Columbus Ohio 43214 demographics

Published based on data available from the Columbus Board of REALTORS® at the end of July  2010.   Trendgraphix reports presented are based on data supplied by the Columbus Board of Realtors.  According to Trendgraphix neither  CBR nor their MLS (multiple listing service ) guarantee or are in anyway responsible for it's accuracy. "Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed."   Therefor there is no guarantee from me either.

If you use the Columbus Ohio 43214 homes for sale link you will search the online inventory of Central Ohio homes on the Real Living HER site.   You will be offered the opportunity to receive listings directly from the Columbus Board of Realtors MLS (multiple listing service)  in real time. You are able to know the true status of those properties you are interested in.

There are 166 Real Living HER Open Houses on the list this week.*  The list is the Real Living HER Open House List.

A little less than the last few  Sundays... Central Ohio kids are back to school. Or most... seems like one Delaware County School went back late...

Last Sunday "there are 208 homes on the list NOW"

August 15, 2010 "The Real Living HER Open House list  says there are 203 properties on the list this week."

Next weekend is Labor Day so there will probably be less open houses on the Real Living HER Open House List than usual.

Is Columbus a buyers market?  It is a good time as a buyer to look at homes.  It's a buyers market in most Central Ohio communities... not all.

The Real Living HER Open House List

The one and only Worthington home on the Real Living HER Open House List at this point is my listing at 1344 Snowmass Rd. Columbus OH 43235.  That could change though...  the Real Living HER Open House List is in real time.  Someone could list something new and that could change.  An agents Sunday plans could change and the number could go up.  A house could sell before the scheduled Open House and the seller and agent could say "Hallelujah" and cancel the open house.

September 12, 2010 will be Real Living HER's third Second Sunday Open House... for some reason that reminds me of our Fifth Third Bank. 

*The number of Real Living HER Open Houses is subject to change.  The Real Living HER Open House List is not an archive.  If you look at it always has the current open houses, rather than history.  The list is in "real time."

The link to the Real Living HER Open House List (above)  is to my website, MaureenMcCabe.com  I am not hosting all the Real Living open houses, but it will say presented by Maureen McCabe on my website.  The list provides you contact info for each Open House, if you need to contact the listing agent or host for that properties open house.

Just about every Real Living HER agent in Central Ohio should have the Real Living HER Open House List displayed on their website.

Open Sunday 1344 Snowmass Rd, Columbus OH 43235

Open House -   Sunday,  August 30, 2010,  2 to 4 at this Worthingview home.

1344 Snowmass Road Columbus Ohio 43235 

• 4 bedrooms
• 2 1/ 2 bath
• screened porch
• fenced yard
  
• Fireplace with gas logs
• basement
• 2 car garage

Columbus Ohio 43235 homes for sale - a market report

Worthingview nieghborhood school information:

Elementary - Bluffsview

Middle -  McCord

High School -  Worthington Kilbourne

The Worthingview neighborhood and the home at 1344 Snowmass Rd. Columbus OH 43235 are in the Worthington City School District.  School report cards are out and Bluffsiew Elementary School got the highest grade possible, Excellent with Disctinction.  McCord Middle School received an "Excellent" grade. This home was in Perry Middle School attendence area during the 2009 -2010 school year, that school which is now closed receieved a grade of "Effective."  Worthington Kilbourne High School received a grade of Excellent for the 2009 - 2010 school year from the State of Ohio.

WHO inspects for bed bugs?  (Cimex lectularius)

Dogs!

I am not calling home inspectors... or pest inspectors "Dogs."  I read about canines doing bed bug inspections first in New York Times article.  I read about bed bugs being a growth industry  before... but I had never read about canine Bed Bugs inspectors. It can take humans a long time to find bed bugs.  Dogs are quicker.   New York City has a big bed bug problem.... a New York Times article about bed bugs.

A New Breed of Guard Dog Attacks Bedbugs  The New York Times article is written by Penelope Green

The Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force site now  says there are four bed bug sniffing  dogs in Ohio. I only see three canine bed bug inspectors listed on the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force site.  None of the bed bug sniffing dog's  phone numbers is a 614 or 740 area code. None looks to be in Central Ohio?  

Gotta wonder if my sweet mutt would like to start a new business late in life?   It's a growth industry...

Central Ohio WHO inspects for bed bugs? -  real estate agents?

You would almost think looking at the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force's words that we as real estate agents inspect for bed bugs.  Their site says to "realtors":

"the responsibility of discovering bed bug infestations is in your court"

Really? 

I don't inspect for wood destroying insects, raccoons in the chimney, bats in belfrys.  As the listing or selling agent I don't discover radon either... discovering defects is up to inspectors.   Am I going to strip the sellers bed and inspect the crevices for bed bugs?  No.

As a buyer your purchase contract with the seller will allow you to do inspections and tests on the property.Do you want a dog to inspect or a human?  Is there a reason to inspect?  Touchy subject...

Central Ohio WHO inspects for bed bugs?  -  pest inspectors human or canine...

HISCO - Does not inspect for bed bugs,  I wish they would for a fee.  I would feel more comfortable with HISCO inspecting because HISCO does not treat for bugs.

Ohio Exterminating* does Bed Bug Inspections for FREE, according to their site.  I am sure other Central Ohio exteminators inspect for bed bugs as well.

Would Pest Inspectors inspect for free for the sale of a home?  I doubt it...  Does a human spend hours searching for bed bugs, for free? I doubt it. 

Would they... could a pest inspector / exterminator say to a home buyer... "This home is Bed Bug Free?" What if the seller goes to NYC and stays in a hotel there after the home inspection but before closing? What if a Bed Bug hitches a ride back to Columbus in a suitcase?   Or even a local bedbug is introduced to the Central Ohio home after the inspection but prior to closing?

Central Ohio WHO treats for bed bugs? Exterminators

Do pest inspectors need to spend hours inspecting for bed bugs? Probably not if the home's occupant  thinks they have bed bugs.  If they've been bitten?  I bet it does not take hours to convince the occupants of a home or apartment who have been bitten to fumigate for Cimex lectularius.

The Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force recommends getting three estimates for treatment.

Michael Bergin a Northern Virginia real estate agent  was my muse for this series...  Michael wrote: " Yuck! Bed Bugs are Back! " the link to the NYT article above in his post is where I first found out about dog inspectors.  Thanks Michael.

More about the topic on DiscoverColumbusOH.com - Columbus real estate:

bed bug contingency

Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force ...Realtor Recommdendations    The .pdf document directed at Realtors also has the info about canine bed bug home inspectors you can get to that link above or from the first post in this series. 

*An owner of Ohio Exterminating is on the Central Ohio Task Force as the representative from the Ohio Pest Management  Association.

This is the second in a series about Bed Bugs... There is a Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force which says to "realtors"

"the responsibility of discovering bed bug infestations is in your court"

Multiple Choice Quiz :  Do you think the Columbus Board of REALTORS® PURCHASE CONTRACT bed bug contingency* says:

A. This purchase is contingent on the home being bed bug free

Or

B. The bed bugs are the personal property of the seller.  As such the seller will move the bed bugs along with the rest of their personal property.

Or

C. The seller must provide the buyer with a Bed Bug FREE certificate.

Your answer?

BUZZ

Sorry the correct answer is

D. None of the above.

I did not include that did I? 

Sorry.  

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® purchase contract does NOT have a bed bug contingency.  Why would it?   Nor does the Columbus Board of Realtors contract have a contingency for

• skunks in crawl spaces
• bats in attics
• hornets in  eaves
• racoon's nests in chimneys

The point of poking around your future home with the home inspector is to begin your life in your new home without pests.

The purchase contract we use in Central Ohio does not refer to semi common pests like termites, carpenter ants etc.  (wood destroying insects) either.  Your home inspector may find evidence of these or other pests and tell you to do further tests and inspections.  Or the home inspector may find concrete evidence of a presence of a pest. 

You can do a bed bug inspection of  a property if you want to, I guess.  I have never heard of bed bug inspection being done...

The part of the purchase contract that allows you as a home buyer to have an inspection to see if there are bed bugs, is the same part of the contract that would allow you to have inspections and tests for things seen and unseen... that would affect your enjoyment of your new home.

Columbus Board of REALTORS® PURCHASE CONTRACT Inspection Clause

Now I am not an attorney and don't play one on this site or TV.  Nor do I play a home inspector... but I do believe from what I've heard and read, Choice B, in the multiple choice above, is somewhat right. 

B. The bed bugs are the personal property of the seller.  As such the seller will move the bed bugs along with the rest of their personal property.

The seller is removing the beds and upholstered  furniture from the home per the contract....if there were ever any bed bugs, they were in the upholstered furniture... that's how they got their name.

First time buyers don't worry skunks in crawl spaces, bats in attics, hornets in eaves and raccoons in chimneys are very, very, very rare too.  Not as rare but rare....

This is part of a Four Part Series on Bed Bugs in Central Ohio:

Central Ohio bed bugs recommendations to REALTORS®   posted earlier today

*This is being posted early and two words are being edited into the original post.  "Purchase Contract", words were EDITED from the intended title of the post as well. 

Real Living HER Open House List -  there are 208 homes on the list NOW, of course that number is subject to change.  The number of open houses scheduled will probably go up before Sunday at one or two o'clock when open houses generally start.  Each open house on the list says what time it open.

The Real Living HER Open House List is not an archive.  If you look at it always has the current open houses, rather than history.  The list is in "real time."

The link to the Real Living HER Open House List (above)  is to my website, MaureenMcCabe.com  I am not hosting all the Real Living open houses, but it will say presented by Maureen McCabe on my website.  The list provides you contact info for each Open House, if you need to contact the listing agent or host for that properties open house.

Just about every Real Living HER agent in Central Ohio should have the Real Living HER Open House List displayed on their website.

Real Living HER Open House List

It's a list but so much more...  the address and the  open house schedule  are available on each listing on the Real Living HER Open House List but you will also find:

• additional photos of the property
• a map
• school information
• a mortgage calculator

Some properties on the open house list will also have:

• a video
• a community video
• a floor plan

I anm hosting an open house in the Worthington area today, a three bedroom condominum priced at $149,900,  The condo at  184 Cameron Ridge. Dr.  Columbus OH 43235:

Village of Forest Ridge condominium - Sunday August 22, 2010

Worthington condos for sale a recent market report

As promised on a comment on Jay's original post... I am Re-Blogging this Virginia home inspector's post for Columbus Ohio home buyers. 

Jay write's

"this was certainly the work of Sawman. HVAC guys have a tendency to, um, move things out of the way of duct work they want to install! This case was no exception."

Sawman hits Central Ohio homes under construction occasionally...

Jay writes  "This is NOT "normal."

Sometimes you don't even get "Trampo-Floor" to tell you to have "phase" inspections of new construction... Thanks for the fun post Detective Markanich.

The Real Living HER Open House list  says there are 203 properties on the list this week.

You are looking at the current Real Living HER Open House on my website, with the link above. The number of Open Houses is subject to change. It could still go up before this afternoon.

Each listing has a map, mortgage calculator, a tour and more.  Some have much more!

The Real Living HER Open House List

The link about is  the Real Living Open House list on my Real Living HER (HER Realtors) site.   If you visit my Real Living HER website each home on the Real Living HER Open House List is "Presented By" ME.  I am not holding ALL those houses open this week or any week. The same open house list is on other Real Living HER agent's sites.  Each listing on the list of open houses tells you who the listing agent and office is, or whom is holding the property open if you need that information.

The Real Living Open House List is NOT archived.  If you look at this post in the future the link will go to the current Real Living HER Open House list on my website.

Not seeing what you are interested in? Search for homes in Central Ohio.  

Columbus homes for sale - SEARCH

I am holding a Worthington area home, open today, 2 to 4:

1344 Snowmass Rd. Columbus OH. 43235  Located in the Worthingview subdivision, in the Worthington City School District and the city of Columbus, stop by if you are looking for a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath.

Columbus homes for sale. Is Columbus a buyer's market?