Is the housing market in Lake County finally experiencing a chill?

By Patricia Nugent

Heading into fall, people often perceive the real estate market as cooling down.

I recently sat down with local experts Mark and Denise Zervos, who own The Neighborhood Experts at Platinum Real Estate, to see if that notion holds water. In their words “not a chance.”

“The only thing cooling off is the buyer frenzy we’ve seen the past two years,” says Denise. “Several factors are at play now impacting the market in Lake County. First, there are finally more homes coming onto the market. Inventory is higher than it’s been in a while. That means we are seeing less intensity in buyer bidding wars. And if you’re someone who has faced the fear of not being able to find a home once you sell yours, that’s not as impossible as it has been. With more inventory, you’ll have more choices.”

For both buyers and sellers, the value of homes in our area keeps going up. In fact, in June of this year, home prices in Lake County were up 20.6% compared to last year. The median home price was $224,000, and 322 homes were sold last month, with 326 under contract.

When it comes to timing, the news is positive there, too. As illustrated in the Market Update above, the average number of days a home under $1 million sat on the market last month was only 21.

“Rising interest rates are actually moderating the market by slightly reducing the crush of buyers,” says Denise. “With fewer buyers, people don’t have to worry as much about being outbid again and again. So, if you put your home search on pause last year, now is an excellent time to re-enter the market. The search might not be a breeze, as inventory overall is still low, but it will be better than it’s been the past two years.”

Platinum Real Estate has offices in Northeast Ohio, Columbus and Florida. The Platinum Center headquarters is located at 7200 Center Street in Mentor. To get more information, call 216-990-2100 or 440-974-SALE and visit YourNeighborhoodExpert.com.