Worthington real estate

Central Ohio open houses are not for lazy agents.  Real estate agents... open houses are a lot of work if done right. I doubt anyone "lazy" would do an open house, they are a lot of work. 

Parts of Central Ohio are great for open houses, other parts?  Not so much.

ActiveRain a national real estate network has been a hot bed of debate lately about whether open houses are good or bad. Whether open houses work or do not work.   Whether agents who tell their sellers to have an open house as part of their marketing are lying to them.  The lie?  That the agent holding the open house will meet people at the open house and show them other homes, once they've determined the Open House is NOT what the buyer wants.

I think home owners are a lot smarter than that.  At least in Central Ohio.

Are agents that don't hold open houses lazy? No.  Open houses don't work everywhere. Rural areas?  Not all parts of Central Ohio are good for open houses, so I would have to assume that agents in other markets know their market...

What I don't understand is why  Revolting REALTORS®* want all agents to NOT hold open houses because open houses do not work in their market.  Or in their marketing plan.  Or their calendar.

Lowes via Rismedia and RealTown weigh in on the debate  talking directly to consumers from sea to shining sea. The debate rages on...  In Tips for a Successfule Real Estate Open House  author Paige Tepping and Lowes say to home sellers:

"The Sunday real estate open house is a longstanding ritual in the real estate marketplace, and many homes have been sold on a lazy Sunday afternoon. When used properly, open houses can be a great marketing strategy. "

Central Ohio open houses are not for all neighborhoods

Clintonville is usually a great area for open houses.  A coworker said she had 45 people at her open house last Sunday. She had an appointment to write an offer on the house with a couple who'd attended the open house Sunday. 

Worthington is usually a great area for open houses...  the older the better if you get my drift.  OK I am saying an open house in Old Worthington is usually good. City of Worthington open houses are better than open house in homes in Worthington schools, in the City of Columbus  or an unincorporated area.

Lewis Center... not so much... well I am writing this post about Franklin County so let's just ignore that county to the north for now.  Not as good an area for an open house in my  humble opinion. Given my druthers I will stay in Franklin County most Sunday afternoons.   There are areas in Franklin County that are not as good for open houses than others. I would have said Minerva Park would not be a good area for open houses before 2006. I would have been wrong.

Sometimes the open houses in Clintonville or Old Worthington can be too busy.  How can you talk to everyone?  There are people who just want to look at decorating.

Central Ohio has something that other parts of the country do not actually have.  A brokerage that has elevated the Open House via their website.  The Real Living HER Open House List is the best there is in Central Ohio... but maybe I am biased. 

The Real Living HER Open House List  (the link is to the open house list on my site, MaureenMcCabe.com)  

There will NOT be a lot of Real Living HER Open Houses this weekend. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Next weekend is the Real Living's third Second Sunday Open House... there will be lots of Open Houses in Central Ohio open house country.

Is your Central Ohio neighborhood in open house country?

The image at the top is a Real Living ecard.

Columbus home SALE prices are up

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® announces...

A Columbus Dispatch article today says "Worthington Mall to be Sold"

The Dispatch article written by Marla Matzer Rose says there is a buyer for the local mall and it is a local person.  The Columbus Dispatch says:

"Local developer Tom Carter and Morris Capital Partners of Texas announced a plan yesterday to buy the mall."

It sounds like the mall originally built in 1974 is going to be opened up...  it was enclosed at some point.

Carter is quoted about the past...

"bad decisions by previous owners" contributed to the center's woes"

The slide show below was a few years ago... Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works were still at Worthington Mall at that point.  Godfry's left, went to Polaris, Acorn is gone.

Wilson Bridge Road Walking Tour Saturday


W. Wilson Bridge Road - Worthington history

Worthington City Schools are  "Excellent" according to the Ohio Department of Education

School report cards are out and Worthington City Schools earned an Excellent for the 2009 2010 school year. Worthington schools got a Excellent with Distinction for the 2008 2009 school year.  

Worthington City Schools are "Excellent" - report card 2009 - 2010 school year

"Number of State Indicators Met out of 26"  "26"

Is "Excellent" an A? and "Excellent with Distinction" an A+?  The six designations for schools in Ohio:

• Excellent with Distinction
• Excellent
• Effective
• Continuous Improvement
• Academic Watch
• Academic Emergency

Friday the State of Ohio published the actual report cards which gave a lot more information about the school districts.  Also you can  look at grades for individual school buildings.  You can see how Thomas Worthington did in comparison to Worthington Kilbourne, the two Worthington high schools.   You will be able to see how Bluffsview, Wilson Hill, Worthington Park or Evening Street Elementary School did in comparison to other Worthington elementary schools.

More about Worthington City Schools

Worthington City Schools  2008 - 2009  repoprt card

Bluffsview Elementary School  2009 - 2010 school year

Worthington Schools history

More flooring information from Debbie Gartner who works in New York   I have Re-Blogged Debbie's flooring posts for Central Ohio consumers before, look for posts about bamboo, laminate and wood floors. 

Thanks to Debbie for allowing her flooring information to be Re-Blogged.

There are 166 Real Living HER Open Houses on the list this week.*  The list is the Real Living HER Open House List.

A little less than the last few  Sundays... Central Ohio kids are back to school. Or most... seems like one Delaware County School went back late...

Last Sunday "there are 208 homes on the list NOW"

August 15, 2010 "The Real Living HER Open House list  says there are 203 properties on the list this week."

Next weekend is Labor Day so there will probably be less open houses on the Real Living HER Open House List than usual.

Is Columbus a buyers market?  It is a good time as a buyer to look at homes.  It's a buyers market in most Central Ohio communities... not all.

The Real Living HER Open House List

The one and only Worthington home on the Real Living HER Open House List at this point is my listing at 1344 Snowmass Rd. Columbus OH 43235.  That could change though...  the Real Living HER Open House List is in real time.  Someone could list something new and that could change.  An agents Sunday plans could change and the number could go up.  A house could sell before the scheduled Open House and the seller and agent could say "Hallelujah" and cancel the open house.

September 12, 2010 will be Real Living HER's third Second Sunday Open House... for some reason that reminds me of our Fifth Third Bank. 

*The number of Real Living HER Open Houses is subject to change.  The Real Living HER Open House List is not an archive.  If you look at it always has the current open houses, rather than history.  The list is in "real time."

The link to the Real Living HER Open House List (above)  is to my website, MaureenMcCabe.com  I am not hosting all the Real Living open houses, but it will say presented by Maureen McCabe on my website.  The list provides you contact info for each Open House, if you need to contact the listing agent or host for that properties open house.

Just about every Real Living HER agent in Central Ohio should have the Real Living HER Open House List displayed on their website.

Open Sunday 1344 Snowmass Rd, Columbus OH 43235

Open House -   Sunday,  August 30, 2010,  2 to 4 at this Worthingview home.

1344 Snowmass Road Columbus Ohio 43235 

• 4 bedrooms
• 2 1/ 2 bath
• screened porch
• fenced yard
  
• Fireplace with gas logs
• basement
• 2 car garage

Columbus Ohio 43235 homes for sale - a market report

Worthingview nieghborhood school information:

Elementary - Bluffsview

Middle -  McCord

High School -  Worthington Kilbourne

The Worthingview neighborhood and the home at 1344 Snowmass Rd. Columbus OH 43235 are in the Worthington City School District.  School report cards are out and Bluffsiew Elementary School got the highest grade possible, Excellent with Disctinction.  McCord Middle School received an "Excellent" grade. This home was in Perry Middle School attendence area during the 2009 -2010 school year, that school which is now closed receieved a grade of "Effective."  Worthington Kilbourne High School received a grade of Excellent for the 2009 - 2010 school year from the State of Ohio.

Congratulations to Worthington's Bluffsview Elementary School students and teachers:  

Bluffsview Elementary School 2009- 2010  report card

The 2009 - 2010 school year report cards from the state of Ohio are out and the Bluffsview Elementary School in the Worthington City School District got a grade of Excellent with Distinction!  The link is the .pdf  which gives detailed information for the elementary school. 

An A+ ?  It is the highest designation.

The six designations for schools in Ohio:

• Excellent with Distinction
• Excellent
• Effective
• Continuous Improvement
• Academic Watch
• Academic Emergency

Map  Bluffsview Elementary School  is located at 7111 Linworth Rd, Columbus, OH 43235.  The Worthington elementary school serves kindergarten through sixth grade students.

Neighborhoods that attend Bluffsview Elementary currently include Lakes of Worthington, Stilson Highlands, Stilson Village, The Bluffs,  Worthington Lakes and Worthingview.

School attendence area can change year to year based on population shifts within the school district.  The Worthington City School District website has a map that shows attendence areas as well as a list of attendence by street.  

The Worthington City School District as a whole got a grade of Excellent from the State of Ohio.

Bluffsview Elementary School neighborhoods

This post brought to you by 1344 Snowmass Rd, Columbus OH 43235, a listing in the Worthingview  neighborhood and  Worthington's Bluffsview Elementary School  attendance area.  The address link provides current information on that listing.

The Columbus Board of REALTORS®,  "The Voice of Real Estate in Central Ohio" (their website says so) announced the real estate market  results for July 2010 yesterday:

"July saw a decrease of 28.6 percent in sales."

The Columbus Board of REALTORS MLS (multiple listing service)  area includes all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow and Union Counties and parts of Champagne, Clark, Hocking, Licking, Fairfield, Knox, Logan, Marion, Pickaway and Ross Counties.  I mainly work Delaware and Franklin Counties.

Central Ohio homes for sale - Search

Home sales were up earlier in the year because of the home buyer tax credits and are down now  No surprise.

Quoting myself:

Olentangy Schools -"Home sales were down 29.2% in July 2010 from the previous year, sale prices are up 9.6% from July 2009."

Westerville Schools -  "Westerville home sales in July 2010 were down 39% from the year before."

Worthington Schools -  The bad news   "July 2010 home sales in Worthington schools  were down 43.9% from July 2009"  The good news  "average sale price $217,000 (up 4.3% from July 2009)"

The National Association of REALTORS® announced July home sales were down 27% in July 2010.  That announcement was made August 25, 2010.

Is Columbus a buyers market? - July 2010

The info I am able to access about the 7th or 8th of the month, each month to make market reports must be reconclied before the board publishes it as sales dribble in because the CBR results that come out the same day as the NAR results are always a little better. So my info by market is always a little bit worse sounding.  My market reports are single family only, the board used residential sales, single family and condominium combined.

If you use the Central Ohio homes for sale link you will search the online inventory of Central Ohio homes on the Real Living HER site.  You will be offered the opportunity to receive listings directly from the Columbus Board of Realtors MLS (multiple listing service)  in real time. You can know the true status of those properties you are interested in.

Worthington history a presidential visit....

Yes it was newsworthy when President Obama visited a home on the northside of Columbus last Tuesday... The Columbus Dispatch called E. Kanawha  Clintonville.  The Toledo Blade called the neighborhood south of present day Worthington  Sharon Heights...

On August 25, 1817 President James Monroe visited the Village Green in Worthington.  Worthington was founded in 1803.

Worthington history

The Timeline on the Worthington Memory says August 25, 1817, President James Monroe visited the Worthington  Village Green.  The fifth US President, Monroe was the President from 1817 to 1825.   The original Village of Worthington is now the Old Worthington neighborhood.  The Village Green at the center is still there today.    Worthington Timeline

More about Worthington history

Worthington a New England village in Central Ohio

Happy Birthday St. John Epsicopal Church 

Worthington a part of the plan

This is a Re-Blog.  I did not write this. Lola Audu a broker in the state north of us did.   For some reason I have a mental block about what the term "social graph" means.  I first saw Lola's post on Facebook but later found it published on  ActiveRain a real estate network on Facebook.  The first words in Lola's original title are the words "Social Graph."

I was not sure if Lola  was talking to consumers or others in the real estate industry,  I decided the title works for talking to consumers:

"Social Graphs... Why a BETA Search in Google or Facebook Might be HOW You Find Your Next Real Estate Agent!"

I want to talk to consumers about how real estate is changing because of Google, Facebook, etc. I am talking to you, the Central Ohio real estate consumer in sharing what Lola has to say because the concept of the Social Graph is important but evades me.

Thanks to Lola Audu  for allowing her post to be Re-Blogged.