2008 was a good year for Solon real estate. Being ranked as the #1 suburb in the Cleveland area by Cleveland Magazine for the last 2 years and also having one of the top rated school districts in the state has kept Solon somewhat isolated from the major problems that many other local communities are having.
I know what a lot of people are thinking, how could it have been a GOOD year when the media is constantly painting a picture of doom and gloom in the real estate market? Well, for starters, there were more homes SOLD in Solon in 2008 than in 2007. In fact, in terms of number of homes sold, this was the best year we have had in Solon since 2005.
Homes also sold in about the same amount of time as they did in 2007 and 2006.
Now here's the not so good news, the average sales price of a home in Solon went down in 2008. Here is a brief summary of a comparison between 2008 and 2007 including Solon Luxury home sales ( $500,000+ ):
All Sales # of homes sold ave. sales price ave. days on market
2008 262 $326,776 100
2007 245 $386,344 100
Luxury Sales # of homes sold ave. sales price ave. days of market
2008 49 $664,140 120
2007 49 $710,910 115
Commentary: The problem over the last few years is that sellers had unreasonable expectations of the value of their home based on unprecedented appreciation during the early part of the decade. During the real boom years of 2003-2006, homes in Solon were statistically appreciating at 5-10% a year. Normal yearly appreciation here in Solon and Northeast Ohio in general is only about 2-3%. So, instead of focusing on realistic market conditions, many sellers would look to see what similar homes were selling for and add 10% to get their listing price as they assumed the market would keep going up at this unrealistic pace. Many sellers merely priced themselves out of the market and did not properly react to the downturn. It has taken 2 years for sellers here to realize that the market is depreciating and to become more realistic with their price if they really want to sell.
The Solon Luxury home market statistics were similar in that there was an equal amount of actual sales in 2008 as there were in 2007, but the average sales price decreased. Foreclosed home sales in some of our upscale subdivisions helped edge prices downward in the luxury home market in 2008. There is still strong demand for homes in the $450,000-$600,000 range as there are a large number of local move up buyers just waiting for the right home to come up on the market.
As the statistics indicate, sellers are still selling provided they are competitively priced to what the market will bear.
On the other side, news is great for home buyers. Rates are at historically low levels and there are a lot of competitively priced homes here in Solon. There are also more homes priced under $200,000 than there has been in many years. Now has never been a better time to buy a home in Solon.
For more information on the Solon housing market or for a personal consultation, contact Dan Schuman at 216-346-3235 or visit us on the web at www.schumanteam.com.
