New Albany home sales in April continue to outpace sales for 2011, even with inventory levels significantly below last year. All signs indicate that the New Albany real estate market continues to stabilize.

Statistics for April New Albany Home Sales are recapped below:

                                              2012             2011              +/-%

# of home sold                         31                 25                +24%

Average Sales Price                $360            $345             + 4%

List/Sales Price Ratio               97%              96%             + 1%

Days on Market                         80                  85              - 6%

New Albany is now a Seller’s Real Estate Market

The National Association of Realtors defines a Seller’s Market as one with less than a 7 month supply of homes for sale. There are currently only 122 homes for sale in the New Albany Plain Local School District. Using April’s sales rate of 31 homes sold, that means there is currently only a 4 month supply of homes for sale in New Albany! The market definitely favors sellers and is why prices are beginning to rise, homes are selling closer to the list price, and days on market is declining.

If you want to be part of this robust selling season, we want to talk with you! Contact Kate & Tony Thomas at New Albany Realty by calling 614-939-8944 or visit our website www.NewAlbanyOhio.com to access all homes listed for sale in New Albany and the Greater Columbus area.

Kate Thomas

katet@newalbanyrealty.com

1^st Quarter Real Estate Results Encouraging

Despite a record low inventory of homes for sale in New Albany, 1^st quarter unit sales were about equal with last year. A reduced inventory creates a market that for the first time in years actually favors Sellers! As a result, we are seeing a slight rise in home prices pretty much across the board. Days on market are declining as well – another indicator that it’s a good time to be a seller. Tony and I are cautiously optimistic that 2012 is the beginning of an improved real esate market in New Albany and Greater Columbus.

Let us hear from you if you have questions about the market for your home or about getting your home ready to sell! The members of our team are expert at handling the sale of your current home and purchase of your next one! Call us at 614-939-1234 or visit us at www.NewAlbanyOhio.com, the #1 website for New Albany Real Estate!  

Until the next time… Kate & Tony

New Albany 2012 1st Quarter Real Estate Recap

I just received an e-newsletter from a good friend and decorator, Colleen Lora. The article about home accessories really hit home. With her permission, I am reprinting it. We are settling into our new home and nothing looks quite right. I realize after reading Colleen’s article that most everything we own, we’ve owned for a VERY LONG time. We have lots of “little collections” that you sure won’t see in any of today’s decorating magazines. She recommends accessories larger in scale and fewer in number. I don’t have too many $$$ to devote to new right now but have decided to decorate without the old until I can afford the new. Enjoy Colleen’s article. Check out her website www.CollenLoraDesigns.com too.   

“How Old Are Your Accessories?

If your accessories were around when you were tuning in to Seinfeld – and not the reruns, you need an update.  Today’s trend for accessories are larger in scale and fewer in number than in years past. If you are a collector, group like items together for a more cohesive and less cluttered look.  Faux florals and greenery are great when they are clean, higher end and not overdone. Throw away that old Ficus tree in a wicker basket and replace it with a tall Areca palm in a glazed container.  And be prepared to spend a little more than you think feels right on accessories if you need to replace a lot of them.  I advise clients that an accessory budget is usually 20-30% of your room’s overall investment.”   

New Albany Country Club Homes Prices Hold

Sale prices of homes in the New Albany Country Club community seem to have leveled out.  2012 prices remain equal to 2009 and 2010.  One of the gauges we use to evaluate sales trends is $ per Square Foot.  If you look at the past 3 years, the average sales price for real estate in the New Albany Country Club area has been ~$162/square foot.  While this is significantly less than the peak of $197/sq foot that we saw in 2006, it’s encouraging that we appear to be bouncing along what I believe is the bottom of the market.

Historical Look at New Albany Country Club Sales in $/Square Foot

The graph below illustrates why many real estate experts refer to the time between 2000 – 2010 as the “Lost Decade”.  Home prices in the New Albany Country Club community are actually slightly below the prices we saw in 2000.

 Is Now A Good Time To Sell?

Prices show no sign of going either up or down right now.  When they start to head back up, it’s unlikely that they will take a giant leap.  With few exceptions, in an average year, the Greater Columbus real estate market goes up 3%.  At 3% a year, it will take almost 7 years before we see 2006 prices once prices do begin to rebound.   If now is the time for you to upsize, down size, or just move because you don’t want to redecorate the home you are in, then you should do it.    Homes ARE selling and mortgage rates are at 60 year lows.  Let us know if you’d like Tony or I to assist you with your decision.  We offer confidential and complementary market evaluations of your home to enable you to make the best decision for you and your family.  Call or email us today.

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What’s New in New Albany, Ohio?

I just came from a presentation where the topic was “What’s New in New Albany?”  Bill Ebbing, President of New Albany Company and Jennifer Chrysler, Director of Development for the City of New Albany talked about all of the development taking place at the business campus.  Just last week the New Albany Chamber of Commerce outdid themselves once again with their Annual New Albany Community Update Breakfast.  The theme was “New Albany Synergy” where the mayor and various community leaders shared the progress on all aspects of development in business, cultural, educational and civic areas.  As I was listening, I was reminded of all of the reasons Tony and I have enjoyed making New Albany, Ohio home for the past 16 years.

A Master Planned Community

The Master Planning that went into New Albany is unlike anywhere else I know.  The architecture is timeless – New Albany will look as beautiful and “right” 50 years from now as it does today.  It’s pedestrian friendly with 27 miles of leisure trails, many parks and green spaces.  New Albany is convenient and accessible to shopping, Easton (10 minutes) and Downtown Columbus (20 minutes) and yet there is still a rural feel to the area.

The New Albany School System is nationally ranked and we have a state of the art Performing Arts Center, a branch of the #1 ranked Columbus Metropolitan Library, and a championship golf course and country club. 

With our offices right here in Market Square, Tony and I have the opportunity (along with 12,000 people who work in the in the New Albany Business Campus) to work and play in the same place.  This may sound like a commercial but sometimes it’s nice to reflect on what a great place New Albany, Ohio has become.

Contact Tony and I to learn more about all New Albany has to offer.

Check your mail for your new home valuation!

We know property values have fallen since the last county-wide appraisals were done in 2005 but just how much?  You’ll know soon.  The Franklin County Auditor’s office is mailing the new valuations today!  It’s unprecedented and will be interesting to see what they look like.  While the auditor reports that Franklin County property values are down 6.7% from 2005, I expect to see a deeper decline in the New Albany valuations. 

What if you don’t agree with the new valuation?

If you disagree with the new value established by the Franklin County auditor, you can present your case directly to county appraisers at informal value reviews held around the county beginning August 31^st.  For a complete list of dates and locations for these meetings, visit the Franklin County Auditor site.  The New Albany community meeting will be held on September 8^th at the Church of the Resurrection Ministry Center at 6300 E Dublin Granville Road in New Albany from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Contact Kate or Tony if you have any real estate questions would like us to provide local market information to help you prepare for your meeting.   Good luck!

Visit www.NewAlbanyOhio.com to search the MLS and get up-to-date New Albany and Franklin County real estate information.

New Albany Real Estate is Back!

All I can say is Wow!  Sales of New Albany real estate continues strong and bucking the trend in Greater Columbus.  For the first half of 2011, unit sales of single family homes are up 20% over same time last year.  Unit sales in the Greater Columbus area are
down 15% for the same time frame.

Will it continue?

The number of homes “in contract” at the end of June are up 50% over last year which leads me to believe that the New Albany trend will continue into the 3^rd quarter.  These stats are pretty amazing considering the inventory of homes available for sale in New Albany is down 23% over this time last year.  Sustainability of the trend will depend on if we can rebuild the inventory of homes available for sale.   If you’ve been thinking about selling but have been holding back, it looks like now is the time to
get into the market!   Call Kate or Tony Thomas today!

My Business coach, Ken Goodfellow, sends me a “Monday Momentum” email.  I thought this week’s was particularly good, so I asked him if I could  share.  Thanks Ken.

Let me know what you think.

Do you ever see people that just seem to have it all together? People that are just so calm, cool and collected about everything?
Then there are the others that are out of control and running 110 miles an hour. The question is what one would you rather be? The reality is you can be much more in control if you pay attention to these things:

• If you have actual goals that you are working towards.
• If you have a plan that you are following.
• If you have a schedule that works and you have the  discipline to follow.
• If all areas in your life are kept well balanced.
• If you have discipline to work hard and take time off  for life

So if you want to take control and have a great day, week, and month try following the above. It will help.

Three Key Metrics All Positive

A look at a few key metrics tell the story.  New Albany real estate is on the rebound.  While first portion of 2010 was driven by tax incentives and first time home buyers, we really just “borrowed” future sales from July and Aug to hit the June 30th deadline.  We were really pretty flat through mid 3rd Quarter 2010.  Then we had a good finish and pushed ahead of 2009 in these important areas:

Traffic & Sales…Up

In 2010, 302 homes closed in New Albany vs 272 the previous year.

Median Sale Price …Up

The median sales price for homes sold in New Albany increaded from $283,000 in 2009 to $308,000 in 2010.

Median Days on Market…Down 

.

The median home in New Albany was on the market for 88 days in 2010 – in 2009, it was on the market 104 days.

So what’s all this mean to me? 

Well if you are a Buyer trying to time the market (if you can do this, let me and my financial advisor know asap) we may well be seeing the bottom.  If you are a Seller, you may be encouraged that the worst may be behind us.  In any event, if you want to buy or sell a New Albany home, now is the time and Kate & Tony are the ones to help.  Let us show you how Kate & Tony’s service and results make them the market leaders in New Albany Real estate.

P.S. You can also just search the MLS yourself to see how your home compares…

Kate & Tony Thomas Out Front (Again)

In our effort to always bring cutting edge marketing to our clients, we have just introduced QR codes on our listing yard signs.  We were first to use 800 #s, then texting and now QR.  So What’s QR Code? 

QR codes are like a UPC code in the grocery store, except instead of recording a price and a SKU, when you scan them with your smart phone,  they take you directly to a web page.  Below is a QR code for our home page at www.newalbanyohio.com.   

QR Code for www.newalbanyrealty.com

What’s the Real Estate App?

Okay, so, you’re driving along beautiful Elm St and you see the home of your dreams with one of our For Sale Signs in the yard.  It has a QR code.  Roll down your window, pick up your smart phone, zoom in on the QR code and scan.  You will be immediately taken to the specific web page for this home.  take a virtual tour, get all the details and pricing info and never leave your car.  WOW!

How do I get the App?

 Most Droids come with the bar code / QR code scanner.  Blackberry users can down load the app from Blackberry world.  All others can download readers from:

• I-nigma
• Scanlife
• Neo reader

How Do I get my home sold quickly with QR technology?

Contact Kate and Tony Thomas at New Albany Realty, of course!