Worthington real estate

"Psychology is key to selling in today's real estate market"

Is a post on the  Psychology Today  site saying listen to Broker Bryant Tutas  and use  "Range Pricing."  Range Pricing is sometimes called VRM for Value Range Marketing?  Tutas uses Range Pricing  and has written about Range Pricing  numerous times on ActiveRain a real estate network.

On the Psychology Today blog called  Priceless I found home pricing advice from physicist and author William Poundstone.

I found the Psychology Today blog post  via Google searching for news with the word Zestimates when I wrote  the post "Appraisal Institute says Zestimates suck." Darn it all, I blew it!  Bad title.  Steve Shatsky a Dallas Texas short sale specialist  commented my title shoulda been "Zestimates Zuck."  How depressing a missed title opportunity!  But enough  about me...  when I came out of the depression I slipped into over my poor blog title, I went searching Google for news on Zillow's Zesitmates, an AVM (Automated Valuation Model) the Appraisal Institute recently said Zestimates are inaccurate (the Appraisal Institute are too polite and educated to say Zestimates suck or even that they zuck.   They said Zillow's Zestimates are inaccurate.  Or were.  Is the Appraisal Institute dealing with today... Zillow says no, that the study is about the past.

Isn't it all....

"Psychology is key to selling in today's real estate market"

Perhaps Zestimates are NOT always high, Poundstone's piece on pricing popped up for my Zestimate search because he uses the Zestimate of an LA home... 

" For what it's worth, Zillow's "Zestimate" for the place is only $2,090,500. "

Only $2,090,500... Poundstone says that like that price on the  house would be a  steal and maybe it is.  That is so removed from Columbus Ohio.

"Psychology is key to selling in today's real estate market"

Who knew Psychology Today had blogs, much less blogs that offer pricing strategy for home sellers amid the Therapist Finder and all the anti depressant ads... but there it is:

Home Won't Sell? Try Two Prices Instead of One the post by William Poundstone a physicist and author says:

"There may be a smart psychological tactic for anxious home sellers: List a house with two prices. In Australia, it's been the custom for sellers to do that, giving a minimum and a maximum asking price."

Is author Poundstone recommending your homes Zillow Zesitmate for the high end on your home?  The Appraisal Institute says Zestimates are inaccurate I don't know if anyone in the Columbus Board of REALTORS®  does Value Range Marketing now... I think Prudential did at one time but that was long ago.  In  Value Range Marketing in the Columbus Board of REALTORS® MLS would the high price be the Zestimate?  Would the low price be the findable price in the MLS?   "Psychology is key to selling in today's real estate market" is the subtitle of Poundstones piece on pricing homes.

Central Ohio home price - recent posts Columbus OH real estate

Columbus home market continues to improve 

Is the Central Ohio real estate market a sellers market or a buyer market?

Central Ohio home prices by school district

A very similar article was posted on ColumbusBestBlog.com another blog I write  Psychology Today offers home pricing strategies

Image credit - Freud toys...  from onefromrom Flickr photostream shared with a Creative Commons License that allows commercial use.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/onefromrome/ / CC BY 2.0

ColumbusBestBlog.com is another blog I write.  It is actually my main blog, but it has a lot less content than either 'Worthington Old and News' or 'Discover Columbus Ohio', which are both real estate blogs.

ColumbusBestBlog.com is less real estate, it is a WordPress blog... and it has real estate on it but most of the posts are non real estate usually by design.

February 2010  on ColumbusBestBlog.com

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit -  February 2010  A monthly tradition on ColumbusBestBlog.com

Buckeye Chuck predicts early spring Weather forecast by the local groundhog

Columbus Seasonal Kick Off  that is real estate!

Balletmet – Twitter Contest  Local non profit  group uses social media

Columbus 8th Worst Winter…  A national list of cities with bad weather ... I think it's wrong!

Columbus Valentine’s Day Poll  Valentines Day in a recession what were the plans?   I never mentioned the wonderful dinner at Columbus Fish Market or that I got  I got a one pound box of Godiva but the dog ate it, did I?

Central Ohio Business – Get on Google Local Business Center  New  opportunity for local businesses

Columbus “Panera It Forward” week… The local franchise paid it forward.  Lots of opportunities to be good neighbors in Central Ohio, the week of storms.

Ohio Schools – Consolidations A poll about a recommendation from the Brookings Institute for the State of Ohio

Columbus set a record for the snowiest February ever...  beating the standing recored from 100 years ago. It's on ColumbusBestBlog.com but not until March 2010. 

We built that snowman Saturday!

ColumbusBestBlog.com has links to all posts on  'Worthington Old and News' and 'Discover Columbus OH' on the home page, every day...  turnabout is fair play.  Chris Elizabeth Griffith posts her Bonita Springs Florida WordPress blog's posts on her ActiveRain blog weekly.  I want to do that but  I can't see doing that as I am lucky to write two posts in a week on CBB.  I mean to post there more...  Two in for March 2010!  and I guess that is the last week on the calendar here.  I wish I could make myself write there four or five times a week...

Real Living HomeGard Warranty

There is a new feature in the  Real Living HomeGard Warranty for home buyers called  "Claim - No - Claim"  if the buyer  has not placed a claim in the first nine months of the first year coverage they are entitled to heating or air conditioning maintenance service.  Up to $100.00.

Not a bad feature...

"Even if nothing breaks, this warranty pays up to $100 toward an HVAC maintenance service."

Home warranties are relatively common feature of home sales in Central Ohio.  Often the seller has one in place on the listing to give the buyer peace of mind about the mechanical systems.  You certainly still want to do a home inspection but a home warranty can help.

Real Living HomeGard Warranty history

HomeGard® of Ohio has been around for a long time... since 1974.  I sad when we got an email that HomeGard® was changing in 2009.  HomeGard is operated by HMS a national home warranty company.   HomeGard® of Ohio was unique in that the company affiliated with Real Living HER (formerly HER Realtors®)  was locally owned and operated for years. 

HomeGard a new era begins

Real Living HomeGard Warranty with "Claim - No - Claim" maintenance - 2010

There are other changes to HomeGard, sump pumps and jetted bathtubs  are covered.

Visit the national HMS site for some additional  home maintenance tips

Foreclosures in Columbus good news for buyers brought to you by Maureen McCabe Real Living HER

*Zillow.com  did a white paper on Foreclosures Nationally...  I shared Foreclosures sell at 72% of market price nationally which was a Re-Blog of Sara Bonert a Zillow employee's post, which came from the white paper.

What's the point?  The study was to see if there two separate markets?  Are foreclosed homes one market and the other homes a separate market?  Or is it all the same market?

In the table on Sara's and thus on my Re-Blog of it, it shows the figures for various markets including Columbus.

Foreclosures in Columbus good news for buyers interested in pursuing foreclosures

It's good news for buyers who are interested in foreclosures in Columbus.

While the national figure is 72% of market price the Columbus figure is 62%.  Columbus home buyers who are able and willing to buy a foreclosed home get a better deal than foreclosure buyers do nationally.  Only 19% of the home sales in our market are foreclosures according to Zilllows stats.   The markets with less foreclosures the foreclosed homes sold lower than the markets where there are the most foreclosures. 

Buyers buying foreclosures get a better deal in Columbus. 

Note Zillow is talking median price... and we seldom do in Central Ohio.  We are so affordable we usually talk average price.

Search for Central Ohio homes

Search foreclosures 

* The white paper has nothing to do with Zillow Zestimates.  Don't let the Zestimates reputation for inaccuracy confuse you.  Thanks!

More about the Central Ohio real estate market

Breaking News - December Columbus Home Sales - December 2009

Columbus Ohio is Buckeye Chuck Territory and he did NOT see his shadow! 

Let the celebrations begin!  We are going to have an early Spring in Central Ohio if the little fella is right. 

I heard it on Twitter this morning among the grumbles that other groundhogs did see their shadows.

The image is a Real Living Ecard.

We eat at the Polaris, Smokey Bones a lot.   Officially the name of the Polaris area restaurant is Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill.

Smokey Bones has great coupons... In the Columbus Dispatch... Sunday Dispatch I assume.  What does a Sunday Dispatch cost?  Isn't a "Buy One Entree, Get One Free" coupon worth the cost of a Sunday Columbus Dispatch?

I did not really know where the Smokey Bones coupons come from... but we always seem to have one.   The Columbus Dispatch, The Bag, the mailbox, direct from some barbecue heaven ???   Dino the manager of the Polaris Smokey Bones  said the Smokey Bones coupons are in the Columbus Dispatch.   I'll believe him.

I don't know when we started going to the Smokey Bones at Polaris.  It is a chain* and it is not the only barbecue place in the Polaris area.  Smokey Bones might not even officially be my favorite barbecue restaurant in the Polaris area but it is the barbecue restaurant we go to the most often because  those coupons keep on coming. 
 
Smokey Bones at Polaris was our first choice last Saturday night.  Their parking lot was jammed so we went to our second choice, Claddagh.  Bad decision.  We should have just waited for a table at Smokey Bones.  I wrote a post about dinner Saturday night at Claddagh.  Our waitress Jessie was great, the rest of the experience... not so great.

Recently I won a free happy hour at Smokey Bones for my office.  We went Thursday... It was a real small group from Real Living HER Worthington.  I won the Free happy hour by putting a business card in a box in their lobby.  A FREE happy hour is free appetizers.  We bought our drinks!

Stimulating the local economy...

1.  Buy a Columbus Dispatch

2.  Pray for a Smokey Bones coupon

3.  Visit Smokey Bones at Polaris (Polaris Town Center - south side of Polaris Parkway... it looks like it is built of Lincoln Logs)

4.  Remember to put your business card in, in the box in the lobby for a drawing...

5.  Tell 'em Maureen sent you

* Not being a food blogger I have the freedom to eat at chain restaurants and blog about it.  Yes we use coupons... week one and week two are gone in the photo.  They were buy one entree, get one free.  Mm mm good!    We missed using the buy one entree get one free coupon that expired on 1-17-2010.  Now that I've tasted their appetizers it could be harder to ignore those appetizer coupons.

Thanks to Dino, Rob (or Robb?), Erin and Smokey Bones at Polaris. 

I don't like the  Smokey Bones website but here's a link.  Odd noises, slow  loading flash, the Smokey Bones website tried to tell me Easton was the closest Smokey Bones to the 43085 ZIP code.... WRONG!

This or something very similar was first published on ColumbusBestBlog.com , another blog I write.

Criterium-Liszkay Engineers is offering Free home inspections for veterans returning from duty in Afghanistan and Iraq in appreciation of their service according to In Contract Magazine a publication of the Columbus Board of Realtors ®.

To determine if you are eligible contact Criterium-Lizkay Engineers at  614-418-7200.  

Art Wickerham with Criterium - Liszkay Engineers

Criterium-Liszkay is one of my favorite Central Ohio home inspection companies. They are featured on the home inspection page of my website.  All of the inspection staff are licensed engineers.

Graceland Shopping Center Columbus Ohio 43214 -  Map

The picture of the remains of an old house and a sign proclaiming Graceland Shopping Center is part of Don O'Brien (DOK1's)  photostream on Flickr.

Actually the sign calls it Graceland Shoppers Mart.  I wonder if Graceland was called that at first? 

The sign promising the shopping area for Christmas 1954 says the shopping area developed by Don M. Casto Jr. would  be "ONE OF THE NATIONS FINEST SHOPPING CENTERS."

More 1953 Graceland Shopping Center photos from Don O'Brien:

Future Graceland Shopping Center Site: 1953

December 1953 Graceland Signs.

On the photo of the remains of the house, O'Brien quotes the Graceland site of George Campbell about Graceland Shopping Center history:

"Graceland was built on a former horse farm, named "Graceland", that was co-owned by a Columbus Bookmaker and his wife, a Madam. When the property came up for sale, the Casto and Gibson families purchased it for $100,000. The center opened in 1954, and had a good run through the 1980's."

I'd remembered the bookie and the Madam for some reason.  I must have read that on Campbell's site.

The map at the top shows where the Graceland Shopping Center is in north Columbus just south of Worthington.  I wonder if the Graceland area was annexed into the City of Columbus in the 1950's or if it was in an unincorporated area of Franklin County, Sharon Township. 

The Graceland area is part of the Clintonville Beechwold area today. The Columbus Chaseland neighborhood was nearly annexed to Worthington in 1954.

Where does Clinonville begin or end?

Anyone who reads my Worthington Old and News site knows I love Don O'Brien's historic pictures of Worthington.  O'Brien grew up just north of Worthington on W. Wilson Bridge Rd.  W. Wilson Bridge Road was in Sharon Township in the 1930s and 1940s. Assuming the Graceland Shoppin Center is in the City of Columbus, a few streets in the area are or were until quite recently still in Sharon Township, not annexed to the City of Columbus.

Don O'Brien took this photo for the Worthington News, the newspaper in Worthington back in the day.

O'Brien added some great old Christmas photos while I was doing my 2009 Christmas shopping, if you like old photos be sure and visit his Flickr Photostream.

Revolting Realtors... nationwide real estate agents are revolting against the tyranny of open houses.  The revolting Realtors aren't going to do open houses anymore... Open houses  don't work for them.  Open houses are not a good use of their time.

Is it a national movement to JUST SAY NO to open houses.  

Lee Moroff wrote:  It's time for realtors to stand firm on not doing open houses

I have to agree if open houses don't work don't do them.  Do we all have to stop doing them though?  Why?

I am not going to tell you lots of houses sell because of most open houses.

I am not going to deny bad things have happened during open houses. To real estate agents and to property.

Yes as a seller you do have to secure your  valuables during an open house.  You may choose to not have an open house, if the risks outweigh the benefits.

The 221 comments on Moroff's discussion with his peers about stading standing firm against doing open houses are hidden because of a technical glitch.  I was not aware of the post, so I don't know if it is all agreement or if some said they would still do open houses.  221 comments is a lot of comments. 

Moroff's post was "Re-Blogged" 10 times.   Most of the "Re-Bloggers"  support the Realtor Revolt against open houses.

The Real Living HER Open House List

Your Central Ohio home can be featured on the Real Living HER Open House list... all week before your open house.  Not a bad place to be.

The Real Living HER Open House List is on my website.  The Real Living HER Open House List is on about other every Real Living HER agents website too... not bad exposure...

The Real Living HER Open House List - company website

The Real Living HER Open House List  on the Real Living website...

Revolting Realtors will NOT be holding your home open...  nor will they be promoting that open house to consumers either but you can count me in for open houses in 2010!

Edit Oops both photos are licensed with a Creative Commons License from Flickr. Photo Credits:

What Zillow calls Columbus FAR North Foreclosures is not the same area as what the Columbus Planning Division calls the "Far North"  in Columbus.  

The "Far North" is the area that the Columbus Planning Division describes:

"The Far North planning area is a diverse and preferred residential area of Columbus that is supported by commercial and industrial uses. The planning area is generally bounded by: Powell Road on the north, Interstate 270 on the south, Worthington Road and Interstate 71 on the east, and the Olentangy River on the west."

This is what I have always referred to as Far North Columbus here.  Zillow's Far North area is bigger and different.  As you can see if you know ZIP codes, Zillow's Far North is not  comparable.  To make it even odder on their site they refer to their Far North area as the "Near Far North." I can not find another Farther Far North, it would be up north of Lewis Center...

Ideas for names for Zillows "Far North" that is not "Near Far North"?

Really Far North

Further Far North

Way the heck out there...

Cornfields

Homes Foreclosed

More Far North Home Values

Zillow's graph is based on these ZIP codes.  As you can see 43235 is in Far North and Northwest.  43085 is in Far North and Clintonville...  the one that surprised me most in Far North was 43229 to me that is Northland area Zillow puts it in their  Northland I too.

Comparing Columbus Far North Foreclosures to other North Clumbus areas  the graph:

ZIP codes by Zillow description.

My favorite ZIP code map - ZIP code boundary map in case you don't know Columbus by ZIP code.

Zillow's Far North Columbus (remember "Near Far North")

43240
43085
43035
43229
43235


Zillow's Northland I

43229     
43231    
43224    
43214


Zillow's Northland II

43081    
43230    
43054    
43231    
43082    

Zillow's Clintonville

43214         
43202    
43224    
43085    
43211    

Zillow's Northwest Columbus 

43235    
43220    
43085    
43214        
43017

Search for Central Ohio Foreclosures

Search for Central Ohio homes short sales, regular sales... all of it.

ActiveRain members: Comment at your own risk. Please note this content is Central Ohio real estate market news for the general public and not for the real estate industry, I will delete most comments from ActiveRain members. Nothing personal. Please "move along" and comment where it will be appreciated! Thanks.