Saturday, January 08, 2000
Realtors board president: Strong sales in store
Will Greater Cincinnati's housing market in 2000 be able to sustain its record-breaking sales pace of the past two years?
That's one of the biggest questions facing Chester “Chip” Sudbrack III, named Friday as this year's president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. That is the trade group representing 5,000 residential and commercial Realtors, sales agents and brokers.
Through November, existing-homes sales were on track to break those of the banner year two years ago. A total of 19,370 homes were sold, compared with 10,014 during the first 11 months of 1998.
But the threat of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in hopes of cooling the red-hot national economy and a low supply of homes could slow the robust housing mar ket.
Mr. Sudbrack, 38, is a third-generation president of the local Board of Realtors. The group dominates more than 80 percent of the total home sales in the Tristate. He also is president of Sudbrack Inc. Realtor, an Evendale real-estate firm.
On Friday, he talked about the local housing market with Enquirer reporter Jeff McKinney, who covers banking and residential real estate.
Question: What's your view of the local housing market this year?
Answer: “Though the Fed is determined to slow the market down, we'll have a strong year. Interest rates are still attractive, especially adjustable-rate mortgages. There's also still a lot of potential buyers out there, particularly first-time and move-up buyers. Inventory is still kind of light, but that should improve by spring as more sellers enter the market and try to sell homes.”
Q: Will 2000 be another record-breaking sales year?
A: “I would love for it to be, but I don't know if we will be able to sustain the same pace of the past two years. The biggest concerns are higher rates, the level of inventory and the fact that a lot of move-up buyers have purchased homes. Also, the home builders have had a hard time keeping up with demand in recent years because of a lack of labor and shortage of supplies to build. So, I don't know if we'll have a record year. But if not, we should not be far off.”
Q: How has the strong local housing market in recent years been good for consumers?
A: “It's been great. The average market value of homes sold last year increased $7,000 in 1999 from 1998. Prices rose because of strong demand and homes sold quickly. But if the past couple of months are an indication, rising market values will slow down a bit. For sellers, that means it could take a little longer to sell than before. For buyers, that could mean more affordable homes and larger inventory.”
Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the local commercial estate industry this year?
A: “Well, it's such a strong economy. It's been tough keeping up with demand to find commercial properties to sell. That has caused an increase in prices and lower inventory. So that will definitely be one of the biggest challenges for commercial brokers.
“Another challenge will be competing with the Internet, particularly with agents from other parts of the country listing sites locally. In terms of downtown development, bring in more retail, keep the ones we have and stay competitive to compete with the Northern Kentucky suburbs. If we don't, we'll be fighting them to keep tenants.”
Q: What are some of your biggest challenges?
A: “We need to continue using more alternatives such as the Internet to help sell homes and commercial property. More Realtors are using Loopnet, an Internet site that allows commercial brokers to advertise nationally instead of just locally. We're working with the Cincinnati Multiple Listing Service to move to the Internet. That move should greatly and better serve both Realtors and consumers.”
The Enquirer frequently profiles newsmakers in a question-and-answer format with our reporters. Know of someone we should include in our Newsmaker feature? Contact Business Editor Richard Green at 768-8477 or rgreen@enquirer.com
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