Shaker Heights people...need some feedback.  Im a west sider through and through.  Grew up in Bay, lived in Lakewood and Gordon Square for the last 9 years of my life.  Have a child now, always wanted and assumed Lakewood, but the housing stock has been very disappointing.  Shifted focus to Shaker Heights and have fell in love with multiple homes.  I am very unfamiliar with Shaker.  So far I have spoken to:

 

1. A friend attorney who grew up went K-12 in Shaker schools

2. A friend and his wife currently raising his two young children in Shaker

3. Empty Nest co-worker that works with my wife.  Lived in Shaker but sent her kids to private schools.

 

Havent had an ounce of bad feedback from within.  Seems like much of the scrutiny and skepticism comes from those cheering from the outer ring suburbs.  I pretty much spent the entire weekend researching the city.  I got into Detroit Shoreway at a very raw time and it delivered big time in terms of progress.  I get the sense that Shaker has some type of economic development plan it is executing with the TOD over at Van Aken...trying to attract talent similar to what I am used to on the West Side.  Obviously I love the train and the neighborhoods...I can get most of my west side faves over on the east side now anyway (Rising Star, Happy Dog, Blazing Saddles, etc). 

 

What I am asking from you who live there is can you ADD or Validate anything?  I understand the proximity and relationship with the Western border with Cleveland.  That doesn't really bother me.  I have lived in a mixed area, very close to Cudell which is high in crime...but very rarely did rif raf from Cudell come into Gordon Square.  It seems boundaries are pretty noticeable in the Shaker Heights area much like Cudell/Gordon Square.

 

Unsure if this will be a forever home or not, but I don't want to invest into a city that eventually tanks.  I don't get the sense here at all.  I understand 2008 hit Shaker hard, but from those I have spoken to, its slowly creeping back up.  I guess my main question is....do we expect continued progress and promise to a better Shaker Heights tomorrow than yesterday?

Never owed a house in Shaker (three different apartments before buying a houses in UH and Cleveland Hts) but have many friends who own homes.  The best thing about Shaker is the people.  90% of your future neighbors will be bright, interesting and engaged in a whole host of different professions and endeavors.  Very out going.  The block party capital of Cleveland.  Old houses  so maintenance is constant but how can you ignore the architecture.  Love it but of course I am a Htsguy.

I live in Lakewood but my family grew up in Shaker. What are you looking for in housing stock? Style? Age? Size? In each of those categories, I consider the housing stock from Clifton north, or north of the tracks west of West Clifton to be virtually identical to that of Shaker, from Shaker Boulevard south. BTW, there are no houses in Shaker like Lakewood's former Union Carbide executive homes along Grace Street. Many of the houses on the straight streets south of Fernway in Shaker are similar to if not smaller than those along Manor Park, Thoreau or Lewis Drive in Lakewood.

 

While Shaker doesn't have a lakefront, it has lots of little lakes interspersed throughout the community. Many non-Shaker people know of the Shaker Lakes, formed by the North Union Shakers' 1840-built mill and dam whose foundations still stand just east of Coventry. But a lot of folks don't know there's a couple of lakes between the rail lines (Shaker & Van Aken) on either side of Lee and just south of Woodland. They're a well-kept secret to those who don't look around while driving. Houses in this area and north to South Park Boulevard are more expensive. South of Fernway, they're smaller, more basic and much more affordable.

KJP- agree regarding style...there are many similarities...but the Lakewood market is so slim in terms of availability and also those that do pop up...my gosh the people have not maintained them to the standards that people in shaker have seemed to.  Modernized interiors, etc.  Visited a house in Lakewood the other day that people put a hot tub inside of.  WTF?  Too many koi ponds too.  Would love the ideal house to pop up in Lakewood, we actually saw one we love in January, but there were two offers above asking price before we could even get home.  It seems like there is more supply in Shaker, we are just getting a bit frustrated at this point.  We have temporary housing, so we could wait for the perfect one in Lakewood to open, but we have been losing confidence in the people who have owned the homes.

 

Thanks for the advice in Shaker, we are really attracted to the community.  The lack of Lake is the hardest thing for us to swallow

Would you also be willing to consider Cleveland Heights or University Heights?

 

I understand the dilemma. And you may run into a similar problem in Shaker. Many of the houses that are being sold in Shaker tend to fall into two groups -- "old money" residents who have either retired and seeking to downsize, or they died in their 80s and lived in their houses almost their entire adult lives. In those houses, your best bet is to find a house being sold by a retiree. They're usually in good shape. But if you find one where the old resident died or has gone into assisted living, those houses probably weren't well maintained.

 

The other group is where a home was sold 5-10 years ago under one of the conditions in the prior paragraph, and bought by a well-heeled young professional seeking a starter home and who updated the house. But those updates can be tacky like what you described encountering in Lakewood. Some renovations are almost certainly tasteful, but everyone has their own definition of that. So you may encounter similar difficulties like what you're experiencing in Lakewood. So it was smart of you to expand your horizons to similar-era/style homes in Shaker. And it's why I suggest you also look in Cleveland Heights and University Heights too.

 

BTW, I just thought of something.... If you want similar aged/styled homes and you want to be near the lake, I think you might also find some nice homes near to or north of Lake Shore Boulevard in Euclid, especially from East 190th to 221st.

KJP- agree regarding style...there are many similarities...but the Lakewood market is so slim in terms of availability and also those that do pop up...my gosh the people have not maintained them to the standards that people in shaker have seemed to.  Modernized interiors, etc.  Visited a house in Lakewood the other day that people put a hot tub inside of.  WTF?  Too many koi ponds too.  Would love the ideal house to pop up in Lakewood, we actually saw one we love in January, but there were two offers above asking price before we could even get home.  It seems like there is more supply in Shaker, we are just getting a bit frustrated at this point.  We have temporary housing, so we could wait for the perfect one in Lakewood to open, but we have been losing confidence in the people who have owned the homes.

 

Thanks for the advice in Shaker, we are really attracted to the community.  The lack of Lake is the hardest thing for us to swallow

I looked at multiple homes in Shaker and I think it depends on your budget really. Fernway was a great neighborhood but tiny lots. Good schools, easy access and what seemed to be great neighbors. In my budget, the homes had outdated kitchens but most everything else was good. I have a friend that lives in Onaway and have met many of her neighbors. They are all incredibly involved in their children's education and extra-curicular activities. They also all sent their kids to public schools. I've been watching Shaker real estate and it's moving faster and faster it seems and prices are still on the lower end due to high taxes. I have seen homes selling as quick as they are listed and was outbid by two offers over asking similar to you. Ultimately, I bought in Bratenahl due to a home I could not pass up which is also full of amazing people and homes. 

Is there something dynamic happening in our real estate market, especially in the inner-ring suburbs? We've often talked on this forum about Cleveland's emerging/sound city neighborhoods. But I've noticed Lakewood real estate moving very fast in the past year. And now I'n reading here that Shaker is moving fast too. What's up?

Hey Believeland.  So we moved from DC and bought in Shaker about 3 years ago.  We thought we bought at a great time as the market seemed to be at its bottom, so we got an amazing house on a Lake for a fraction of what the previous owners paid.  This is even considering the many improvements that the previous owner put in, and we have been gradually doing additional renovations.  Coming from DC the houses are a bargain for such amazing houses, but the taxes are about 4-times what they were in DC, so our tax payments are actually more than our mortgage payment. 

Depending on what you are looking for would certainly determine what you can find for what kind of deal. 

 

Shaker is actually pretty transient for Cleveland.  There are a ton of doctors and professors from the Universities and University Circle institutions.  Since we have been here we have had several neighbors put their house on the market due to being lured away by competing institution’s (the neighbors next door have only been here a year, before getting an offer from U of Chicago they couldn’t refuse).  So we have neighbors from all over…..  retired fortune 500 execs, professors, doctors, authors etc… etc….  Many international, (one neighbor from Scotland and another from Sweden).  Many other neighbors moved from neighboring communities such as Cleveland Heights or South Euclid and were looking for better neighborhoods and schools.  But Shaker was built to move from neighborhood to neighborhood with the doubles, smaller housing types, mid-range and larger mansions, which still happens a great deal today as family’s grow and peoples earnings increase.   

     

There are many houses on the market in the mid ranges 450,000/ – 600,000 and up, and they tend to sit on the market for rather long periods as they are often bigger than people today want with many bedrooms.  Also, many are former “fortune 500 executive” homes that Cleveland just doesn’t have as many of these days, so they really rely more on high earning doctors than ever before.  Needless to say these homes tend to sit there for longer periods of time and decrease in price many times before they are finally sold.  I guess the smaller homes in Onaway and Fernway tend to go faster as they are smaller and more affordable (there is a pretty wide range even there (can be 135,000-350,000) depending on how elaborate and updated they are. 

 

Bottom line is we love it here.  I think after living in DC, Shaker was probably the only place we could consider in the Cleveland area.  You just can’t beat the beauty, services, neighborhoods and people.  The residents are very committed and dedicated to the community, schools and neighborhoods they live, which was a very important factor for me as DC totally lacked that. 

 

We do wish there were more quality places in and near Shaker to patronize and wish Cleveland Hts would make more of resurgence like Lakewood has so we can have such a selection of restaurants etc.  It is true about the block parties and neighborhood parties.  When we moved here, 2 separate neighbors had “house party’s’ to welcome us to the neighborhood.   

Shaker is so close to the City, U-Circle and the wonderful Chagrin Valley, and we have the parks system running near most neighborhoods, so people get to experience the natural world a great deal (we have deer, bald eagles, foxes, turkeys and coyotes that we see pretty regularly). 

I think real estate has only very marginally recovered on this side of town (likely we will not recover the money we are putting into our house, but we are ok with that).  The city has been actively pursuing alternative revenue sources so hopefully at some point in the future there would be some small relief to the homeowners/residents. 

 

Feel free to PM me with additional questions or for additional info.   

 

My wife and I just bought a home in Shaker last week so I can add my thoughts as a very new resident. We both grew up on the west side but I went to John Carroll so I have some familiarity with the area.

 

- We landed in the Fernway neighborhood

- The housing market in Fernway seems pretty strong especially for homes with some modern upgrades such as AC. Several homes in the 250-300k range sold quickly

- There are lots of young families, we have 2 kids

- The residents for the most part seem highly educated and pretty devoted to the community

- Personally we limited our search to north of Van Aken and mostly east of Lee. We have a friend who lives south of Van Aken not far from Avalon and they've had some property crime issues during their 5 years in the area. That being said our friend feels the police do a great job and are quite responsive.

- The city has a very good economic development director who has been proactive in attracting/retaining key businesses. Not just retail but professional firms too. I personally worked with the city on an economic development issue and was impressed with their efforts. The city has put a lot of investment into the Tower East office complex to retain professional firms.

- We plan on sending our kids to private schools but the neighbors we've spoken with seem very happy with Fernway elementary.

 

Feel free to PM me...good luck with your house hunting

Is there something dynamic happening in our real estate market, especially in the inner-ring suburbs? We've often talked on this forum about Cleveland's emerging/sound city neighborhoods. But I've noticed Lakewood real estate moving very fast in the past year. And now I'n reading here that Shaker is moving fast too. What's up?

 

I was just having a similar conversation with a real estate agent/friend.  He thinks Lakewood is blowing up due to the density, transit, restaurants and bars that 20 and 30 something singles are after, without some of the crime issues across the border in Cleveland.  Not sure if Shaker is experiencing the same--my friend specializes in West Side properties.

I think the community aspect of shaker (or other inner ring suburbs) is very appealing. If it wasn't for the taxes (an affordability issue, not a political one for me), and the cost of maintenance, I'd have taken over my MIL's house when she downsized and would have loved it. You can't beat a Shaker house for aesthetics.

 

My son's school hired a new headmaster this year. As part of the package, the school offers up a house they own in Hunting Valley. He instead elected to buy a Shaker house with his own money so he could live in a neighborhood.

 

Just like you're seeing a lot of Millenials / empty nesters moving into downtown apartments, I think you're seeing a lot of families moving into inner ring burbs to get the best of both worlds.

Funny, I've had the exact situation (add in being priced out of Tremont); preferred Lakewood at first but there is literally no housing for sale in the entire city. Expanded our search to Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights and are currently in processing for a house in the Fernway neighborhood. I think a lot of potential buyers have this same scenario. Fernway is great little neighborhood, reminds me of the north of Lakeshore Boulevard section of Euclid along the lake a bit (smaller, well maintained houses from the 20's). Excited about the rapid connections to downtown and west side and proximity to the Shaker Lakes. Good luck.

^ Agree.  Thanks for all the input, everyone.  Endless research and talking with people the last couple days, I like the future of the city...a lot to look forward to and got my vote of confidence.  We put an offer forward.  Pretty incredible considering East side would never be an option a week ago.

Just in case you have money to burn...

PHOTOS: Homes in Shaker Heights That Would Make Your Wallet Explode

https://t.co/stRZ5rSKxW

Good luck in Shaker.

 

I am in Lakewood and I feel for you guys trying to find a house now. I ended up buying on a great street in Lakewood by dumb luck in 2005. Right now, Any house in Lakewood that is worth buying, either by location, updates or both is either sold by word of mouth before it hits the market or the price gets driven up ridiculously high.

 

 

 

^ Agree.  Thanks for all the input, everyone.  Endless research and talking with people the last couple days, I like the future of the city...a lot to look forward to and got my vote of confidence.  We put an offer forward.  Pretty incredible considering East side would never be an option a week ago.

 

We just moved in a year ago, and I can second the concern regarding maintenance issues.  They will always be there, but you should expect it with 75+ year old homes.  We are in the Onaway area, but were heavily looking in the Fernway district.  These are really the areas where newer families seem to be landing in as we have two couples that just bought as well that have 2 kids each under 5 (both with a third on the way too). 

 

Good luck and (hopefully) welcome to Shaker.

Thanks Ted.  We are looking forward to it very much