Alison Moss - Cincinnati Real Estate

April 1st Mortgage Appraisal Changes Impact Cincinnati Real Estate

The Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD) is now adopting the same appraisal guidelines as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on April 1, 2009. The changes are intended to provide a more accurate appraisal in the changing real estate market. Changes include:

• At least two of the three recent sales (comparables/comps) must be within the last 90 days of the effective date of the appraisal.

• Include a minimum of two active listings or pending sales. The appraiser must insure the active listings and pending sales "have reasonable market exposure to avoid the use of over priced properties as comparables."

• Include the original list price, any revised prices and total days on the market.

• Adjust active listings to reflect list to sale price ratios for the market.

• Adjust pending sales to reflect the contract purchase price whenever possible or adjust pending sales to reflect list to sales price ratios.

• Include an absorption rate analysis to determine market trends.

• Known or reported incentives or sales concessions must be noted for any comp that's used on the appraisal.

These changes may impact certain areas of the Cincinnati real estate market more than others. Some areas of the city have seen very little activity in the last 90 days being that winter is a slower period for sales here. The positive side is that appraisals will be much more true to current market conditions, helping buyers and lenders finance their homes at real market values.

Cincinnati Women Bloggers Meet

On Saturday I attended the monthly Cincinnati Women Bloggers meeting. Along with learning the how to's about affiliate marketing on my blog, I was inspired by the diverse group of women in Cincinnati who are actively blogging about many different topics. After attending my second meeting, I think it is wonderful to see this group of people, most of whom I would have never had the opportunity to meet, sharing ideas about things that are important to them.


Many of the members of this group have families and full-time careers in or out of the home like myself and find that it is important to spend a Saturday morning once a month to learn how to optimize their blog and increase their readership. The most important theme that I have learned from the meeting is to maintain your blog's identity within the scope of your knowledge. I hope that my readers use Cincinnatilivingonline.com as a real estate resource both loclaly and nationally.

Americans Buying Smaller New Construction Houses

USA Today ran a story about a new trend in American home buying. The article discusses that newly constructed homes have nearly doubled in size since 1960. Last year new construction homes decreased in square footage for the first time in 10 years.

In Cincinnati, many residents are looking to move from the suburbs closer into the city. This has prompted developers to acquire and leverage infill which usually results in smaller lots for the homes to be built on. Many homebuyers are looking for more efficient and economical homes, with less square footage closer to the city center. If you are interested in the new intown development contact me at 513-518-1140.

The State of Ohio is providing an addition to the 2009 Federal Tax credit that compliments the Federal Government’s $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers who purchase before December 1, 2009. This could have a substantial positive impact on the Cincinnati real estate market by encouragin buyers to make a purchase.


The Ohio Mortgage Credit Certificate Program provides new home buyers an annual credit on their Federal Taxes every year that they own the home. The Ohio program has limited funds, which means those funds could dry up in the next 30 to 60 days. It is administered through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. Not all lenders are making loans under the program. Contact me at 513-518-1140 to see how you can take advantage of these programs.

The state of Ohio won Site Selection magazine’s Governor’s cup for the third year in a row. Leading the effort was Cincinnati, which was named the 4th most active metro for companies with 124 active investment development projects.

The Ohio Department Of Development has funded more than 3,600 economic and community development projects assisting in the creation of more than 53,000 jobs and retaining 195,000 jobs. Currently, about 800 economic development projects are in the pipeline, which could leverage an $15 billion in private investments, creating an additional 30,000 jobs and retaining an additional 50,000.

Cincinnati leads the state in these projects with 124, and is #4 across the country. The economic development projects include big name developments such as the banks, and smaller community based efforts. Cincinnati has succeeded in attracting investment because of its educated population, high quality of life and low cost of living. Economic activity continues to be a major impact factor in the local Cicninnati Real Estate Market.