Knox County Ohio Real Estate Information Archive

A client asked me this morning how many homes were available for sale within the Mount Vernon Ohio School District so I ran an "Active Listing" report and thought the information was worth sharing.  The following details came directly from the Knox County Ohio MLS on October 11th, 2010:

• There are 218 homes for sale within the Mount Vernon Ohio School District
• The average listing price for a Mount Vernon Ohio Home today is only $154,637
• The lowest priced Mount Vernon Ohio home for sale is listed for only $25,000 
• The highest priced Mount Vernon Ohio home for sale is listed for $1,300,000
• From 1-1-10 through today 10-11-10 there has been 174 homes sell in this area
• The average sales price for the Mount Vernon Ohio homes that sold was $110,434

October has arrived and I have just completed the Knox County Board of Realtors MLS homes sales report for September.  The results are very interesting because our board of REALTORS experienced a reduction in homes sales this September compared to September 2009 yet the average sales price of homes sold were higher in September 2010 than they were in September 2009.

• September 2010 saw 1/3rd fewer residential homes sales compared to September 2009.
• The average price of a home that sold in September 2010 was $17,404 higher than in 2009.
• There are 426 residential homes for sale with an average listing price of $161,356 

We have had a goal to update the design of our knoxcountyohio.com real estate website for the past couple of years and last week we made that goal a reality.  We wanted a faster functioning website that would enable visitors the freedom to view homes in more ways than ever before.  Visitors can now search for listings based on new listings, communities, price ranges, school districts, bank owned, vacant land, commercial listings and they can still view all of our active real estate listings in a single grouping.  We hope you enjoy the new knoxcountyohio.com

Serious 1st time homebuyers need to be aware that the deadline for you to have your future home under contract is less than 30 days away and the official deadline is April 30th, 2010.  The good news is that there is an outstanding selection of available homes in Knox County, Ohio so be sure to visit and view Knox County Homes. 

Another important date to keep in mind is June 30th, 2010.  This is the date your future home transaction must be closed in order to take advantage of the tax credit.  Many people do not realize that this is not a tax deduction but an actual tax credit.  If you qualify for the tax credit and you bought an $80,000 or higher home you would qualify for an $8,000 check from the IRS.  If you normally get about $2,000 from the IRS as a tax refund, you should get $10,000 back when you either file your taxes.  Something often overlooked is the ability to amend your prior year tax return and get the $8,000 check back typically within 6 to 8 weeks.

If you are serious about taking advantage of this huge home buyer incentive please contact us as soon as possible because you will need adequate time to select a suitable home and you will need a few days cushion to negotiate your contract to purchase.  Remember, the contract must be fully negotiated and accepted no later than April 30th, 2010.  Give us a call at (740) 397-7800 or email us for all of your Knox County Ohio real estate needs.  

Apple Valley Lake Homes For Sale

Mount Vernon Ohio Homes For Sale

Knox County Ohio Homes with Acreage For Sale

Centerburg Ohio Homes For Sale

Fredericktown Ohio Homes For Sale

Gambier Ohio / Kenyon College Homes For Sale

Butler Ohio Homes For Sale

Utica Ohio / Licking County Homes For Sale

FHA is in the process of making some pretty big changes to their lending guidelines.  FHA mortgage specialist Bill Skerbetz of Equity Resources (740) 349-7082 shared a useful worksheet with me that highlights 5 of the more key changes that are in the works for an FHA loan.  This information is going to be very helpful for consumers thinking of buying or selling a home in the near future.

1. FHA Financing Allowed for Properties Being Resold within 90-Days.  FHA is allowing the use of FHA financing for properties being resold within the 90-day period after the previous acquisition. This is not limited to foreclosed properties. The purpose is to encourage investors that specialize in property renovation to acquire foreclosed and abandoned homes in an effort to increase the availability of affordable homes for homebuyers. In effect for all sales contracts executed on or after February 1, 2010 and will remain in effect for one year unless extended or withdrawn by the commissioner.
2. Maximum Seller Contributions Reduced to 3%.  Seller contributions to pay borrower closing costs is currently 6%, but will drop to 3%. Using $100,000 purchase price, that is $3,000 less the seller could contribute. This will go into effect this summer.
3. Up-front Mortgage Insurance Increased to 2.25%.  The Up-front Mortgage Insurance that FHA requires on most of their loans will be increased from 1.75% to 2.25%. This amount is added to the final loan amount, so there will not be additional funds needed at closing from the borrower. Good news is they will continue to allow this to be financed! Effective for FHA case numbers assigned on or after April 5, 2010.
4. Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP).  They are pursuing legislative authority to allow flexibility to bring the annual MIP higher (currently capped at .55) so they can shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP. The annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at the time of closing so this will reduce the impact to the borrower. This is still pending.
5. Low Credit Scores.  Borrowers with credit scores below 580 will now be required to put a least 10% down. This is kind of a non-issue because few lenders that offer FHA loans will accept credit scores below 620 in today's market. This will go into effect this summer.

The February 2010 home sales totals are in for the Knox County, Ohio real estate market.  There were a total of 28 homes that sold during February for a combined total of $2,722,334 in dollar volume.  The average sales price according to the Knox County MLS for February 2010 was $97,226.

Knox County, Ohio February Home Sales By Price Range

As of February 28, 2010 there are 292 homes listed in the Knox County MLS for sale . The average list price of these homes is $155,501 with a combined total dollar value of $45,406,353.

Watch for our regularly posted monthly statistics and if you would like to be kept up with the latest news on real estate listings in Knox County, Ohio, be sure to register for our automated Knox County, Ohio Listing Notification System at old-emailknoxcountyhomes.com.
 
View our Knox County Ohio Homes For Sale.

 

*All sales statistics are as reported to the Knox County MLS on March 1^st, 2010.

Happy New Year!!  The statistics from 2009 are in and we would like to share them!  In Knox County, Ohio, 417 homes were sold during 2009.  $48,364,855 in total dollar volume of closed real estate was reported to the Knox County MLS.  The average sales price of this real estate was $115,982.

The table below shows the number of Knox County, Ohio homes sold and the price ranges they were sold.

As of January 3, 2010, there are 263 homes listed in the Knox County MLS for sale.  The average list price of these homes is $157,775, with a combined total dollar value of $41,495,059.

Watch for our monthly statistics and if you would like the latest news on our real estate listings in Knox County, Ohio, be sure to register for our automated Knox County, Ohio listing notification by clicking here.

View our Knox County, Ohio listings here.

* All sales statistics are as reported by the Knox County MLS.

The 2009 December numbers are in for real estate in Knox County, Ohio!!!  21 Homes were sold giving a total of  $3,410,189 in dollar volume closed, as reported to the Knox County MLS.  The average sales price in Knox County was $162,389.

Knox County, Ohio December Home Sales By Price Range

 
As of January 3rd, 2010 there are 263 homes listed in the Knox County MLS for sale . The average list price of these homes is $157,775 with a combined total dollar value of $41,495,059.

Watch for our monthly statistics and if you would like to be kept up with the latest news on real estate listings in Knox County, Ohio, be sure to register for our automated Knox County, Ohio Listing Notification at old-emailknoxcountyhomes.com.
 
View our Knox County Ohio Homes For Sale

*All sales statistics are as reported to the Knox County MLS

Real estate foreclosures in Knox County, Ohio are on the rise.  Due to the increase in unemployment, I believe it is realistic that home foreclosures will continue to increase until the job market rebounds.  Home foreclosures can cause serious stress and these types of financial challenges are one of the biggest factors influencing the increased divorce rate among married couples today.

Did you know that a high percentage of the homes that are foreclosed on could have avoided foreclosure and the owner could have sold the home through a REALTOR?  This is where the term Short Sale comes into play.

The Short Sale Explained.  (Just click the play button) 

In today's current housing market, many people owe more on their home than their home is worth.  There are many reasons a homeowner may owe more on their home than it is currently worth and here are some examples:

1. This may have happened because the value of the home simply dropped.
2. They refinanced their original loan and rolled the closing costs into the new loan.
3. They may have added a home equity loan and financed the closing costs into the loan.
4. They did a cash out refinance to pay off other consumer debts, vehicles and credit cards.
5. Many owners refinance to pay unexpected medical bills or funeral expenses. 
6. Divorces, in many cases, create the need to refinance a home when one of the spouses wants to maintain ownership of the home and often at that point they are required to remove the ex spouse from legal ownership and financial obligation.
7. There are dozens of reasons why someone might owe more on their home than it is worth and in many cases it could even be a combination of any of the items listed above.

The Knox County, Ohio Board of Realtors experienced a 5% increase in the number of homes that successfully sold in November compared to October 2009. What is even more impressive is when I compared the average sales price of November 2009 to October 2009, I quickly noticed that November averaged a higher sales price of 4.49% than the month prior. This does not mean that home values are on the rise, but it does mean that there were higher priced homes that sold in November than in October and that is a good sign.

The Knox County Board of Realtors reported 42 residential home sales throughout Knox County including Mount Vernon, Centerburg, Gambier, Howard, Apple Valley, Fredericktown and the smaller villages. The average sales price for the Knox County, Ohio homes that sold in November was $111,068. The lowest priced home that sold was a bank repossession which sold for $33,000.  The highest priced home closed at $232,000.

November 2009 Compared to November 2008

I do extensive monthly market research and have completed monthly market studies for more than 15 years. When I pulled last years November 2008 home sales statistics, I compared them with the November 2009 statistics and the comparison made me smile. This November we had 42 homes sales and last year in the same time period we only had 29 home sales. That is a huge difference and that amount of increase in any market is considered BIG.  Here are the results for November 2009:

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Click Here for our featured properties!!!  Some of the best property for sale is displayed right here. As experts in the Knox County real estate market, we can provide you detailed information on these homes, or any others!

*Disclaimer: The Knox County Board of Realtors MLS statistics as of December 1st, 2009