About Cuyahoga County, OH

What is going on with condominiums in Mayfield Heights this year?

The Cuyahoga County statistics data on condominium sales in 2008 does not look real pretty. According to Realist.com,

However, the condo market in Mayfield Heights is different. Regardless all financial obstacles which Fannie May created for fair borrowers willing to buy Real Estate, especially condominiums, in Cuyahoga County, there are still many people who prefer carefree condominium lifestyle in Mayfield Heights.

Per MLS, this year 25 condominiums in Mayfield Heights closed on the average price of $134,000. It was a lot of negotiations on price, as sellers received 92 % of asking price in 2008.

Same period of 2007 gave us 19 sales for average price of $135,000 (no changes whatsoever). Sellers were not ready to negotiate: Sold price / List price ratio was 98 % in 2007.

Interesting: despite all the negative news on Real Estate market, sellers of Mayfield Heights condos were more optimistic on pricing this year. Reality check, though made them accept the same price as it was in 2007. Out of my and my colleagues' experience - sellers are better prepared for sale this year than a year before. Condos are in a better shape. More remodeling and staging done. As a result, buyers get the better deals. May be that's the secret of better activity on this market?

Dear buyers! Please pay attention to the wonderful condo in the Golden Gate Villas of Mayfield Heights. That's the perfect sample of the sellers' great job on getting it ready for new owners: newly redone bathrooms, nice updated kitchen, fresh paint, comfort and beauty. Just move in!

Need to sell or buy in Mayfield Heights or in other nice Greater Cleveland neighborhoods? Call Svetlana Stolyarova 216-548-4663. Greater Cleveland MLS search. E-mail us: Realty@Local-n-Global.com.

My wife Pam and I had the pleasure of visiting Maria's (Roman) Room in Lakewood, Ohio on Detroit Ave, just past the intersection of West 117th last weekend. I had last gone to Maria's over ten years ago, and just remembered it as a fancy Pizza shop that also had great clam fetticinne, but our recent visit found a completely remodeled restaurant, with a friendly bar welcoming you as you walk in or waiting for a set in a Roman setting and decor.

Pam ordered the veal parmasean with a side of angel hair spaghetti, while I ordered the Shrimp in a aglia-olio/garlic sauce over fettucine, along with an appetiser of fried calamari. The Shrimp was a nice size and plentiful. The veal portion my wife had was too large for her to finish. Both of us enjoyed our meals, complete with fresh garlic bread, a very nice salad, and a very refreshing Pinot Grigio, which made it a delightful and romantic dinner. Having two young daughters who were with a babysitter also helped with the ambiance, as our waitstaff was very attentive and responsive to all of our requests.

We got out with a bill under $60 dollars, and that included the wine and the tip. I would strongly recommend this family friendly restaurant, or a nice little getaway from parenthood for an evening.The restaurant is located at 11826 Detroit Ave. Reservations were not needed, but were suggested.

Few days ago I received a very nice "Thank you for your nice Market Snapshot" e-mail from one lady who needs to sell her house in Lyndhurst, OH. BTW, Lyndhurst was named as a number one suburb in Greater Cleveland by Cleveland Magazine last year. Lady's comment about the current market condition in Lyndhurst is, It's nice but very sad. She is the Seller, remember?

I work with the other seller who is trying to sell his very nice Lyndhurst house for a while. His opinion is very similar to one mentioned above.

All the sellers are in the same state of constant confusion. The same are the Buyers. And - honestly - it looks like the same are the Real Estate agents, at least many of them.

Do you remember the Seller's market? When it was not so hard for the listing agents to act "in the best interests of the sellers clients" and negotiate the highest price? What is "the best interest of the sellers clients" today? Correct. Get the house sold. For ANY price which buyer is willing to pay and seller is - sad, but - ready to accept. It still sounds weird for many of us agents.

And don't forget the banks' contribution to the total confusion. Banks still sell the very nice $230K houses for $144K. Banks still deny the investors' loans at the very last moment for no apparent reason. Banks still make it hard for honest, hard working people to get their houses financed.

The bright side is that we still have great neighborhoods to live in. We still have a lot of real good buyers and many very reasonable sellers. Even the banks start selling not-so-bad-looking houses. Sometimes.

And if you'd like to move into a very nice Lyndhurst house in a very quiet,beautiful Lyndhurst neighborhood, please do not hesitate Local-n-Global Realty. We have one for you!

Go to http://www.LyndhurstHome.com for more information or call our 24/7 Real Estate information Hotline 877-770-5551 x 125.

If you need to sell, please do the right choice. 44124 listing specialists are here for you. Just call 440-247-5388.

Forget about confusion. Let's sell! Let's enjoy and be proud of our wonderful neighborhoods!

Wonderful news: Six Shaker Heights High School students have been awarded National Merit Scholarships!

Read the article in Monday's Cleveland Plain Dealer:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/05/shaker_students_score_national_1.html

These National Merit Scholars are part of the high-achieving Class of 2008 at Shaker Heights High School. Seated from left: Alyssa Cohen, 17, and Daniel Strassfeld, 17. Standing from left: Alison O'Connor, 18; Abigail Pink, 18; Alex Grossman-McKee, 18; and Julia Wilson, 18.

The Shaker Schools are such a world class resource here in the Cleveland area! Just another reason to make northeast Ohio your home!

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Bradley Woods Reservation