What Will A Million Dollars Get You in Residential Real Estate In Cleveland?

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Over 200 years ago, Moses Cleveland visited the area as part of a real estate business transaction. The Connecticut Land Company purchased a large portion of Northeast Ohio from the state of Connecticut for $1.2 million dollars. Moses Cleveland led a surveying company, that surveyed what is now called the Western Reserve, or the Western Reserve of Connecticut. That survey company established their group on the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, which is now where Downtown Cleveland is located.

In the documentary entitled, “Cleveland Economic History Part 1”, where some of this information was taken from, it noted that Moses Cleveland paid the Six Nations Indians “Two beef cattle, one hundred Gallons of Whiskey and 500 pounds in New York State Currency, for the rights to settle on the east banks of the Cuyahoga River”.  The Six Nations Indians were a league made up of Iroquois tribes which included Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca and Tuscarora.  If you are interested in learning more about the economic history of the city of Cleveland, I would encourage you to watch the 3 part documentary on YouTube. There’s a lot of interesting information on the Cleveland area in these. The first part is below. I have added links to them all at the bottom of this article.

 

 

While $1.2 million dollars used to get you an entire region, today individual homes are selling for a million dollars and more. In fact, a million dollars is not really a big deal anymore in real estate. Don’t get me wrong. A home with a market value of around a million dollars is going to offer excellent quality and amenities. But homes of this caliber are not rare anymore.

I ran a search in the multiple listing service (MLS) for all single family homes that have sold in Cuyahoga County within the past year, with sales prices of between $900K and $1.2 million dollars. I found 41.  That’s more than just a handful! There were many additional sales that have sold for more than $1.2 million as well. Here are the stats from my search for homes that sold between $900 and $1.2 million dollars:

 

Here are a couple of charts reflecting sales of over $900K in Cuyahoga County within the past two years as well as a historical view of sales within this range. Clearly 2018 was a record year! I have personally appraised a good number of proposed construction dwellings at or above a million in the past year, which are not reflected in this data.

 

 

Where is the highest concentration of homes in this price range? Based upon my search, the highest concentration of homes in this price range are in Bay Village, Westlake, Moreland Hills, Hunting Valley, and Chagrin Falls. See the map below.

 

 

Now you might be wondering what the highest priced sales sold for in Cuyahoga County within the past year?  Here are the three highest sales in the area that have sold in Cuyahoga County, within the past year. (Thru the MLS) Drum roll please…

1. 41777 Burton Trail, Hunting Valley. Sold for $6,125,000 on 02/02/2018. This cape cod style home-built in 1979 offers 8,186 sq. ft. of gross living area (According to the County Auditor), and 23 acres of land. It offers lake frontage on a private lake. According to the MLS, it was “re-designed & completely re-built-in 2010. This property has all of the amenities that you would find in other comparable properties of its caliber.

 

 

2. 2779 Som Center Road, Hunting Valley. Sold for $4,800,000 in an auction with a starting bid of $2,500,000 on 09/29/2017. This Tudor style dwelling, built in 2006, offers 10,788 sq. ft. of gross living area (According to the County Auditor), and an additional 6,453 sq. ft. of finished basement area, and 5.79 acres of land. It boasts an infinity pool, which is typical for comparable homes of this type. It also offers an art studio, movie theatre, grand entertainment complex, spa, tennis court, volleyball court, a private outdoor chapel and incredible gardens.

 

 

3. 12 W Hanna Lane, Bratenahl. Sold for $4,995,000 on 05/25/2018. This property offers 12,280 sq. ft. of gross living area (According to the County Auditor), with an additional 6,872 sq. ft. of finished basement area, and 3.06 acres of land. This property was designed by renowned architect Stanford White of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White for industrialist Howard M. Hanna Jr.  Built in 1910, This home is placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. This property offers Lake Erie frontage, an in-ground pool, outdoor terraces and beautiful gardens.

 

The Cleveland Market is strong and steadily increasing!  We are looking forward to a strong 2019 ahead, and hopefully beyond.  Time will tell. While have I not appraised these three homes, I have appraised homes plenty of luxury homes in this market. So, if you’re looking for an appraiser with expertise in appraising luxury homes, please give me a call! And now stand by for a short commercial.

 

 

I hope you found this interesting. Here is my monthly County Market Update where I compare the sales of all single family homes, county-wide, from October of last year,  with those of this past October. Here are the numbers, taken from the MLS on 11/11/2018:

CUYAHOGA COUNTY

Average Price – $169,816 (-1.6%)

Median Price – $135,000  (+2.2%)

Average Days on Market – 64 (-9 Days)

Closed Sales – 1,362 (+5)

SUMMIT COUNTY

Average Price – $169,652 (+7.6%)

Median Price – $137,500 (+5.7%)

Average Days on Market – 58 (-1 Day) 

Closed Sales – 701 (-25)

LAKE COUNTY

Average Price – $164,202 (+1.7%)

Median Price – $142,000 (+6.3%)

Average Days on Market – 69 (-17 Days)

Closed Sales – 285 (-11)

MEDINA COUNTY

Average Price – $240,708 (+11.5%)

Median Price – $208,006 (+3.2%)

Average Days on Market – 60 (-6 Days)

Closed Sales – 211 (-17)

PORTAGE COUNTY

Average Price – $197,313 (+8.9%)

Median Price – $169,450 (+5.9%)

Average Days on Market – 67 (-2 Days)

Closed Sales – 160 (+8)

LORAIN COUNTY

Average Price – $178,757 (+0.6%)

Median Price – $148,000 (-4.7%)

Average Days on Market 70 (-6 Days)

Closed Sales – 401 (+41)

GEAUGA COUNTY

Average Price – $285,160 (+2.4%)

Median Price – $250,000 (+15%)

Average Days on Market – 76 (-23 Days)

Closed Sales – 85 (-13)

 

The following charts provide more detailed data and can be downloaded by going to my County Market Reports Page.

 

 

 

Here are charts reflecting the trends over the past 10 years in each county.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re interested in having me visit your office to answer the burning appraisal questions you have or to discuss what’s going on in the market, please give me a call to set up an appointment. I would love to stop by your office!

If numbers and stats don’t excite you, perhaps this little video will put a smile on your face. This video is made up of photos I took while driving around taking pictures of homes. Autumn is my favorite time of year in the Northeast. I hope you enjoy the video. And thank you for reading my blog! Have a great day!

 

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What Do Appraisal Clients Need? – George Dell’s Analogue Blog

Do I Really Need an Appraisal? – DW Slater Company Appraisal Blog

Tips for Dealing with Complex Residential Appraisals – Yolo Solano Appraisal Blog

Blaine Feyen and The Real Value Podcast – The Appraiser Coach

Dear USPAP Instructor Restricted Reports – The Appraiser Coach

AppraiserFest 2018 Recap Trailer – Voice of Appraisal

Experienced and New – Appraisalblogs

What Does “Misleading” Mean? – Working RE – Tim Anderson

Cleveland Economic History – Part 1

Cleveland Economic History Part 2

Cleveland Economic History Part 3