CSU Housing Expert Calls Ohio City Market "Enormous"

In an article in last week’s Crain’s Cleveland Business (click here), CSU housing expert Tom Bier described the booming Ohio City’s housing market in one word:  “Enormous.”

Ohio City is to the immediate west of our little paradise here at Duck Island, separated only by the West Side Market.  A recent study of its housing market by Re/Max Beyond 2000 shared statistics that Crain’s described as “jaw-dropping to many long-time Clevelanders”:

• On average, more than once every two weeks, there is a buyer paying more than $200,000 for a home or condominium in Ohio City — and it has picked up recently;
• The number of $200,000 sales has increased 50% over the last three years; and
• Ninety-one (that’s 91!) homes in Ohio City have sold over the past three years for prices ranging from $200,000 to $580,000.

Another agent from Keller Williams was quoted as saying that “in terms of new homes, I can sell you anything you want in the suburbs.  Now at West 57th and Bridge (Avenue), I have nothing for you.”

The boom in housing has tracked closely with a parallel boom in retail.  Crain’s also reports that storefront vacancies have from 30% to only 3% in just the last three years — adding 53 new businesses in the neighborhood.

People seem to crave the neighborhood scale – citing walkability and bikability, the avoidance of dependence on cars, the urban gritty churn charm, the density of people and business, and the proximity of downtown.

Boom!