Real Estate Market Update for Our Local Area

There are many great Cincinnati area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (513) 300-7653 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Real Estate Market Update for Our Local Area

Today I have some special guests with me to provide you with a real estate market update. Future Real Estate Experts Trevor and Alanna's goal is to inform and educate you so that you can make better decisions when you enter the real estate market. Despite negative reports in the news, the real estate market is doing just fine, but you can only learn this by looking through all of the data. 

• The first slide indicates the total sales in the US from 2013 to 2014. The reason for a decrease in sales in Kentucky is because of a low amount of inventory. This doesn't mean that the market is bad in Kentucky, it just means that there weren't as many home to sell as there were last year.
• I don't want you to think I'm cooking the books, so I have compiled some statements from non-real estate professionals. Freddie Mac says that our market is much better than it was in 2009. Housing starts are up by 50%, home prices have risen by 16%, and sales are up by 13%. It is predicted that these statistics will continue to rise in 2014.
• Fannie Mae has also supported my positive opinion of the market by suggesting that real estate is the best possible investment right now.
• According to a poll by Gallup, real estate is still the best long-term investment. It beats out gold, stocks/mutual funds, savings accounts and bonds. People of all age groups also seem to believe that real estate is their best investment. 
• In the future we will be experiencing an increase in home prices and also an increase in interest rates. 
• The National Association of Realtors predicts that by the first quarter of 2015 that interest rates will be right around 5.5%. This is only a 1% increase, but this could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a 30-year loan. 

Large, national summaries of the real estate market in America are never helpful to consumers because real estate is actually extremely local and can differ from neighborhood to neighborhood. This is why it's so important to hire a real estate agent that can act as an expert in your local market and provide you with accurate information about what is really going on. 

I can show you the numbers in your area in order for you to make an educated decision in regard to real estate. For our sellers, we can show you how we sell homes for 18% more money using a proven and repeatable system backed by market research. If you're buying, we can negotiate to get you the best terms and the best price on the home that you want. 

Feel free to contact me if you're looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate in Ohio, Kentucky, or Southwest Florida.

Doug Leugers Reviews - Doug Coyle

(I’m a firefighter at Independence so I know Doug personally and when I was on the market to buy, I decided to work with Doug Leugers. It was a great experience! He’s diligent, he stayed on top of things, and stayed in communication with us the entire time. He was also very good at working around my schedule. I was very pleased with their performance! I’ve worked with other Realtors previously, and they were definitely not as good as Doug which is why I’m very glad I got to work with him. He’s very professional and that definitely sets him apart. Doug is willing to go the extra mile to make sure his clients are happy. We had a couple glitches with the inspector and Doug went above and beyond to make sure that it was resolved and took extra time to make sure it was handled quickly. I would absolutely refer him to anyone!)

Union is the Perfect Town for Growing Families

There are many great Cincinnati area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (513) 300-7653 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Broadcasting Live from Union, Kentucky

Today I am in Union, Kentucky. This is one of the fastest growing cities and also one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Kentucky. Here are a few quick facts about this growing town:

• The median home value is just over $244,000 and 66% of the homes in Union are over 4 bedrooms.
•  This makes Union an ideal place for big families. 
• The current population is around 5,500 
• However, the area has experienced an 86% increase in population since the year 2000.
• The median household income stands at right about $98,000 which is far above the average in Kentucky. 
• Union is also an extremely safe place to live with low crime, good schooling, and high income and employment rates. 
• Crime rate:  1.9% (19 per 1000 residents)
  
• High School Graduate or higher:  98.2%
• Poverty rate:  2.7%
• Union is 10 minutes from Florence, and 20 minutes away from downtown Cincinnati. 
• There are many desirable subdivisions to choose from including the prestigious Triple Crown Country Club. 
• Amenities include walking trails, public parks, lakes, and many different golf courses. 

Thanks for tuning in to this tour of Union. If you know anyone looking to buy, sell, or invest in Northern Kentucky real estate, then please contact me and I would be glad to assist you.

My Insider Market Knowledge Reveals the True State of Real Estate for You

There are many great Cincinnati area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (513) 300-7653 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

1st Quarter Real Estate Market Update: What the Media isn't Telling You

If you have been watching the news lately, most agencies are reporting that the real estate market has softened and that now is not the time to do anything on the market. This could not be farther from the truth. You should never trust what you hear unless it's from your REALTOR. This is why I'm here to update you on what is actually happening in the market right now.

• For instance, the slides in the video show us that pending home sales are decreasing big time. This other graph also shows that there has been a big decrease in home sales as well. 
• Now, what the media isn't telling you is this: Real estate sales are very regional. The only region with a significant decrease in sales was the west. Here in the south we had a 3.6% increase in home sales. The Midwest saw a 2% increase, and the Northeast saw a 7.1% increase in home sales. 
• So, what does this say? Well, I think we can take weather into consideration. This harsh winter has probably been causing a lot of people to delay their real estate endeavors, and this has impacted our market. 
• Another thing the news is not telling you is the breakdown between distressed and non-distressed property sales. 
• Distressed sales are at an all time low at 15% of the total market. 
• This is a great sign that the market is getting healthy again, because only a few years ago distressed sales made up 35% of the market. This makes me believe that the market is doing just fine, and we're seeing the type of sales that we want to see.

So, if you're on the fence about whether or not you're going to buy or sell, you should make your decision very quickly. Mortgage experts are predicting that interest will rise to 4.9-5.5% by the first quarter of 2015. This will significantly affect the type of mortgage that you can get and the amount of home that you can buy. 

If you have any questions about what steps to take or how you can approach the market in a beneficial way, then contact me and we can get you squared away for a successful transaction.

Picking Which Renovations will Pay Off the Most

There are many great Cincinnati area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (513) 300-7653 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

There are hundreds of things you can do to get your home ready for a spring sale, but you need to choose wisely and appropriately. Many renovations can be costly, and your investment may or may not be returned. I will be taking a look at a report from the National Association of Realtors that will be instrumental for you in deciding what to repair, and what not to repair.

Cost Vs. Value Report:

• This report outlines the return on investment that you're likely to get with any renovations that you're trying to do this year. 
• Consider this your holy grail if you're thinking about remodeling.
• At the top of the list are kitchen and bathroom remodels. These consistently get the highest returns on investment. 
• Upgraded cabinetry and granite counter tops are among the best remodels for your kitchen. 
• Other renovations with high returns to consider this year are:
• Garage door replacement
• Front door replacement
• Window replacement
• Backup generators also topped the list of good cost-benefit renovations

If you would like to take a look at the complete report for all of your potential repairs, you can find it here: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2014/east-north-central/cincinnati-oh/

If you need any assistance with repairs I can gladly refer contractors to you. Also, if you just want to talk to me about Cincinnati real estate, then feel free to give me a call at (513) 300-7653 or email me at Doug@DLREE.com

Important Cincinnati Real Estate Forecast for 2014 & Recap of 2013

There are many great Cincinnati area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (513) 300-7653 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Hello and welcome back to my video blog. Today I'll be doing a short recap on the 2013 market and also looking ahead to 2014.

One of the best indicators that the National Association of Realtors uses to gauge how the market is doing is by analyzing the average sales price. In Cincinnati, the average home price for 2012-2013 went up by 6% to $154,295.

Interests rates are sitting right at 4.3% but they are expected to rise upwards of 1% which would bring us to 5.3% interest.

What this means: If you purchased a $250,000 dollar home, then your monthly payments will rise by $161.08 because of rising interest. This accumulates to an extra $2,000 every year or $60,000 over the course of a mortgage.

If you're on the fence about buying, now would be a great time to make up your mind because there are many great deals out there and we can help you find homes that aren't listed on the MLS.

Contact me with any questions or if you're seeking assistance in finding a property. You can reach me at Doug@DLREE.com.

Our Southwest Florida Real Estate Team

Welcome back to our video blog! We are here at the Westin Hotel in the beautiful Cape Coral, FL. As some of you may know, we recently established a second team here and we couldn't be more excited!

However, We want all of our Cincinnati friends, family and clients to know that we are still helping you with all your real estate needs. I am flying back and forth every month. So if you have any questions, you can call me anytime! 

We also wanted to thank all of our family and friends and everyone else who has supported us. Without your loyalty we would never have accomplished this. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and happy holidays!