AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The Cincinnati real estate market is one of the areas of the country that does not seem to be rallying from the economic recession that has until recently dominated the national spotlight. While there have been some bright spots in terms of housing prices and home sales, the rate of foreclosures for Cincinnati and the Tri-State area have been quite high. According to an October 14, 2009 article on the WLWT News 5 website, “Many economists have proclaimed that the recession is over, but many homeowners have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel. News 5 obtained figures on the number of foreclosures across the Tri-State and the numbers are staggering. In Hamilton County there were 6,500 foreclosures in 2008. Butler County had 2,200 foreclosures and Warren County had 1,300. South of the Ohio River, Kenton County had 1,400 foreclosures. Those numbers don’t count the people who have lost their homes in 2009 and who are still at risk.”

Some marginal good news for Cincinnati homes for sale was reported by the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, as published in a Business Courier of Cincinnati article on September 24, 2009. The piece noted that “The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors has reported home sales of 1,812 in August compared with 1,776 in August 2008. It’s the third month in a row that local home buyers have bought more homes than a year ago. The board said the $8,000 federal home tax credit program, which expires Nov. 30, is driving home sales. Housing inventory is at 7.5 compared with 9.2 a year ago. The measure indicates how long it would take to sell homes on the market based on August selling activity.”

Another, possibly brighter spot of good news for real estate in Cincinnati was reported in another Business Courier of Cincinnati article, this one published on October 7, 2009. This article found that “Greater Cincinnati has seen some of the biggest home price gains among major metro areas, although that slipped a little in September, according to the Clear Capital Home Data Index. The Cincinnati – Middletown area ranked 13th out of 50 metros for quarter-over-quarter gains in home prices, up 11.5 percent.”