Focus on Real Estate

How much do vacant and abandoned properties cost Ohioans?

On February 19, Community Research Partners and ReBuild Ohio released a report which was funded in part by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®. The study is entitled "$60 Million and Counting: The cost of vacant and abandoned properties to eight Ohio Cities." The groundbreaking research, conducted by CRP over the past year, documents and quantifies the vacancy and abandonment problem in the state. Using eight diverse cities - Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Ironton, Lima, Springfield, Toledo and Zanesville - as "snapshots," this study identifies costs arising from vacant properties for local governments, communities, and neighborhoods hard hit by vacancies. Full report

Key points include:

• 25,000 vacant and abandoned properties
• Widespread vacancies in both large and small cities
• $15 million in annual city service costs
• $49 million in cumulative lost property tax revenues to local governments and school districts
• Weakened neighborhood housing markets with evidence of property flipping
• Limited capacity of cities, on their own, to track and address vacant and abandoned properties

NAHB freezes political contributions

On February 12, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) agreed to cease all approvals and disbursements of BUILD-PAC contributions to federal congressional candidates and their PACs until further notice. According to NAHB, this extraordinary action was taken because the NAHB BUILD-PAC Board of Trustees felt that over the past six months Congress and the Administration have not adequately addressed the underlying economic issues that would help to stabilize the housing sector and keep the economy moving forward. Housing and related industries account for more than 16 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. More needs to be done to jump-start housing and ensure the economy does not fall into a recession.

Homeowners optimistic

Even in a negative home pricing environment, 77 percent of homeowners from around the country believe the value of their home has increased or remained the same in 2007, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive. What's more, sizable fractions of all homeowners - not just those who believe their homes appreciated in 2007 - say they are planning to do things in 2008 that you might not expect during the housing, construction and credit slumps:

• 82 percent will spend the same or more on minor home improvements (install new garbage disposal, repaint or wallpaper a room).
• 67 percent say they will spend the same or more on major home improvements (replace the roof, remodel the kitchen) this year.
• About a third say they are more likely or equally as likely to:

o Take out a home equity loan (35%);
o Refinance their mortgage or take out a second mortgage (36%); or
o Sell their homes (34%).

55+ market now 21% of new home buyers

New research by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that 55+ households make up 20.9 percent of all new home buyers and 24.3 percent of new custom home buyers. Many of these buyers have accumulated wealth over the years and can pay for new homes by selling their existing homes. However, the vast majority of people age 55 and above tend to be content with their current homes, so the challenge for builders is to develop products that will be attractive to these buyers.

Tuesday is most productive day of the week

Tuesday is the most productive day of the week for workers according to a recent survey of 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies. The survey by Accountemps found that 57% favored Tuesday, compared with 12% for Monday and 11% each for Wednesday and Thursday. It was no surprise that Friday was considered the least productive day of the week with 3%.