The Silver Lining in the Local Real Estate Market
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007Yesterday I went on at length about how real estate in Ohio could be adversely affected by a rise in foreclosures. While yesterday’s comments are certainly true, I think it’s best to present a balanced picture. I can’t preach gloom and doom when the climate in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio is far better than other parts of the country where real estate was once hot as little as a year or two ago.
In fact, the local market is even doing better than northeast Ohio (namely Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio areas), where it was noted yesterday that Cleveland leads the nations in the foreclosure rate based on zip code.
Just as CNNMoney.com has ranked the highest 500 zip codes for foreclosure activity, Money Magazine has published its annual report of top 100 cities to live in. Two greater Cincinnati and Dayton towns made the list: Mason, Ohio and Beavercreek, Ohio. Mason is a northeast suburb of Cincinnati while Beavercreak is a southeast suburb of Dayton. Mason came in ranking 81 out of 100 while Beavercreek was close behind at # 84.
Certainly these two areas are deserving of their inclusion in the list. So while Ohio may be one of the worst states for foreclosure activity, there remains a relatively stable economy with modest job growth and a decent real estate market given the overall trend nationwide. Much of Ohio has seen less decrease in price than other major markets, especially those hit hardest such as California and Florida.
In Ohio I expect to see a soft landing rather than a complete crash.
As always, I welcome your comments and feedback…
