January 24, 2009

January Nightlife in Suburban Columbus, Ohio

Posted to Phil Giessler

Not much going on in a small city near Ohio’s capital city when the temperature is sub teens and the snow is ankle deep? Wrong! Espresso Yourself Music Café (EYMC) is where it was “happening” last Friday night with three different musical groups. EYMC is owned and operated by folk music aficionado Eric Ahlteen and family Chelsea and Eric (www.espressoyourselfmusiccafe.com). The location is 50 West Olentangy Street in downtown Powell. Carol and I arrived about 8:30 PM in the middle of the performance by the Fo Mo Jo jazz band which was loud and wonderful.

We had been invited by a friend and fellow member at the Worthington Presbyterian Church, Parker MacDonell, to see his band, Pep Boys, play at the 9:00 PM slot. Jim Cunningham on bass and vocal and percussionist Rob Mottice added to Parker’s personal performance. They were fantastic and perfect for the acoustics of the building which was a church many years ago. You can catch Parker’s recordings at www.parkermacdonell.com, He is pretty good for a graying bank president.

I am told that the Pep Boys will be performing at Shanghai Lilly for a Valentine treat. Is just a bit further west close to Muirfield Village in Dublin, actually Shawnee Hills, Ohio. Sounds like a good date and with the reputation of the restaurant’s good food it will probably be our Valentine treat.

I asked Carol, my wife, who has an amazing ability to create on the spot poetry to share her view of the evening. I include it here as I feel she captured the venue and entertainment better than I did.

"In a little old church, Now a coffee house
In Powell in the center of town
We were all entertained
By a group of three guys
All from different backgrounds

Three men came together
To sing and to play
The words were straight from their hearts
We suggest that you visit some nite you are free
And enjoy music, coffee or tea"

She does poems like this for all occasions. Usually takes her 5 minutes. Amazing talent!! I am trying to get her to create a web site and start a home business. Contact me and I will make an attempt to work on one for you.

By the way the real estate business was “busy” this week here in the North Arc of Columbus. Powell and Dublin are small cities to the north and northwest of Columbus and offer an excellent quality of life as well as a full bundle of great housing alternatives.

Posted By: Phil Giessler
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January 05, 2009

COLUMBUS OHIO, NORTH ARC, RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRENDS-TENDENCIES AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2008

Posted to Phil Giessler

This spreadsheet is the residential real estate update for the communities that make up the geographic north arc of the greater Columbus Ohio area. The North Arc, as we call it, is the area clockwise from approximately 9 to 2. The information is obtained from the Columbus Board of Realtors® (CBR) Multiple Listing Service (MLS). All housing types including; attached and detached condominiums and single family residences are considered. The 10 areas include school districts: Bexley, Columbus, Dublin, Gahanna, Hilliard, Olentangy, Plain Local, Upper Arlington, Westerville and Worthington. The time line comparisons include October 1 to December 31 of 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The numbers of Sales, Average Sales Price (ASP), and average Days On Market (DOM) are noted. A Supply/Absorption (S/A) yield is also recorded. (The supply/absorption information is especially interesting).

Highlighted in green are results that may be positive. Highlighted in yellow are results that may be negative.

The Sales are down in all areas except for Gahanna which shows a 10% increase. However, Gahanna also shows a 16% drop in ASP

Average Sales Price is interesting intrinsic information especially as we consider the same time lines in previous years. Hilliard, Olentangy and New Albany have all trended downward in the last four years while Upper Arlington and Worthington have trended upward.

Days on Market is a figure that may have significance. DOM is derived from the listing Realtor’s® report to the MLS but only considers the last listing period. So for instance if the property was listed, expired and then relisted the DOM would be recorded only for the last listing. Therefore this may be the least reliable figure of those considered in this report.

A Supply/Absorption of 6 months is considered by most relocation management companies, appraisers and Realtors® as a healthy supply. Under 6 months indicates a sellers market or undersupply and higher suggests a buyers market or oversupply. Unknown and therefore not measured are the number of properties that have been taken off of the market for the holidays. The next quarter might find an increase of supply as owners choose to get their real estate on the market for the hopeful spring upswing. The S/A is not available for other than the current year. The Columbus School District neighborhoods of Clintonville, Beechwold and other northwest Columbus School District areas show a 6.7 month supply. The Worthington School District follows closely at 6.9 month supply. The Olentangy (southern Delaware County), Plain Local (aka New Albany) and Upper Arlington School Districts yield a 12 month supply.

Bottom line is that the residential real estate market in the North Arc of Columbus Ohio is okay, could be better and most certainly could be worse. We make this effort, not for fun, but to try to help the active or potential buyers and sellers understand the best and most current information and even look a bit into the future as much as our numbers permit.

This blog has been created, if not in fact at least in thought, while I was loading up on food and fellowship over the holidays. Besides homestyle family cooking I have enjoyed fare from restaurants in the Columbus and St.Louis, MO areas. Here is a quick “average person” report. In Columbus: Aubergine in Grandview - “fantastic food and drink– Ted was an excellent host, sommelier and chef” this is a private dining club so if you get an offer to go say yes!, Basi Italia in an alley in the Short North neighborhood – “chef/owner John has it all together” “quaint, cozy and hard to find but worth the effort” http://www.basi-italia.com , Caffe Daniela in downtown Worthington - “lasagna and Daniela panini are great” – “Joe and Mary Jo make it go”, LaChatelaine French Bakery and Bistro in Worthington: “Gigi’s pasta but don’t miss the freshly baked items”,http://www.lachatelainebakery.com, Lindey’s in German Village (for Carol and Phil’s 40th anniversary) “Sunday brunch off the menu was wonderful” , http://www.lindeys.com, North Star Café in Beechwold – “always a treat for breakfast and later, organic and local ingredients, http://www.thenorthstarcafe.com , and in O’Fallon, MO a great New Years Eve dinner at B.C.’s Kitchen: ask for the brie followed by crown of pork, one of Bill Cardwell’s spots, http://www.billcardwell.com , All of this guided me to self imposed, early morning, “get healthy” dates at the Worthington Community Recreation Center.

The best for you in 2009!

Posted By: Phil Giessler


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