Slower Job Growth Unlikely to Affect Central Ohio Housing Market

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has ranked the Central Ohio housing market as one of the 20 strongest in the country. A number of factors could be driving the market, but job growth appears to be the most significant. However, some economists fear that the job growth engine could be sputtering, which raises some concerns about the long-term direction of the housing market.

Job Growth Concerns Overstated

A recent report from PNC Financial Services Group Inc., sales-risingfound that the job growth is expected to slow slightly in 2015. They reported that the number of jobs in Central Ohio increased 2.3% in 2014, but expect that figure to drop to 2.2% this year.

The figure is not very significant, but still raised some concerns among economists and real estate agents. Some fear that deceleration in the job market is a leading indicator that the economy is losing steam, which would threaten the direction of the housing market.

However, experts from PNC doubt that there is anything to be worried about.  Mekael Teshome, an economist with PNC, responded to this question with stark optimism. “No, not at all,” Teshome said. “I think one of Columbus’ advantages is it’s not a boom-and-bust economy. Settling into a normal rate of growth is not entirely bad, especially with the unemployment rate fairly low. It’s really actually a good thing – we’re at cruising speed.”

Teshome acknowledged that job growth declined slightly in the third quarter. However, he said that slower growth was expected. He also pointed out that job creation was actually stronger than PNC predicted earlier this year.

“Columbus will remain among the growth leaders in the Midwest, even as the region’s economy settles into its long-term growth rate,” read the PNC report, which bodes well for the direction of the housing market as well.

Housing Market Likely to Continue to Rise

The housing market could face a setback if job growth decline too much, but a fallout in the job market doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. The NAR believes that housing demand will continue to rise for the foreseeable future and nothing in the PNC report indicates otherwise.

While job growth may decline slightly over the next few months, it’s likely to still surpass the national average. Housing demand will probably continue to rise if it continues to outperform neighboring states, especially if more people relocate to Ohio for better career prospects.

  

Northern Ohio Condos Sales Increase Nearly 12% in June

The Ohio housing market has been growing rapidly over the last few years. Demand for condos in the northern part of the state has been especially strong. According to Michelle Jarboe McFee, condo sales increased 11.6% between January and June, but could rise even higher before the end of the year.

Northern Ohio Housing Market Continues to Accelerate

The housing market throughout most of Ohio has been home-salesstronger in 2015 than any other year since the beginning of the recession. However, the market has been particularly strong in Northern Ohio. Data from the Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service shows that sales have risen five times faster in the northern region than the rest of the state.

The report may be surprising after recent data detailed the strength of the Central Ohio housing market. Realtor.com recently reported that Columbus has the fifteenth strongest housing market in the country. However, while the market for homes in Central Ohio is particularly strong, the market appears to be growing much faster in the northern parts of the state.

Economists are confident that the economy will continue to grow through 2015. They believe that the stronger job market and increased business activity in Ohio will lead to a stronger housing market before the end of the year.

Condo Market is Particularly Resilient

The demand for condominiums and single family homes is poised to grow even faster than demand for other units in 2015. There are probably several factors that are affecting demand for condos and other smaller properties in the area:

  • A growing number of millennials are choosing not to have children or are waiting longer before starting families.
  • The strong job market appears to be drawing recent college graduates from other states to Ohio.
  • Many families chose to downsize during the recession and have become more adjusted to living minimalist lifestyles. They may prefer living in smaller homes.
  • Debt remains a concern for many Ohio homeowners. According to a recent report, a growing number of Dayton homeowners are underwater with their mortgages. These families may also want to live in smaller homes to save money.

Demand for all forms of housing is expected to continue to rise throughout the rest of the year. The market should prove especially strong as the job market and other sectors of the economy grow. However, the market for condos in Northern Ohio is one of the most hottest in the state.

 

Giving Your Kitchen The Ideal Look And Feel

A beautiful kitchen makes a happy home no matter whether you are a mom, dad, son, daughter, grandma, or guest. A beautiful kitchen can become the showpiece of a home, which is perfectly ideal. Since the kitchen is oneof the highest traffic areas of any home, it is a real good idea to make a home a real showcase.

To do so, there are several different styles of color coordination and patterns that can be followed. If you are looking to remodel your kitchen, here are some of the options you can choose to make your kitchen that showcase you have always wanted.

Contrasting Colors– Many likeWorthington Kitchen Remodel the idea of selecting colors are opposite to one another on the color wheel. If you look at a color wheel you can see that colors are grouped according to the primary colors. Selecting colors that are diverse from one another can give an interesting look, which makes the kitchen kind of fun. For example, cherry red cabinets can be contrasted with green walls. If brown is the color of the cabinets, blue would make great wall colors.

Harmonizing Colors–in contrast to the contrasting colors idea, harmonizing colors are ones where the color schemes are chosen from areas of the color wheel that are in the same area. For most people they choose colors that are very close in shade to one another. White walls could have pale aqua or salmon cabinet colors, ivory appliances, and light yellow wallpaper schemes. These make for a great blending that looks so good because there is such a subtle difference between the different variants.

Speckling – one thing that many like to do is to choose to add speckles to the colors they are using for their kitchen. Often they select just one color for most of the items, including the appliances, cabinets, countertops and walls, then different colors of speckles. This allows the kitchen to have a very common look, yet different. Speckle colors on the wall can be different than that on countertops. It is a great look for sure.

Extreme Cabinet Colors – This works especially well if the cabinets are dark like a mahogany or a ebony. When light colors are used on the walls and appliances, the dark coloring of the cabinets makes for a very unusual look that contrasts so well because there is a real consistency in the way that the kitchen is designed. Light colors make the kitchen look cheery, while the darker cabinets add elegance and a high quality look. You’ll love it.

Accessories – In this look the kitchen is colored with different hues chosen depending upon the material. For example, all the walls would be one color. All the trims around the walls, flooring, windows, and ceilings would be another color. Cabinets would be a third color. Appliances a fourth. Countertops a fifth color. If there are bar stools or a breakfast area, it gets a sixth color. In fact, any furniture would be that sixth color. This kind of coloring makes the kitchen uniform and different. It is a clever look.

Making The Right Choice For That Home Improvement Project

Making some additions or changes to your home can be a fun venture. Adding a new room, building a space above the garage, redesigning your basement, and expanding the kitchen are just a few of the things you can do to turn your home into an even more amazing castle. For those looking to do a project like this, the challenge comes in finding the right person to do the design and then looking for someone to actually do the work. This can be a lot of trouble, or it can be the ideal solution depending upon how you want to look at it.Worthington Kitchen Remodel

You should be aware that there are two different methods you can use to make the improvement: Design-Bid-Build, and Design-Build. The method will be determined by how much involvement you want in the project itself. Let me explain this to you.

In the Design-Bid-Build option, the homeowner finds a company or contractor that will do the design of the improvement. The homeowner then finds a different company that will actually do the work. These companies submit bids to the homeowner on what it would take for them to do the project based upon the specifications designed by the designer. Once a bid is accepted, the company that won the bid does the project.

This is the ideal choice if the homeowner wants to be more involved in the project itself. By selecting both the contractor and the builder, the owner gets to ensure that those who are involved in the project are right for each piece. There are some concerns you should be aware of, which I will come back to. In the Design-Build model, the company that is chosen to design the project is also the company that builds the improvement itself. This takes away an additional step the homeowner and streamlines the process.

While both have their benefits, there are some challenges that arise with both options. In the first option there is a great deal of limitation on the part of the home owner to make adjustments to the project on the fly. Consider that if a new room was being added onto the house. If, while the room was being built, the homeowner noticed that a window would have been ideal on a different wall there is little to no room to make the change. The builder did not design the room, and so you would have to go back to the designer to get the plans changed, and then get the builder to agree to make the change. That may not happen.

In the second option this is less of a concern. The owner can simply approach the designer and ask for the change, and since they are also the builders, it is less of a challenge to make this happen.

However, the second option comes with some challenges as well. Most importantly, a designer may not be as good of a builder, or vice versa. You may not be able to get as quality of a job done with choosing one company to do both pieces.

Adding an improvement onto your home can be great, and now that you know the benefits and pitfalls of both this will hopefully aid you in making an informed decision.

Read More about design build here: https://scotthallremodeling.com/design-build-services/our-process/

 

The Paradox of Expensive Rent for Low Income Ohio Residents

The economic recovery is finally starting to gain traction in Ohio. However, the turnaround isn’t benefiting everyone equally. The prices of rent in low income communities are rising rapidly, although the incomes of those residents have remained tepid. Many housing experts, economists and policymakers argue that this trend underscores the need to create more affordable housing units in Central Ohio.

Average Resident Struggles to Afford Local Rent

The National Low Income Housing Coalition recently released the 2015 Out of Reach Report, which studied the number of residents that could afford a two bedroom apartment. The report showed that the highest wage needed to afford such an apartment was $14.13 an hour. This actually made Ohio the 10th most affordable housing market for low income families. On the surface, this sounds like Ohio residents are faring better than their counterparts in other parts of the country, but this analysis only factors one side of the equation.

The problem is that median wages in Ohio are lower than 34 other states.  Wages for low income residents are even more problematic. The state has a minimum wage of $For-Rent-Yard-Sign8.10 an hour and an average wage of $12 an hour, which is over $2 less than needed to afford an average two bedroom.

Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) said that the situation is fairly grim for many low income workers. “”Everyday in Ohio, people are having to make the tough choice between food and rent,”” said Faith. ““These are people who have served our country during wartime, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and people who are working multiple minimum wage jobs and still not making ends meet. So while Ohio is far from the most expensive housing state in the country, it’s unreasonable to have to work 70 hours per week to put a modest roof over your head.”

The situation may not be as dire for the average worker as Faith and some advocates argue. It fails to take into account that most people renting two-bedroom apartments are sharing with spouses or roommates, which means that they will multiple streams of income to help make the unit more affordable. However, even many of these people may struggle to pay housing with additional bills that arise. It also shows that single parents are struggling to pay for an apartment that accommodates themselves and their children.

Need for New Housing Units

The real solution to the problem will be to create new housing units for low income families. The problem will eventually correct itself as prices decline to reflect a larger supply of housing for working families. Governor Kasich established  Ohio’s Housing and Homelessness Collaborative to help rectify the problem, which is expected to show results in the coming year.

Some Tips on Finding the Right Appliances for Your Kitchen

Getting anything new can always be fun. Going out to a get a new car or looking for a new house has an exhilaration written all over it. New computers, CDs or books don’t have the same pizzazz as a new house or car, but entertainment stuff is always a grand thing to buy. Buying things, especially when you can truly afford to do so, is just fun and we all known fun is good!

Even getting new kitchen appliances can be fun. While it lacks some of the luster of entertainment, fun, a new refrigerator, stove or dishwasher can make your kitchen really sparkle and add a whole new look to one of the most used rooms in your home. It can be just as much fun to see it rolled into your home and placed along or under your kitchen countertop. New stuff is just a fun endeavor for sure.

If you are in the market for new kitchen appliances understand that there are some things you need to do ensure that your new appliance doesn’t become a new pain instead of a new solution. It just takes a few simple things to do on your part.

The first thing to consider is space. Does that new double-door refrigerator fit where your old one did? Refrigerators come in all shapes and sizes and so you need to take some measurements before you go and buy. The last thing you want to do is to buy something that simply does not fit. This is true of a dishwasher, stove, microwave, or refrigerator. Make sure that length from the wall out into the kitchen meets the dimension of the appliance as well. You sure don’t want your dishwasher sticking out five inches from your counter.

Next make sure that the appliance works with your current setup. There is no reason to get that amazing gas stove if you have an electrical hook up there. It can be quite costly to change over, and would not be worth the added expense. In some homes the kitchen is equipped for both, but you need to make sure first. A refrigerator that has a water or ice machine is no good if there is not a water hookup behind the refrigerator. Check these kinds of things out first before you buy.

You also want to make sure that electrical outlets match what the appliance needs for power. Most use a regular wall socket for current, but this is not always true. Some electric stoves require special sockets.

Lastly, ensure that the appliance does not require more power than your outlets can handle. This is especially true if you have an older home. The wiring in your home simply may not be able to handle the demands of the appliance, thus you will frequently encounter overloads, or maybe even pose a fire risk. Check to see if there are drains on the power supply before you risk your home in this way. You will be glad you did.