Jason Opland

Recent housing market reports are generating some incredibly positive headlines and prompting many to wonder, has the housing market hit bottom? Before we attempt to answer this complex question we should note that market bottoms, like market peaks, are not clearly definable or easily apparent until long after they have passed. Furthermore, real estate is highly local and national trends are not reflective of all markets, therefore what constitutes the bottom for the country is likely meaningless for those looking to buy and/or sell homes in their own local communities and neighborhoods (also bottoms often occur across different price points at different times).

While there's widespread belief that a housing market bottom is something that comes and goes, and if you're not jumping into the market at the bottom, it's to late, this isn't always true.

With that said let us first define what a market bottom looks like. A housing market bottom is a trend highlighted by a combination of two distinct factors, increased sales volume and stabilizing home prices.

Up until recently the signs pointing to a recovery in the housing market were largely limited to an increase in volume and a slowing in price declines. While a recovery in volume is significant, and wildly important to the future short-term strength of the housing market, in and of itself it does not represent a market bottom.

The most recent national housing data is more encouraging however, and provides evidence that not only have pending home sales risen for the past 7 straight months (a pattern not seen in the history of the index), but the S&P Case-Shiller index of home prices has seen three straight months of gains (the only three times index has risen in the past 3 years and a trend which is further articulated by the Federal Index). While three months of gains can hardly be considered a trend, this evidence does point to an upward turn from the bottom and is highly encouraging as national trends and consumer confidence are important factors as in the short-term prices will be driven by both macro-economic as well as psychological factors. However, as mentioned real estate is local and we must also closely examine our own local market.

Locally, homes sales dipped slightly in August while inventory, average sales prices and days on the market all showed important signs of improvement. Home sales for the month of August were off by 7.9% year over year, and 3.06% month over month. The average sales price however, was up 1.08% in August to $168,873, compared to $167,039 in July (prices are down just 3.8% from August of 2008). Inventory levels are also coming down, as in August there were 14,554 homes on the market (7.3 month's supply meaning that if no new homes were added to the market it would take 7.3 months to sell all remaining inventory), marking a 14.2% decrease year over year and resulting in decreased in the number of days homes are staying on the market, an average of just 92 days in August, the lowest point since July of 2006.

The Federal Index reports nationally home prices rose .3% in July (and were down .6% in August to $177,700) while inventory levels decreased 16.42% year over year to an 8.5 month supply. Distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median home prices both locally and nationally as they generally sell for 15-20% less than traditional homes sales.

While the market does appear to have stabilized and appears to be in recovery, especially here in Columbus which is faring significantly better than the national market, sustained price increases in home prices aren't likely and expectations are this recovery will be one in which volume continues to lead the way with values continuing to improve over the next 12-24 months.

But for now, the market recovery does appear to be underway and if you've been sitting on the fence wanting desperately to get into a home, or to move up to a larger home in a better community, now is the time! With prices down and interest rates near record lows, there has never been a better time to buy a home!

For information specific to your community, or to Request a free, no obligation valuation of your own home please call us at 614.332.6984 or email us at theoplandgroup@gmail.com.

If you, or someone you know is considering Buying or Selling a Home in Columbus, Ohio please contact The Opland Group. We offer professional real estate advice and look forward to helping you achieve your real estate goals!

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley Columbus Delaware Downtown Dublin Gahanna Grandview Heights Granville Grove City Groveport Hilliard Lewis Center New Albany Pickerington Polaris Powell Upper Arlington Westerville Worthington

If you're thinking about buying a home now is the time, there are lots of great deals out there and some of the best are found in the pre-foreclosure market and are what are known as short sales. A short sale is a sale in which the lender agrees to allow a buyer purchase the home for less than the mortgage balance while the home is in pre-foreclosure. The pre-foreclosure stage - the period from when a Notice of Default or Lis Pendens (publicly recorded notice of a pending lawsuit against a property owner that may affect the ownership of a property) has been issued until the time the lender puts the property up for an auction - can last several months, so buying during this time requires a lot of patience and persistence. It typically offers the best bargains, but it's also the most difficult stage to purchase a distressed home. Understand that the owner still has a chance to stop the foreclosure process by paying off what is owed, OR by selling the property and convincing the bank to accept a short sale and a offer that is less than the amount the owner's owe on the home. Here is how to go about buying a short sale and negotiating the best price possible.

Step 1

The critical success factor in these transactions is having an agent who specializes in these types of sales and knows what they're doing. Thus the first step in buying a pre-foreclosure or short sale property is to find a Realtor who specializes in these types of sales. While short sales have been a viable strategy for years, many agents never availed themselves of the educational opportunities to ensure that they were well versed in the techniques for negotiating a successful short sale. Subsequently there are a lot of agents running around the Columbus Ohio Real Estate market calling themselves short sale experts who lack the expertise and experience to support these claims.

So how do you go about locating one of these specialist? Agents who specialize in these types of sales are easy to identify, as they are those who most frequently take these types of listings. If you're interested in purchasing a short sale here in Columbus you'll be happy to know that we are the local industry leader and the premier short sale specialty group in town and thus we'd invite you to give us a call. If you're looking outside of the Columbus market and would like to locate a specialist you'll want to search such websites as Realtor.com, Craigslist, and/or Trulia.com and identify those agents with the most short sale listings. Or you may send us an email, or give us a call and we can direct you to a local specialist.

Agents who specialize in these types of sale will not only have an in-depth knowledge of the short sale process and the keys to influencing the banks valuation of the property, but they will also have relationships with those individuals at the banks who negotiate these sales and thus a distinct advantage that will help you in achieving your objective of getting the best deal possible on your next home.

Step 2

Once you've identified a specialist, you'll then want to establish your search criteria including what it is you're looking for in a home, which communities or subdivisions you're interested in considering, and how much you'd like to spend. Be sure to prioritize your criteria specifying your wants as well as your needs, and to express these as clearly as possible as this will help your Realtor to keep your search focused and efficient. Using this criteria your Realtor will then put together an inventory of short sale properties including those currently available and in most instance a few they're working at getting approved to be sold short.

You'll also want to make sure you're fully prepared once you've located the property you're interested in and since the bank's require all offers be submitted with a preapproval letter you'll want to speak with a lender and let them know that you're looking at homes offered via short sale and perhaps even submit your financial documentation to them however, they need not run a credit check or prepare the preapproval letter until a home has been indentified.

Step 3

Make an offer! Here's where it gets tricky and this is where your agent's, as well as the listing agent's experience will be revealed. We can't go into great detail with regard to the process we employ however, once the homeowner makes the request to sell their home as a short sale the bank will ordered a BPO, or Broker Price Opinion. The BPO is an appraisal of the home's value and this is a critical phase of the process and one most Realtors neglect. But here's how the process works, and in this instance we'll consider a property the owners originally purchased for $350,000 and now need to sell for whatever reason. Now the owners and their Realtor may know the BPO value of the property (let's say $300,000) and what the bank is willing to take for the property but they are not obligated to tell you and in most instances won't. The owner's lending bank will be the deciding factor in whether or not your offer will be accepted and this approval process can anywhere from a couple of days to 60 days or more. The listing agent will usually be able to provide some indication as to the length of time that will be required.

Step 4

Just as is the case with the typical home sale, the bank can do one of three things once it's received your offer, they can; accept, counter, or reject your offer. The difference here is the amount of time it will take for them to do so and while this time will vary on average it will take 15 to 30 days for the bank to respond. If your offer is rejected, you can make another higher offer so long as there weren't multiple offers and another offer has not already been accepted. If the bank counters which they will typically do so long as multiple offers were not received, you may then accept the banks offer or counter them back.

Buyers are encouraged to remember that homes are appraising for MUCH LESS than what most owners paid for their homes and in most instances the banks are willing to accept offers that will net them approximately 80% of the BPO Value (note* unpaid property taxes, closing costs, and other expenses will all be factored into this value). So in our example the bank should be willing to consider an offer of approximately $240K not taking into account the existence of any unpaid taxes, and other expenses.

For more information on purchasing a short sale, or for a list of homes currently offered via short sale please email us your request or call us at 614.332.6984.

If you're homeowner who's having trouble making your mortgage payment and are interested in exploring your options including the listing of your home as a short sale, please click here before giving us a call.

If you're facing foreclosure you're facing some very important decisions. We want you know you're not alone and we are here to help with any questions you may have to assist you in making the best decisions for your situation. There is no charge for this service and we are happy to help! We offer confidential and professional real estate advice.

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley Columbus Delaware Downtown Dublin Gahanna Grandview Heights Granville Grove City Groveport Hilliard Lewis Center New Albany Pickerington Polaris Powell Upper Arlington Westerville Worthington

Home sales increase seen for the first time in over two years!
Highest number of home sales seen in September in three years.

Home sales increased over ten percent in September compared with last year. The 2,012 homes sold was 10.3 percent higher than September of last year and marks the first year over year increase in sales central Ohio has seen in over two years according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.

Not only did home sales increase last month for the first time since July of 2007, but they increased to the highest level we've seen in September since 2006.

This is likely due to the urgency felt by first time home buyers to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit that expires November 30 of this year.

The number of homes for sale in central Ohio continues to decrease. With 14,204 listings, inventory levels are down 2.4 percent from the month before and down 14.4 percent from September of 2008. This is the lowest level of inventory the area has seen this time of year since 2004.

The average sale price last month was $160,094 which was just 0.4 percent lower than one year ago.

As inventory decreases, home prices continue to inch back up, but with an average home price of $160,094, central Ohio continues to be a very affordable and attractive market for home buyers."

One year ago, the month's supply was 9.10. But with the increase in sales and drop in inventory, the month's supply is now down to 7.06. This number means that if no new homes were added to the market, it would take slightly more than seven months to sell all remaining inventory. A market is typically considered balanced with around a 6.5 to 7 month supply.

If you, or someone you know is considering Buying or Selling a Home in Columbus, Ohio please contact The Opland Group. We offer professional real estate advice and look forward to helping you achieve your real estate goals!

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley Columbus Delaware Downtown Dublin Gahanna Grandview Heights Granville Grove City Groveport Hilliard Lewis Center New Albany Pickerington Polaris Powell Upper Arlington Westerville Worthington

Home sales and inventory levels remained steady in July, as more than 2,000 homes were sold, and sales were off by only 2.9 percent compared to 2008 levels, the Columbus Board of REALTORS® said today.

Nationally sales soared to 7.2% in July posting the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years! Sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth straight monthly increase and the strongest month since August of 2007.

The home sales report is another sign that the US economy is on the road to recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Economic activity in both the US and around the world appears to be leveling out and according to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, "the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good".

As the economy continue to improve so will the housing market and property values and as we've previously reported the Columbus Housing Market has seen it's bottom.

"Pricing, inventory, and supply levels all show that we are coming out of the bloated housing market we saw a year ago," said Gary Parsons, president of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.

"These key factors in real estate are all remaining consistent and balanced - signs that the central Ohio housing market continues to head in the right direction."

At $167,039, July's average sales price was only off 4 percent compared to the same month in 2008.

Total inventory and new listings both fell by double digits, indicating a housing market that is more balanced than last summer.

With 14,880 listings on the market, inventory is down 16 percent from the more than 17,000 homes which were for sale this time last year; new listings were also down 16.2 percent in July compared to 2008.

The month's supply number for July continued to remain favorable at 7.23, meaning that if no new homes were added to the market, it would take slightly more than seven months to sell all remaining inventory.

A market is typically considered balanced with around a 6.5 to 7 month supply.

It appears the end of summer and early fall are going to remain strong in central Ohio as sellers take advantage of favorable pricing and incentives like the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

With just 101 days left until the tax credit expires, we encourage those fence sitters to act now!

If you, or someone you know is considering Buying or Selling a Home in Columbus, Ohio please contact The Opland Group. We offer professional real estate advice and look forward to helping you achieve your real estate goals!

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley Columbus Delaware Downtown Dublin Gahanna Grandview Heights Granville Grove City Groveport Hilliard Lewis Center New Albany Pickerington Polaris Powell Upper Arlington Westerville Worthington

New Albany

Living at it's finest!

Founded in 1837, New Albany began as a small farming village just 20 minutes northeast of Columbus. In the 1980's, Columbus native and CEO of Limited Brands, Les Wexner, began purchasing parcels of land in and around the village. His vision was to create a thriving community that upheld the elegant style and close-knit feel of a small rural town, while offering all the conveniences of a trendy suburban city. Les achieved this vision by designing inter-connected neighborhoods of sophisticated Georgian-style homes that reflected high standards of architectural design and quality finishes.

The careful planning of this community has resulted in a balance of residential, commercial, and recreational land use. Hundreds of acres of land were preserved for neighborhood green spaces. Lakes, ponds and heavily wooded areas were strategically placed, and miles of walking paths were constructed to tie it all together.

New Albany offers outstanding community opportunities and world-class recreational facilities. The New Albany Country Club's 27-hole golf course was designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus and offers a great venue for improving your golf handicap as well as a state of the art clubhouse. Other popular destinations include the country club's bath and tennis club, as well as the Community Health and Wellness Center. New Albany parents take comfort in knowing their children can safely traverse the extensive walking paths to access the; school campus, community pool, library, and friends in close by neighborhoods. Residents also enjoy the 135 acres of New Albany parkland, including; lighted baseball and softball diamonds, full and junior-sized soccer fields, tennis courts, and playgrounds. Many residents participate in neighborhood groups supporting social and civic organizations, as well as charity and volunteer work.

All the serenity found within New Albany can sometimes make you forget that you are just 15 minutes away from the metropolis of downtown Columbus and all the city has to offer. For those who consider New Albany their second home, a 15 minute drive will provide you instant access to the Columbus International Airport.

The New Albany-Plain Local School District is one of the best in the country offering the finest in academic and athletic opportunities. Being a nationally recognized public school system, New Albany schools offer state-of-the-art technology, an extensive selection of academic and extracurricular activities and esteemed faculty. In 2004, the New Albany-Plain Local School District became the only school district in Ohio to be named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the US Department of Education for all levels of primary (K - 12) education. The district has also earned a rating of "Excellent" from the Ohio Department of Education for the past five years. The district also recently earned a Magna Award from The American School Board Journal ranking its environmental education program in the top ten percent nationally.

The buildings that make up the New Albany-Plain Local School District are located on a beautifully designed 200-acre campus that exhibits the look and feel of an Ivy League college. All of the school's buildings are built around 34 acres of wetlands that serve as an outdoor science and nature classroom. Educating more than 3,000 students annually, New Albany-Plain Local schools are dedicated to providing exceptional educational opportunities rivaling those of a small college. View the latest Public School District Report Card for the New Albany-Plain Local School District. Click here to view Private Schools close to New Albany.

If you are considering a relocation to New Albany or the Columbus area, please take advantage of the complimentary resources that The Opland Group has to offer. To request a private tour of the New Albany community or homes for sale in New Albany or the surrounding areas, please contact The Opland Group at (614) 332-6984.

New Albany Real Estate

The New Albany real estate market has a variety of home choices. Use our MLS search tool to see all homes listed for sale in the New Albany OH area. You can also give us a call and we'll be happy to assist you with your New Albany, OH real estate search.

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New Albany OH Schools

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