Sue Gabriel ~ REALTOR® ~ North Olmsted, OH

Hope everyone had a wonderful October, with more treats than tricks! Life has been good in the Gabriel household. Kitties are fighting less (yay!), we've had one birthday and 2 more coming this week. My son turned 17 last month, and got his driver's license. I held my breath when he made his first solo drive home last week, but he's doing very well!

My daughter will turn 20 this Wednesday. That poor girl has never received a birthday card in the mail on her birthday - it's Veteran's Day and there's no mail delivery. So I'll be driving to Kent State on Wednesday to hand deliver her card and take her to lunch. She's coming home for the weekend, but I still wanted (needed?) to see her on her birthday.

And my birthday is the day after hers ~ yes, she was my 30th birthday present. I'll let you do the math on that one! : )

An early birthday present was one of my listings going under contract. It helped contribute to a very good month in North Olmsted real estate! Title transfers next week, so we'll be included in November's SOLD numbers. October's closings (34) were up from September's (30)...so that's good news! I really think the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit extension and expansion will keep the momentum going throughout a traditionally slower 4th and 1st quarter.

On that happy note, here are the housing totals for October in North Olmsted, OH:

Have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone, and we'll see you next month!

A little update...Ellie is still with us. The little furrball has wormed her way into my heart, and I could never part with her. Apparently, nor could Tigger:

Without further ado, here is the housing market update for North Olmsted, OH for the month of September 2009:

I'm very pleased with the activity in my hometown, as well as the other Cleveland, OH suburbs Our office is buzzing, and it's so much fun to watch after the past couple of "challenging" years.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you next month. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

As promised in an earlier post, I'll update the North Olmsted housing market every month. In the meantime, I decided to take a look at what the summer of 2009 looked like here in my home town. Who's buying what? Houses, condos, lower priced homes, high-end properties? North Olmsted actually doesn't have a lot of homes in the $300k and up range, and only one sold since June 1st at $332,000. Surprisingly, it was only on the market for 59 days. That seller must have been very pleased, considering the average days on the market for the past several months has been 4 1/2 months!!

Anyway, here is what my research has discovered. Since June 1, 2009:

SOLD:

99 properties, with an average sale price of $124,086

17 condos and 82 single-family homes

Average Days On Market is 138...4 1/2 months

CONTINGENT/PENDING:

79 properties, with an average list price of $129,917

11 condos and 68 single-family homes

Average Days on Market is 140...4 1/2 months

Now remember, this is just North Olmsted, a large, very diverse southwestern suburb of Cleveland, OH. As you know, all real estate is local...but I find these numbers very encouraging! Especially since most of my clients happen to be first-time home buyers, and these numbers are perfect for those just starting their home search.

Of course, I'm sure the $8000 Tax Credit has had a huge impact on those numbers. Every one of my buyers this year will be taking advantage of the tax credit!! I truly do hope the government extends the credit, and also gives an incentive to ALL buyers...not just the first-timers. This market is turning around, but could still use some help!

North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ August 2009

If you have been following my weekly housing updates for North Olmsted, you may have been asking yourself, "What happened to the past 2 weeks???" Well, life happened. The kids went back to school (one in college, one a junior in high school), business picked up considerably (yay!!) and I've had "cat issues". You really don't want to know about that one....trust me. But if anyone wants a cute little, slightly assertive, probably-best-as-an-only-pet kitty, drop me a line. Ok, so I'm just kidding. I love her to pieces and would miss her terribly. It's the rest of the herd that's voting her off the island!

Anyway, back to the market updates. In the past couple of weeks, I have also decided to post this update monthly, rather than weekly...starting with August 2009.

So here's the latest:

Till next month....Happy Labor Day!!!

North Olmsted, OH Real Estate Housing Market Activity ~ week ending 8/7/09

As July approaches the mid-point, North Olmsted housing activity is picking up speed. We have a few less homes in the inventory (261 down from 269 the previous week), 13 more under contract and 5 more happy homeowners received the keys to their new house!

The Sales Price to List Price percentage is down a bit. Once again, due to a foreclosure in the mix. Once we have a larger number of closings, those one or two foreclosures won't affect the total as much. I'm confident that day will come soon!

Here's the latest:

Till next time!

www.SoldBySueGabriel.com