Cincinnati, OH

Once again Cincinnati has been rated by Central Connecticut State University as a highly literate city. The ninth place ranking is attributable to the combination of local library resources, number of bookstores, Internet resources and educational attainment. The study speculates that the combination of Fortune 500 companies, the thriving arts community and density of colleges and universities and hospitals all create a core population that values books and the written word.

Did you know that Cincinnati is tied for third nationally for the number of booksellers per 10,000 residents? Plus, the Hamilton county voters showed their belief in the value of books when they supported the tax levy to maintain services at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton county. Both of these statistics add to Cincinnati's clout.

Seattle, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Boston all ranked

Its ok for Wall Street to Walk Away From a Mortgage so Why Not You?

When an investment corporation defaults, or walks away, from a property it is called a strategic default. When a home owner can no longer afford their mortgage they foreclose. The Huffington Post and NPR Marketplace have artiles that examine the topic:

A group led by Tishman Speyer Properties gave up the 56-building, 11,232-unit New York City apartment complex. They gave the development to its creditors after defaulting on $4.4 billion in debt. Wall Street Journal. The 2006 $5.4 billion acquisition is currently values at an estimated $1.8 billion.

“We basically walked away from it,” said Clark McKinley, a spokesman for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System [CalPERS], one of several investors in the venture, wrote off its $500 million investment, McKinley said. “It’s underwater, anyway, so we’ve lost it,” he added. “We took our medicine, and we’re learning from it.”

What is frustrating is that there is so much pressure put onto individual home owners to maintain their mortgages and not default. As a Cincinnati Realtor I get calls frequently asking for help selling a property before it goes into foreclosure. There is only so much that can be done becuase of the overall market condition,

Lenders are fighting the hold back a mass of foreclosures. If homeowners begin defaulting on their mortgages, the housing market could faulter gaian and take the economy with it. The New York Times has a list of proposals to help home owners reduce their principals. What is critical is that we need to reestablish stability in the market to prevent a second wave of th

When an investmen

e housing crisis.

Its ok for Wall Street to Walk Away From a Mortgage so Why Not You?

When an investment corporation defaults, or walks away, from a property it is called a strategic default. When a home owner can no longer afford their mortgage they foreclose. The Huffington Post and NPR Marketplace have artiles that examine the topic:

A group led by Tishman Speyer Properties gave up the 56-building, 11,232-unit New York City apartment complex. They gave the development to its creditors after defaulting on $4.4 billion in debt. Wall Street Journal. The 2006 $5.4 billion acquisition is currently values at an estimated $1.8 billion.

“We basically walked away from it,” said Clark McKinley, a spokesman for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System [CalPERS], one of several investors in the venture, wrote off its $500 million investment, McKinley said. “It’s underwater, anyway, so we’ve lost it,” he added. “We took our medicine, and we’re learning from it.”

What is frustrating is that there is so much pressure put onto individual home owners to maintain their mortgages and not default. As a Cincinnati Realtor I get calls frequently asking for help selling a property before it goes into foreclosure. There is only so much that can be done becuase of the overall market condition,

Lenders are fighting the hold back a mass of foreclosures. If homeowners begin defaulting on their mortgages, the housing market could faulter gaian and take the economy with it. The New York Times has a list of proposals to help home owners reduce their principals. What is critical is that we need to reestablish stability in the market to prevent a second wave of th

When an investmen

e housing crisis.

Sunday Jazz Brunches are to be held at the banquet center's in Sharon Woods and Woodland Mound from January through March. The Chris Comer Trio will perform in their traditional swinging piano style. More than 25 items are prepared for each brunch, including a carving station with prime rib or Virginia ham and an omelet bar. Each brunch runs from 10:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. Cost runs $13.95 per adult and $6.95 for children age 2-12. Because the event tends to fill up fast, call in your reservations to Sharon Woods at 769-0624 or Woodland Mound at 474-3008. For mor information or other activities, check out Hamilton County Park's website.

The New Year is upon us and demand for homes is already showing up, especially in the lower, first-time buyer market. Expectations are that the resell market will also see a benefit from the Federal Government Tax Stimulus.

Numbers for the Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, Oakley and Columbia Tusculum neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio are in for January. The average of the 25 homes closed this month was $253,565, median was $219,500. The average home was on the market for 125 days. There are currently 329 homes on the market and 75 pending closing.

There is approximately 7.9 months of inventory available. A balanced market is considered to be 6 months of inventory.

February appears to be starting strong. The Cincinnati Team's phones have started ringing with buyers asking questions about homes on the market in the Cincinnati area. They are already out driving neighborhoods. You can expect that it will be several more months before the tire-kickers move on to serious looking and accepted contracts.

We expect the actual home sales of homes to kick into high gear as the April 30 drop dead date approaches for having a contract in place (to receive the $8000 or $6500 tax credit).