Solon OH Luxury Homes Year In Review 2010
Here is our official year in review for Solon Luxury Homes complete with a comparison to 2009. We will provide in depth commentary about the Solon luxury home market that is certain to raise a few eyebrows. Also, we will include some great videos of Solon luxury home neighborhoods at the bottom.
In the Cleveland real estate market, a luxury home is categorized as one that sells for at least $500,000.
Year # of Homes Sold Ave. Sales Price
2010 26 $686,375
2009 31 $599,060
Highest Sale = $1,700,000
Here is a breakdown of 2010 sales by price:
Commentary:
Things are beginning to turn around for the luxury market as is evidenced by the figures above. While there were less actual sales in 2010 compared to last year, the average price for a Solon luxury home was higher. The average sales price figures are probably a tad inflated as we saw two sales over $1,000,000, one close to $2,000,000 which is unusual in the Solon market.
While there were more sales in 2009 ( 31 ), 11 of them were distressed properties, those that were either bank owned or short-sales. Out of the 26 sales last year, only 4 were distressed sales. We believe that less distressed sales is one of the main reasons why the average sales price was higher this past year.
WHY ARE NEARBY SUBURBS DOING BETTER THAN SOLON?
While luxury sales were down this year here in Solon, there were some suburbs nearby that did very well. Pepper Pike for example saw luxury home sales more than double this year, from 14 in 2009 to 31 in 2010. Moreland Hills also saw better numbers this year as well.
Does this mean that Solon is no longer as desirable? Not at all. Solon earned the #1 report card from the Ohio Department of Education last year, so buyer demand isn't the issue here. We are now going to share some insight that you won't read anywhere else.
In some suburbs, the luxury home inventory consists of older homes where the sellers on average have lived in their homes for a longer period of time than Solon home sellers. Some sellers in areas like Pepper Pike bought their homes 20-30+ years ago and have quite a bit of equity in their homes. Since most Solon luxury homes were built within the last 10 years, many of today's sellers have been in their homes for a short period of time.
Sure, homes in areas like Pepper Pike took a hit on their values during the recent downturn just like everywhere else. But people there are less attached to the relationship of purchase price vs. current market value than many Solon home sellers, most of whom bought during the peak of the real estate market.
Let's look at this example:
Year Purchased Purchase Price Value in 2006 Recent Sale Price
Pepper Pike Luxury Home Seller 1985 $450,000 $800,000 $720,000
Solon Luxury Home Seller 2004 $699,000 $745,000 $665,000
Here, both sellers saw their homes depreciate over the last few years, causing them to lose money. However, when all is said and done, psychologically it's a lot easier for the Pepper Pike seller to accept the loss because in the end, they still made money on the home over the years.
To make matters worse, Solon home sellers, many whom bought new construction, could easily have spent an additional $80,000+ above and beyond what the purchase price states for items not typically included in new homes, such as landscaping, a finished basement, and window treatments.
At this point, it's not that sellers in Solon cannot sell their homes. Many are simply so emotionally tied to their purchase price and how much they put into the home, that they are not yet willing to accept what the current market will bear. For this reason, bringing buyers and sellers of luxury homes together in Solon is more of a challenge today than in some of the other suburbs. The buyers are still out there, they are just very smart and refuse to pay more than market value for a home.
If someone wants a newer home in an excellent rated school district, Solon is often at the top of the list, especially for those who are relocating to the Cleveland area. Subdivisions such as Chagrin Highlands , Signature of Solon, and Thornbury are highly sought out, so demand isn't the issue. The problem is the sellers.
Moving forward, we are seeing sellers, slowly and surely, become more realistic with their pricing and we anticipate sales of luxury homes in Solon to increase slightly in 2011.
FOR THOSE NOT FAMILIAR WITH SOLON OHIO, HERE IS A GREAT VIDEO OF SIGNATURE OF SOLON, ONE OF CLEVELAND'S PREMIERE GATED GOLF COURSE COMMUNITIES:
Here are links to videos of some other fabulous Solon luxury home developments:
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About The Authors:
Dan and Amy Schuman live on the East side of Cleveland and specialize in Cleveland Luxury Homes, working with buyers relocating to Cleveland, and first-time buyers.
For Ohio and Solon Oh real estate and homes see Solon OH Real Estate
For a personal consultation or to speak directly to The Schuman Team, call 216-346-3235 or email.
LET'S CONNECT:
Solon OH Luxury Homes Year In Review 2010 is the property of The Schuman Team and may not be duplicated or used without their written consent. ©January, 2011
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