On 2/17/2021 at 8:30 AM, Clefan98 said:

I really hope this hot market continues, my house in Gordon Sq is hitting the market tomorrow! 

Did you think this hot market would end in 1 day?

@jmicha

37 minutes ago, jmicha said:

It's pretty par for the course for condo associations to wind up suing the developer, architect, engineer, etc. for SOMETHING down the line. As such, most developers, architects, engineers, and even lenders, are extremely hesitant to even be involved in condo developments. As a result, even if there's a market for it, it's often not worth the added risk, and therefore no new inventory comes online. It's even a problem in hot markets.

The only markets that seem to have figured it out are in the south. Atlanta is a heavy "new condo mid and highrise" market.

 

 

(The above quote was taken from a different thread--but we were booted off as it was off-topic!)

 

There is substantial demand for condo development in the city, but the above quote provides some insight into why they are not being built.  I know quite a few people who would buy a condo for a high rise/maintenance free/urban living, but refuse to pay $36k-$48k/year down the toilet in rent. (They live here and are not only here for a few years, where renting makes sense.) The ownership model of condos (and houses) are also good as they provide stability to a neighborhood when the economy struggles and renters are the first to leave an area. So how do we get/enable more condo buildings built despite the quote above?  Did Quattro in Little Italy (almost completely sold out) just bite the bullet and be brave, given the strong market for condos? Or did they make all buyers sign an "as is" document that absolves them from future liability?  Is that even possible? It seems to work in house sales. What is different in Atlanta that its building so many condos?

We (the South Euclid Housing Department) hosted a very informative Zoom round table this morning. The topic was pretty open but in general was about "why is this housing market so crazy?!". We had a number of realtors, brokers, developers, title agents, bankers, policy makers, etc present and all giving great information and points of view on what is currently going on. Some of the points made:

 

• This is not a bubble, but a return to normal. Most everyone was in agreement on this (surprising to me) but good points were made to this, for example - Cleveland being undervalued compared to other metros; the lack of the sort of predatory lending previously seen where buyers lacked the ability to pay; a catch up on inflation over the past 10-15 years; sales prices are still below "replacement value", or the price it would cost to build a similar house new.
• Cash is King. Traditional FHA and VA buyers are severely disadvantaged and there is increasing frustration among buyers. Realtors are seeing alot of interesting things from buyers with mortgages trying to become more competitive, for example, borrowing from 401(k)s and putting thousands of dollars down in earnest money just to get their offers seen. 
• A severe lack of new construction. A trickle of new construction coming online is pushing everyone into existing homes. Record numbers of existing houses are going on the market and there is actually no supply shortage. Houses are just selling in record time so it makes it appear that there is no supply.  Infill housing is in high demand but current antiquated zoning codes, particularly in the suburbs, makes it nearly impossible to build on vacant lots. Vacant lots were described as the new "blight" in that they are holding neighborhoods back from the potential value of having occupied homes.
• We need more condos! There is demand for condos, but the banks unwillingness to finance new construction, and unwillingness to approve mortgages for existing condos, is handicapping the region by removing a sought after and relatively affordable housing type from the market.
• Demographics. Millenials are finally buying houses after years of sitting out of the market. While Cleveland is still not growing in population, large numbers of younger people are now making (or at least trying to make) the move from renting to owning. Owning a home is still much cheaper in Cleveland than renting. 
• Spillover. Weaker areas/neighborhoods are beginning to see spillover as buyers who are priced out of the hottest markets are taking on "less desirable" houses and making them their own. 

 

 

5 minutes ago, PoshSteve said:

We (the South Euclid Housing Department) hosted a very informative Zoom round table this morning. The topic was pretty open but in general was about "why is this housing market so crazy?!". We had a number of realtors, brokers, developers, title agents, bankers, policy makers, etc present and all giving great information and points of view on what is currently going on. Some of the points made:

 

• This is not a bubble, but a return to normal. Most everyone was in agreement on this (surprising to me) but good points were made to this, for example - Cleveland being undervalued compared to other metros; the lack of the sort of predatory lending previously seen where buyers lacked the ability to pay; a catch up on inflation over the past 10-15 years; sales prices are still below "replacement value", or the price it would cost to build a similar house new.
• Cash is King. Traditional FHA and VA buyers are severely disadvantaged and there is increasing frustration among buyers. Realtors are seeing alot of interesting things from buyers with mortgages trying to become more competitive, for example, borrowing from 401(k)s and putting thousands of dollars down in earnest money just to get their offers seen. 
• A severe lack of new construction. A trickle of new construction coming online is pushing everyone into existing homes. Record numbers of existing houses are going on the market and there is actually no supply shortage. Houses are just selling in record time so it makes it appear that there is no supply.  Infill housing is in high demand but current antiquated zoning codes, particularly in the suburbs, makes it nearly impossible to build on vacant lots. Vacant lots were described as the new "blight" in that they are holding neighborhoods back from the potential value of having occupied homes.
• We need more condos! There is demand for condos, but the banks unwillingness to finance new construction, and unwillingness to approve mortgages for existing condos, is handicapping the region by removing a sought after and relatively affordable housing type from the market.
• Demographics. Millenials are finally buying houses after years of sitting out of the market. While Cleveland is still not growing in population, large numbers of younger people are now making (or at least trying to make) the move from renting to owning. Owning a home is still much cheaper in Cleveland than renting. 
• Spillover. Weaker areas/neighborhoods are beginning to see spillover as buyers who are priced out of the hottest markets are taking on "less desirable" houses and making them their own. 

 

 

Currently looking for a home in the Cleveland area and it is a pain. I have made several strong offers, but get beat by over the top either majority cash offers or significantly over asking where it doesn't even make sense.

Edited April 22, 20214 yr by WindyBuckeye

1 hour ago, WindyBuckeye said:

Currently looking for a home in the Cleveland area and it is a pain. I have made several strong offers, but get beat by over the top either majority cash offers or significantly over asking where it doesn't even make sense.

I know a good off market house getting ready to hit the market in Avon Lake if anyone is interested.

3 hours ago, PoshSteve said:

We need more condos! There is demand for condos, but the banks unwillingness to finance new construction, and unwillingness to approve mortgages for existing condos, is handicapping the region by removing a sought after and relatively affordable housing type from the market

 

 

 

Perhaps off topic, but why is this?   

The finances of the condo association can be a drag on home values which makes loans riskier. If a handful of owners stop paying their dues the association can get in trouble quickly. I was an owner in an association which deferred a ton of maintenance  when a few owners could not pay their fees. Several owners couldn't refinance at one point due to the association finances. 

15 hours ago, PoshSteve said:

• Spillover. Weaker areas/neighborhoods are beginning to see spillover as buyers who are priced out of the hottest markets are taking on "less desirable" houses and making them their own. 

 

^THIS point stands out to me above and beyond all the others. This is HUGE if it's happening in any volume. Not just converting empty factories into breweries, not just filling empty lots with new developments, but individual, middle-class, homeowners buying individual homes in "bad areas." If that is really happening, it could mark the beginning of one of the most important demographic shifts of the last seventy years, undermining the concentration of poverty that has occurred over that time period.

Does anyone have any insight as to who the cash buyers are? Are people borrowing money from parents to pay them back later with a refi? Is this people who have worked on the coasts and saved some cash?  I see this happening in Lakewood. A few young families from my kid's day care are trying to move from renting to owning and they are getting beat by cash buyers.  

2 minutes ago, freefourur said:

Does anyone have any insight as to who the cash buyers are? Are people borrowing money from parents to pay them back later with a refi? Is this people who have worked on the coasts and saved some cash?  I see this happening in Lakewood. A few young families from my kid's day care are trying to move from renting to owning and they are getting beat by cash buyers.  

No idea, but similar situation for me and my girlfriend. A house we just put a strong offer on in Lakewood went for 50k above ask and 50% down.

6 minutes ago, WindyBuckeye said:

No idea, but similar situation for me and my girlfriend. A house we just put a strong offer on in Lakewood went for 50k above ask and 50% down.

I could see a variety of people

 

1) Younger people from NYC and other areas where they could have accumulated good money and the cleveland area would be relatively cheap to them.

2) Older people who would have accumulated money of their lifetime

3) People taking loans against their 401k and other assets (I hope this is not the case). 

4. People borrowing from their parents 

Edited April 23, 20214 yr by cle_guy90

5 minutes ago, WindyBuckeye said:

No idea, but similar situation for me and my girlfriend. A house we just put a strong offer on in Lakewood went for 50k above ask and 50% down.

WOW!

 

There is very little inventory in Lakewood if you are looking for a single family home. Even doubles are very scarce.

2 minutes ago, freefourur said:

WOW!

 

There is very little inventory in Lakewood if you are looking for a single family home. Even doubles are very scarce.

Yeah and the bummer is with place like Lakewood and especially UH/CH one might get priced out not because they can’t afford the down payment or even the actual mortgage payment (interest/principle), but if the house gets reassessed by the city the property tax might become one that they can’t afford. For instance, a house that was $175k in UH four years ago now often is going for $250k. We are talking about an additional 3k a year in property taxes alone.

7 minutes ago, freefourur said:

WOW!

 

There is very little inventory in Lakewood if you are looking for a single family home. Even doubles are very scarce.

Yes we went 25k over and thought we made a strong offer and had a good chance, but I have limits to buying a home dealing with an appraisal screwing you down the road.

1 minute ago, WindyBuckeye said:

Yes we went 25k over and thought we made a strong offer and had a good chance, but I have limits to buying a home dealing with an appraisal screwing you down the road.

The weird thing is that values in lakewood had been relatively flat for about 15 years. So this is likely the new market values but I feel for people trying to buy in this market.

9 minutes ago, freefourur said:

The weird thing is that values in lakewood had been relatively flat for about 15 years. So this is likely the new market values but I feel for people trying to buy in this market.

Disagree here.  Even though it is rapidly increasing now the Lakewood Market has been increasing for years now (https://www.zillow.com/lakewood-oh/home-values/)

Edited April 23, 20214 yr by cle_guy90

Putting the down a huge deposit is one thing, but aside from that, "cash buyer" could just mean a bidder is waiving the mortgage contingency, no?  I know in some coastal markets it's pretty routine to waive all contingencies now, even if the buyer plans to get a mortgage. Waiving the inspection contingency for an old house is insane, but here we are with this market.

54 minutes ago, cle_guy90 said:

Disagree here.  Even though it is rapidly increasing now the Lakewood Market has been increasing for years now (https://www.zillow.com/lakewood-oh/home-values/)

I should've been more clear. Prior to the last 5 years, values had stagnated for about 15 years.  I bought in 06 and my value dropped in 08 and didn't recover until about 2015

14 minutes ago, freefourur said:

I should've been more clear. Prior to the last 5 years, values had stagnated for about 15 years.  I bought in 06 and my value dropped in 08 and didn't recover until about 2015

Same here. Now I'm getting several texts and calls every week from realtors and realty investor groups. 

1 hour ago, freefourur said:

Does anyone have any insight as to who the cash buyers are? Are people borrowing money from parents to pay them back later with a refi? Is this people who have worked on the coasts and saved some cash?  I see this happening in Lakewood. A few young families from my kid's day care are trying to move from renting to owning and they are getting beat by cash buyers.  

I also have a question regarding who is considered a "cash buyer".  Is a "cash buyer" somebody who has the full amount in banking and investment accounts or is it somebody who has gone out and received a pre-approved mortgage for a certain amount?  I can see people being beaten out in the purchase process as their offer is contingent in selling their existing home.  I can also see people losing out when they haven't been pre-approved and not having any certainty in getting easily approved for a mortgage.

1 minute ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

I also have a question regarding who is considered a "cash buyer".  Is a "cash buyer" somebody who has the full amount in banking and investment accounts or is it somebody who has gone out and received a pre-approved mortgage for a certain amount?  I can see people being beaten out in the purchase process as their offer is contingent in selling their existing home.  I can also see people losing out when they haven't been pre-approved and not having any certainty in getting easily approved for a mortgage.

Cash buyer has full amount in banking/investment in my experience thus far.

2 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

I also have a question regarding who is considered a "cash buyer".  Is a "cash buyer" somebody who has the full amount in banking and investment accounts or is it somebody who has gone out and received a pre-approved mortgage for a certain amount?  I can see people being beaten out in the purchase process as their offer is contingent in selling their existing home.  I can also see people losing out when they haven't been pre-approved and not having any certainty in getting easily approved for a mortgage.

It's typically referring to someone who doesn't have to borrow money from an institution to purchase the property. They can write a check for it and be done.

31 minutes ago, freefourur said:

I should've been more clear. Prior to the last 5 years, values had stagnated for about 15 years.  I bought in 06 and my value dropped in 08 and didn't recover until about 2015

Gotcha!  My brother bought his house in 09 with Obama's first time home buyers program so my reference point is different.

10 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

I also have a question regarding who is considered a "cash buyer".  Is a "cash buyer" somebody who has the full amount in banking and investment accounts or is it somebody who has gone out and received a pre-approved mortgage for a certain amount?  I can see people being beaten out in the purchase process as their offer is contingent in selling their existing home.  I can also see people losing out when they haven't been pre-approved and not having any certainty in getting easily approved for a mortgage.

Can also be someone who has taken out a hard money loan with the intent to get a mortgage after closing. It's a lot of extra risk but is a legitimate strategy in very hot markets.

 

Essentially, borrow the full cost of the house at 6-10% interest, make your all cash purchase, then get a mortgage after the deal has closed and use the mortgage funds to pay off the hard money loan. You end up paying a large amount of interest in the short time period while the hard money loan is outstanding, but it makes you a much more attractive buyer. If you don't get into a house quickly the interest payments can eat you alive which is the downside. Also can run into issues if your mortgage appraisal comes in lower than expected.

24 minutes ago, WindyBuckeye said:

Cash buyer has full amount in banking/investment in my experience thus far.

 

23 minutes ago, jmicha said:

It's typically referring to someone who doesn't have to borrow money from an institution to purchase the property. They can write a check for it and be done.

 

12 minutes ago, dastler said:

Can also be someone who has taken out a hard money loan with the intent to get a mortgage after closing. It's a lot of extra risk but is a legitimate strategy in very hot markets.

 

Essentially, borrow the full cost of the house at 6-10% interest, make your all cash purchase, then get a mortgage after the deal has closed and use the mortgage funds to pay off the hard money loan. You end up paying a large amount of interest in the short time period while the hard money loan is outstanding, but it makes you a much more attractive buyer. If you don't get into a house quickly the interest payments can eat you alive which is the downside. Also can run into issues if your mortgage appraisal comes in lower than expected.

Appreciate the insight and feedback.  A mortgage pre-approval is great, but if the the appraisal of the house comes in low, it can kill the deal.  In the case of the hard money loan, personally the expense of interest is undesirable to me, but to others the risk potentially doesn't bother them.  

20 minutes ago, dastler said:

Can also be someone who has taken out a hard money loan with the intent to get a mortgage after closing. It's a lot of extra risk but is a legitimate strategy in very hot markets.

 

Essentially, borrow the full cost of the house at 6-10% interest, make your all cash purchase, then get a mortgage after the deal has closed and use the mortgage funds to pay off the hard money loan. You end up paying a large amount of interest in the short time period while the hard money loan is outstanding, but it makes you a much more attractive buyer. If you don't get into a house quickly the interest payments can eat you alive which is the downside. Also can run into issues if your mortgage appraisal comes in lower than expected.

 

While what you're describing could be risky, I think the distinction between this strategy and a conventional cash buyer is sort of moot for the purpose of this discussion. One way or another, the cash buyer has to have a net worth of at least the home value prior to purchase. Banks don't just hand out $300,000 unsecured loans like candy, so anyone who is getting financing like that either has a $300,000+ asset (maybe a 401k) that they're leveraging or has a high enough net worth that they can get a $300,000 line of credit from some bank. So even if the strategy is personally risky to the buyer, it's not like you are all that likely to end up with a cash buyer that will have trouble with making mortgage payments. Someone who is leveraging half of their million dollar 401k may be making a stupid personal financial decision, but I doubt they will have trouble paying the mortgage.

3 hours ago, freefourur said:

Does anyone have any insight as to who the cash buyers are? Are people borrowing money from parents to pay them back later with a refi? Is this people who have worked on the coasts and saved some cash?  I see this happening in Lakewood. A few young families from my kid's day care are trying to move from renting to owning and they are getting beat by cash buyers.  

 

Not in Cleveland, but in Cincinnati I have a family friend who sold 7 figures work of stock in 2020 and has since purchased four properties with cash. Two were homes for their adult children, the other two are for rental income (also going to their kids). They are a wealthy older couple (well past retirement age) and were worried about possible changes to capital gains taxes, estate taxes, etc.

18 hours ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

I know a good off market house getting ready to hit the market in Avon Lake if anyone is interested.

 

Right now I'm trying to figure out which pro athlete this is lol. 

1 minute ago, surfohio said:

 

Right now I'm trying to figure out which pro athlete this is lol. 

Ha, not quite that nice. It is in the Westwinds neighborhood. about 35 years old, mid 80s build.

It has been remodeled in the last 2 years and looks very nice. 

 

7 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

Ha, not quite that nice. It is in the Westwinds neighborhood. about 35 years old, mid 80s build.

It has been remodeled in the last 2 years and looks very nice. 

 

I grew up in the Westwinds. Those homes are definitely mid 90s as ours was one of the first built and I was born in '91. Unless you're talking about that neighborhood North that is connected?

45 minutes ago, KFM44107 said:

I grew up in the Westwinds. Those homes are definitely mid 90s as ours was one of the first built and I was born in '91. Unless you're talking about that neighborhood North that is connected?

All I know is the neighborhood is called Westwinds and it appears that the house was built around 85-87 from what I recall. I am not 100% sure on those details yet. It could have been built in 90 time frame. It is in the North part of the subdivision off of Lake road.

10 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

All I know is the neighborhood is called Westwinds and it appears that the house was built around 85-87 from what I recall. I am not 100% sure on those details yet. It could have been built in 90 time frame. It is in the North part of the subdivision off of Lake road.

Okay ya. That neighborhood was built prior to the Westwinds housing development but is pretty much surrounded by it. I'm sure they just include it in the development on listings. Unless there's a part of the Westwinds that was built super early on that I don't know about. Do you have a link?

Here is the link to the recording for anyone interested. I would have posted it yesterday, but we were having issues getting the password access removed. The first couple minutes is missing as we were a little late in hitting record (sorry!) The "cash buyer" question was a main point of discussion.

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/jHfaB4X5H7wdOC4bKW8GSVKi28yVH3XbWduM1ND_RfeBLtWMFzl5iWepjQB0CPRr.I0AGkDgjKtu4adGT?startTime=1619101750000

To carry over a discussion happening in the Columbus housing thread, 59% of Cleveland homes currently sell in one week. Columbus and Denver are tied for first, with 74% selling in a week.

 

https://www.zillow.com/research/days-to-pending-april-2021-29511/

 

Given the dilapidated state of much of Cleveland's housing stock (obviously nowhere near the same problem exists in Columbus), I'm pleasantly surprised homes are selling as fast as they are in Cleveland. Even in the lowest tier of housing prices, more than half of Cleveland homes sell in a week.

Wow, that's even better overall than I though, but not much of a surprise. I'm pretty sure they are using metro numbers ("major markets"), so the dilapidated housing stock only makes up a small share, though still larger than other metros. They're surely still present in the city proper and EC, but vacant/abandoned houses are almost non-existent in the suburbs now. 

So this is a weird metric, but according to Zillow, Cleveland leads the nation in how much more expensive the inbound mover's previous home is than the Cleveland home they are moving to. That's...good...right?

 

https://www.zillow.com/research/interstate-movers-reshuffling-2020-29577/

1 hour ago, LlamaLawyer said:

So this is a weird metric, but according to Zillow, Cleveland leads the nation in how much more expensive the inbound mover's previous home is than the Cleveland home they are moving to. That's...good...right?

I'd say it's good.  Even after the tax on sale gain, the new Cleveland buyers will probably have ample cash for fixing up and redecorating, good for the local economy.  (Actually my wife and I are doing the same thing: buying our new place for 2/3 the selling price of our old house.)

8 hours ago, Dougal said:

Even after the tax on sale gain…

What tax on sale gain? There’s no tax on capital gains of your primary home. Or did those rules change again?

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021

Cleveland tops in U.S. for best home-buying power

 

Once again, Greater Cleveland is No. 1 -- and this time it's a good No. 1 ranking, one that shows home buyers from other metro areas have more buying power here than in any other metro. The ranking also is a metric used to measure which metro areas may have benefitted most from the "Great Reshuffling."

 

The Great Reshuffling is a confluence of social, demographic and economic factors causing high demand for housing as Americans rethink where they live. A big driver of that change is Americans seeking to decouple their home location from their office location as telework opportunities grow.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/06/cleveland-tops-us-for-best-home-buying.html

 

 

5 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

What tax on sale gain? There’s no tax on capital gains of your primary home. Or did those rules change again?

No tax if you invest the entire proceeds in your next house. Otherwise, there is a tax on profits over $500K (married couple) or $250K for singles. Profits at this level are usual in most big metros if you've owned the house >4 years.

17 hours ago, KJP said:

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021

Cleveland tops in U.S. for best home-buying power

 

Once again, Greater Cleveland is No. 1 -- and this time it's a good No. 1 ranking, one that shows home buyers from other metro areas have more buying power here than in any other metro. The ranking also is a metric used to measure which metro areas may have benefitted most from the "Great Reshuffling."

 

The Great Reshuffling is a confluence of social, demographic and economic factors causing high demand for housing as Americans rethink where they live. A big driver of that change is Americans seeking to decouple their home location from their office location as telework opportunities grow.

 

MORE:

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/06/cleveland-tops-us-for-best-home-buying.html

 

 

 

 

Sent this to my friend and his brother. They're back in Ohio after spending the last ten years in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Chinatown. They had no intentions of ever moving from NY, until covid happened. 

 

They're originally from Columbus but both now considering Columbus, Cleveland, Lakewood & Cleveland Heights too. They work in film and advertising, work from home and said they personally know several more ex-pat Ohioans just like them who are coming back from NYC. 

My experience from looking for a house over the last month or so, there are some insane offers being made edging myself out. All cash close to 400k being made which is wild.

2 hours ago, surfohio said:

 

 

Sent this to my friend and his brother. They're back in Ohio after spending the last ten years in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Chinatown. They had no intentions of ever moving from NY, until covid happened. 

 

They're originally from Columbus but both now considering Columbus, Cleveland, Lakewood & Cleveland Heights too. They work in film and advertising, work from home and said they personally know several more ex-pat Ohioans just like them who are coming back from NYC. 

 

I would suggest renting for the next year. The sale prices should come down in 6 months to a year from now.

On 6/11/2021 at 4:21 PM, KJP said:

 

I would suggest renting for the next year. The sale prices should come down in 6 months to a year from now.

My friends in real estate are predicting another mini 2008 with foreclosures when all the COVID mortgage forbearance finally ends.  

@KJP & @Cleburger I find these two predictions surprising. I really don't see any reason for housing demand to come down in the near future. The biggest generation in history is deciding to buy houses and the fed has signaled interest rates will be historically low until at least 2022. There's still lots of pent up demand. That is to say, I know people who are still having a very hard time finding a house. The market may normalize in six months, but why would that drive prices down? I mean, people are skipping inspections and writing love letters to sellers. It seems like there are quite a few insanity chips to fall before prices start falling.

 

Second, mortgage delinquency rates are plunging. July through September could see some more delinquencies as forbearance starts to end. But at the same time (1) values are up by 15% over the last year, and (2) overall consumer debt is also plunging. So I'm not understanding how this will be a mini 2008. Even when homeowners do default, very few will be underwater. I'd think if anything it may just help alleviate a bit of pressure on the insane for-sale market.

 

Third, construction costs are still historically high, so that closes one pressure relief valve on still-climbing home values.

https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/repair-relief-advocates-see-rare-chance-heal-aging-homes-neighborhoods

 

Repair relief? Advocates see rare chance to heal aging homes, neighborhoods

 

"Unaddressed home repairs are a nearly billion-dollar problem in the Cleveland area. With a one-time flood of federal pandemic relief funds flowing to the region, housing advocates are asking whether there is an opportunity to tackle that deferred maintenance — and to craft a sustainable framework to improve aging residential real estate.

 

Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia estimate that it would cost $781 million to resolve the repair needs of owner- and renter-occupied homes in the Cleveland metropolitan area. That’s a conservative figure, based on 2019 data. And that number does not include the costs of repairing vacant properties, some in decent shape, others decrepit.

 

Deteriorating homes have ripple effects. They depress property values and make streets feel less desirable — and sometimes less safe. Over time, they can become costly challenges for taxpayers, as local governments shoulder the burdens of code enforcement, displaced families and demolition."

 Two tidbits......

 

8 hours ago, KJP said:

 

 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
Cleveland: growing faster than the national average, and shrinking

 

In the simpler days of Census data, population numbers for a given metro area either went up or down in lockstep with that region's economic output. There were few wrinkles in the data to pull apart and analyze. Now, there's tons of data to grapple with, offering multiple story lines.

 

The local media has looked at several of those story lines. One of them is Greater Cleveland's growing diversity and an increase in occupied housing units in the city of Cleveland, even though its population went down.

 

Here's another story line — the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are growing and shrinking at the same time.

 

MORE;

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/09/cleveland-growing-faster-than-national.html

 

And......

 

 

Dig in to the draft Cleveland 2030: A Housing Equity Plan along with the appendix.

It is now posted online at:
https://lnkd.in/eXQn4bNh 

This is an opportunity for the public to review and provide feedback before it is finalized.

The appendix is a treasure of information for any housing policy wonks and includes:
1. Existing Conditions Report
2. Market Study Report
3. Community Engagement Overview
4. Residential Survey Results
5. Developer Survey Results
6. Peer Cities Report
7. Cleveland Housing Programs Report

I'm glad to see mention of implementing "compassionate" code enforcement. I know there is alot of hesitancy in the city to have any kind of code enforcement for fear of burdening and/or displacing older or low income residents, but it's vitally important to protect and keep the city's housing stock. Tie the enforcement in with education and grant programs to help seniors and those with fixed or lower incomes. So many deficient structures are investor owned though. The city should be cracking down on them hard. If they can't afford to maintain their properties to a safe and healthy standard, perhaps they should divest. It's not at all fair to those property owner's who take pride in having a well kept home that the city is currently lax on enforcement of this. 

 

I will say too, I am in no way saying those in the Building/Housing Dept aren't trying. They need so much more as far as money, resources, and staffing. I just hope the city with this plan, and whoever ends up as the next mayor, are able to give them some.

This isn't because housing prices are falling in Cleveland. It's because the cost of everything else is rising much faster. We need to market our affordability more:

 

"If you want a big-city quality of life at small-town prices, Cleveland's ready for you!"

 

 

SOURCE for the below chart:

https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2021/01/cuyahoga-county-home-prices-in-2020-up-more-sharply-than-at-any-time-since-the-housing-bust-see-details-for-each-town-thats-rich.html