columbusbestblog.com

I just heard it on the news.  The Macy’s at City Center is closing.  Big sale mid October. 

I loved shopping at Lazarus downtown and City Center when I first moved to Columbus. 

“IT” is this blog.

“IT” is my concept of local blogging.  

I have to admit.  I am obsessed.  I can’t stop blogging about real estate.  It’s happening on my old blog, Discover Columbus and here. 

Both sites were designed to be place blogs.  I am not sure the concept of a place blog was known in 2005, certainly I was not aware of what a place blog was.  I started Columbus Best Blog (now known as Discover Columbus) as a blog about Columbus and Central Ohio but not just about real estate… I wanted to write about food, restaurants, neighborhoods, schools, events, news and cows… it is Columbus after all… NOT just real estate. 

The first entry on Columbus Best Blog said in part:

 Aug. 27, 2005 - Columbus Best Blog

Of course this isn’t the best blog in Columbus.  This humble, little new blog is about what is best in Columbus and what Columbus is best at. 

 

What’s the best Mexican restaurant in Columbus? What’s the best Chinese restaurant in Central Ohio?  Who has the best ice cream in Columbus? Who has the best pizza in Columbus? 

 

The blog is not all going to be food either.  What’s the best real estate website (I am a REALTOR with HER Real Living, guess who has the best Columbus real estate website?) What’s the best Sunday open house list (guess HER Real Living again)? What’s the best shoe store in town? What is the best blog in Columbus?  Which TV station is the best in town?   The possibilities are endless.

 

Do you have the best lemonade stand in Columbus or serve the best gyros or BBQ in town?  Or do you own the best dog walking service, write the best blog or the offer the best maid service in Columbus?    Let me know.    

 

I did not want to have a site about boring real estate stuff. 

“How to buy a house.” 

“How to sell a house. ”

“Blah, blah, blah”  

I did say ”IT” (the original Columbus Best Blog) was not going to be all about food though too.  I never thought it looked like all food but I had to put Discover Columbus on a diet in May because all the internet searches that were pulling it up were for food.  The biggest category of what was being read on Discover Columbus was real estate but the searches that ended up there were all for restaurants.

If I am not mistaken I have not blogged about food on Discover Columbus since May or June.  Oh I’ve mentioned events where there is food since putting Discover Columbus on a diet but I did not blog about the food at the events.  Months later there are still a lot of searches about restaurants and food that end up on Discover Columbus….  Maybe Discover Columbus will start gorging on food again to get out of the real estate rut…  but what to do with ColumbusBestBlog.com?

You can help. 

If I had more real estate to do I would blog less about real estate and blog more about fun stuff.  Know anyone who needs to buy or sell?  Refer them to me.  Then when I am busy again I can write about stuff other than real estate.  I want to blog about ice cream, cows, TBDBITL, festivals, fairs, funky things, interesting places, fun stuff….

Rates are great, (you may have heard the federal reserve board slashed the federal funds rate yesterday… the federal funds rate is now 4.75 percent… what does that mean for mortgage rates in Central Ohio? )  it’s a buyers market in most Central Ohio neighborhoods.  It’s a great time to be a first time buyer.  It’s a great time to trade up.  It’s a great time to take a transfer to Columbus….

Who is Central Ohio’s best builder?  Or was..  according to Business First Columbus “Centex tops M/I, Dominion in satisfaction study”    in  the J.D. Power and Associates’ annual ranking of “homebuilder customer satisfaction.”

…homebuilder customer satisfaction.   

“Centex ranked a 128 out of 160 on J.D. Power’s scale, which gauges scores based on consumers’ responses to nine factors including warranties, sales staff, prices and location.”

2. MI
3. Dominion

The results on the “New-Home Quality Study” makes no sense to me…Business First Columbus said

“For J.D. Power’s first-ever New-Home Quality Study, a gauge of customers’ experience with construction, Centex scored an 866 out of 900 with Central Ohio customers, followed by Dominion with an 839 and Maronda with an 816. M/I Homes placed third to last in the quality study with a 784.”

The third rating “New-Home Design Study”  I understand better…

1. Centex
2. MI
3. Beazer
4. Dominion

MI and Dominion are locally owned.

Centex is wrapping up business and leaving Central Ohio. 
Real Living HER’s New Construction Portal
Featured Central Ohio Builders
Inman News about Real Living’s New Homes Portal

An email I got from “investment specialists” said:  

” Unprecedented market conditions in the Central Ohio real estate market have created unbelievable opportunities for street smart real estate investors.  Several prominent investors are already calling it the ‘Perfect Storm’.  Here’s why:
*  Housing inventories have doubled over the last 12 months
*  Central Ohio house prices are dropping like flies
*  Stocks are getting too risky

Housing inventories have doubled? Housing inventories have doubled in 12 months?  Really?

20,354 August 2006
21,150 August 2007

Click on the green bar graph and it will enlarge.  This is all counties in the Central Ohio MLS.  All single family and condominiums.

Not quite 4% more inventory in August 2007 over a year earlier… Well maybe if I go back a couple of months I can see the “double inventory”

20,219 July 2006
21,287  July 2007

19,675 June 2006
21,034 June 2007
 
Inventory is down from the end of July 2007…

Home prices are dropping like flies?

$180,000 was the average sales price of a Central Ohio home in August 2007  vs. $183,00  a year ago… Down but I would hardly call that plummeting… Central Ohio homes sold within 96% of list price in August 2007 vs. 97% of list price.  Average list price of Central Ohio homes was down $1,000 from a year ago.

Remember the graph shows homes ALL over Central Ohio… out in the boonies as well as in Franklin and Delaware Counties.

I have to go back to March 2004 to find inventory at half what it is today… yes inventory doubled in … 42 months?  Imagine that. 

Average sale price $170,000 (vs. $180,000 today)

Average price per square foot $95.00 (vs. 103 today)

Median price $135,00 (vs. $151,000 today)

These stats are from the Columbus Board of Realtors MLS and represent single family and condominium properties. The graphs are from TrendGraphix.

The email was selling a class with a real estate investment guru. 

This is a test.  This is only a test.

It’s a test about Title Insurance from ALTA. 

I hate to brag but I got 100% on the ALTA Title Insurance Test.    Thanks to Mark Pilatowski in NJ for bringing the test to my attention.  Mark’s Blog is called ‘My Closing Space Title Insurance Blog’

The ALTA test has a question which seemed like a trick question to me… because real estate is local.  I made a reference to ”escrow” in a post about “jargon” relatively recently… 

Spoiler Alert 

If you are a test taker or have any interest in testing your knowledge about title insurance take the test now.  Take the test before it is too late.  Take the test before reading this next paragraph…   The jargon is “escrow”  I wrote about how Central Ohio consumers (sellers) are less than thrilled when they hear “we’re closing in escrow on your property today.  Especially if there is another closing scheduled, just after on the home the seller is purchasing.      

“Question:
8. Is there a difference between closing, settlement, and closing escrow?

A. Yes
B. No
Answer: The answer is B. Closing, settlement, and closing escrow can be used interchangeably and all mean finalizing all legal matters associated with buying your house and making your home officially yours. “

Although Central Ohio sellers have been known to say things like  #&%* !^%$  when the word comes up the day of closing… as far as ALTA is concerned it is all the same.   I got it correct… it was tough to do but I chose the right answer.

Real Estate JargonCentral Ohioese  

What is ALTA? American Land Title Association.  A trade association for title insurers?

Their site says:

The American Land Title Association (ALTA), founded in 1907, is the national trade association and voice of the abstract* and title insurance industry. ALTA members search, review and insure land titles to protect home buyers and mortgage lenders who invest in real estate. ALTA is headquartered in Washington, DC.

The ALTA site has a glossary!  Look up what an abstract (starred above) is.  Or don’t. 

The ALTA site aimed at consumers is officially:  Home Closing 101: An Educational Initiative of the American Land Title Association

More about title insurance later… especially if I could find a title insurance guest blogger for ColumbusBestBlog.com  in Central Ohio… wouldn’t that be great?

Buyers:   

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MyRealLiving.com -  set up your own page  Choose me as your agent if you would like to work together to find a property! 

Find a Central Ohio Home  - Let me help you find your “Dream Home”

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