It looks as if property values are increasing in the “City of Beautiful Homes.”
That’s according to several indictors that show that property values — and home sales — saw a slight uptick in Lakewood in July.
That’s good news for a region that has seen its home values take a beating during the past few years of the Great Recession.
According to Zillow, a website that compiles real estate and property value data based on property sales and county records, both values and sales are up in Lakewood.
The average value of Lakewood homes was listed at $113,000 in July.
That’s up 1.6 percent from the previous year, according to the site.
Brian Salem, of the realty group, said that while he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with Zillow’s findings, he agrees that there was an upswing in housing sales last month.
“Values are starting to go up, and in my opinion, the trend will continue that way,” particularly for the western suburbs, he said.
He said home sales in the $100,000 to $150,000 range are up, as well as homes listed between $200,000 to $300,000.
“Inventory is down in both of ranges as well,” he said, adding that low interest rates also help buyers.
“Lakewood single family homes under $350,000 are turning and heading to more of a sellers’ market.”
According to the Cleveland Area Board of Realtors’ market report, released last week, there are a few factors that account for the regional uptick including an “upward trend” in employment.
“Rising prices lifted many homeowners out of negative equity, improving confidence, enabling them to sell without a loss, and reducing the risk that they might roll into foreclosure,” according to the report.
The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Dru Siley, the city’s director of building and housing, who said there’s been some recent “stabilization in the housing market.”
“We’re seeing hundreds and hundreds of homeowners investing in their properties,” he said. “There’s a migration of new homeowners who are buying and fixing up houses.”
Earlier this summer, building department officials said that this was one of the busiest summers in recent memory for residents pulling building permits — most of them looking to fix up their homes.
“We have great schools, good services, great commercial corridors and we have some of the best housing stock in the country,” Siley said. “The improvement you see is a result of all of those factors coming together.”
On a more positive note, pending home sales for July in Lakewood were almost 37% higher in 2012 than they were last July. Additionally, we have seen the 2012 sales trends to be the highest since the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit in 2010 (and early 2008 going back further).