31 October 2011

Real Estate is Changing! How will Northern Ohio Adjust?

The real estate market will be changing - where does Northern Ohio fit it? At this point we seem to be behind the curve, but where will we stand in the future?

A report from the Urban Land Institute (click here) , as well as several other recent reports and studies show that our real estate will be increasingly driven by Generation Y. This is the group currently in their teenage years to their 30's.

What does this group want?
  • Smaller Homes
  • Purchasing Homes Later in Life
  • Easier Commute
  • Higher Quality of Lifestyle rather than Square Footage
  • More likely to Rent (resulting in rents rising)
  • More Energy Efficiency

Other changes in our real estate will include more multi-generational homes/housing situations. This will be a result of a very large aging population and Generation Y leaving home later in life.

Northern Ohio has not seen a huge population increase and tends to change very slowly, however we could see an increase in smaller, high quality downtown and "near downtown" living possibilities. I went on a Realtor sponsored tour of many of these options recently and was impressed. We have options in the Cleveland area, however those options will probably need to increase in the near future.

Will our bus/rapid/train service make commuting from the outer suburbs easier? Will former power houses like Lorain, Ohio be able to build on their river and Lake Erie assets and bring in employment opportunities? Will Sandusky, Ohio be able to capitalize on it's assets and existing businesses and create a lakefront living environment that will attract the next generation of home buyers - Generation Y?
It should be an interesting market to watch over the next decade.