Below are the latest Mason Ohio real estate sales for December, 2008. As you can see, last year the numbers were significantly lower, but the activity curve was much the same.

Mason/Deerfield Township December Months Supply of Inventory

Mason/Deerfield Township December Supply and Demand

Mason/Deerfield Township December Median Price

What we see is during the summer months the median sale price jumps, probably as people rush to get their children into school. This is interesting because what we’ve actually seen in the Real Estate business is there are more and more investors buying the inventory than family buyers. This would make you think the winter months would be stronger as investors buy to provide their crews with indoor work over the cold months.

Investors know a good thing when they see it. Mason has so many things going for it:

• Great school system
• Well-planned community
• Lots of great shopping
• Really good variety of homes from big, impressive homes to attractive, easy-to-maintain lifestyle homes, to family communities with or without pools and other sports amenities.
• Great community center with activities and a wonderful pool.

Investors see that when the market turns around, Mason will turn around with it because it is so desirable.

What we have definitely seen recently is that the investors are buying the foreclosures and short sales, fixing them up but instead of listing them for sale, they are renting them out to the busy rental market.

We have also seen a lot of renters in the market.  Most of them are people who either cannot buy another home for their families because of money/credit issues, or simply do not choose to do so because they don’t think the real estate market has reached the bottom yet. Every foreclosure or short sale is a family on the market to rent. And these families almost certainly won’t be able to buy a home for at least a couple of years. This is also slowing down the “sold” market, but it is providing an opportunity for investors. We have also seen a lot of home owners leasing their homes and moving to smaller rentals themselves. They don’t or can’t sell their homes but can rent them for enough to make the mortgage payments. This is a great way to manage the economy without giving up your dream home!

Because Mason is such a stable and attractive neighborhood to live in, I am hoping this year people will anticipate the bottom of the market and will take advantage of the really low interest rates to jump in and buy a home.

I don’t think that it’s time to buy unless you can see yourself remaining in that home for at least 5 years, because I don’t know if the median sale price will be able to turn the corner this year or not. We have an awful lot of inventory to eat up before the median sale price is going to trend up.

One thing for sure is that if you want to buy and you want a good deal in Mason, it is better to buy early in the year!

If you are interested in buying investment property for the rental market now and the flip market later on, we can encourage you! We also can help you with leasing and management. Call us for more information at 513.766.3878.