Village of Indian Hill Ohio Charter

Within the Village of Indian Hill Code of Ordinances, the City Charter defines the wishes of the community with regards to overall mission and structure of the city government.  For the purposes of those interested in purchasing real property within the Village limits I have extracted some points of note that may bear interest.

General Powers:

Even though Indian Hill can be considered a city because it is a legally defined government entity, with powers delegated by the state and county and created and approved by the voters of the city, the Charter states that it shall be a “body politic and corporate by the name of ‘The Village of Indian Hill’” (§1. General Powers).  Therefore, even though it is not technically a “village” it still retains the name of Village as its formal city name.

Indian Hill does not have businesses operating within the city limits as is the intention of the community as is clearly stated in the charter: “It is the purpose and intent of the people of Indian Hill that the character and uses of the area within the village may not be changed, and that it shall continue to be a rural neighborhood of homes and farms” (§1. General Powers).  Other than homes and farms there are also churches, schools and The Camargo Club which are all part of the community.

City Legislature:

All legislative powers of the village are given to a council of 7 elected members whom must all be residents of The Village of Indian Hill (§2. Powers and term).  From these 7 council members will be appointed a Mayor and Vice Mayor by majority vote of the members (§8. The Mayor).  The Mayor has the jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases of the city.

City Management:

“The village manager shall be the conservator of the peace within the village, the administrator of its business and the executive of all its affairs” (§21. Rights and duties).  “The village manager shall appoint a village solicitor…He shall be the legal advisor of and attorney and counsel for the village…” (§22. The village solicitor).  ”The village manager may appoint a treasurer…” (§23. The treasurer).  “The village manager shall appoint a comptroller…[who] shall be the fiscal and accounting officer of the village…” (§24. The comptroller).

City Planning:

The village planning commission consists of 5 members, one a member of village council and 4 electors of the village (§31. Appointment).  ”The village planning commission shall…prepare a building code regulating construction of buildings and other structures within the village, and from time to time amendments thereto as required” (§32. Powers and duties).

New Natural Gas Plan for Indian Hill Residents

Residents of Indian Hill now have more options when it comes to the pricing of the natural gas they consume. Through a recently signed natural gas endorsement service plan with Integrys Energy, the Village has provided residents an opportunity to receive a stable rate for their gas costs. With the current volatility in natural gas pricing, this voluntary plan is designed to help keep Village residents’ energy costs more stable. The Village will be mailing information on this program to residents soon.

Source: Indian Hill Village Bulletin

Indian Hill Real Estate Market Statistics - First 3 Quarters of 2007

There is so much data available between public record and the MLS that I can sometimes get bogged down trying to put it all into order.  Luckily, I have a stats package that allows me to analyze MLS data very easily.  The best way to use the stats package is to analyze the trends in the Indian Hill Real Estate Market.

The following graphs will show several market metrics for the first 3 quarters of 2007 (Jan - Sept.) as compared to the same 3 quarters last year and in 2005. Everyone hears about the “bad real estate market” these days and it is interesting to dig into the numbers and see where this negative press is coming from.  The first graph below shows the total number of properties sold in Indian Hill:

There is a very interesting divergence in the red 2007 line as compared to the previous 2 years.  This says that there were significantly more properties sold during the months of March through June as compared to previous years.  There is also a significant downward trend in the number of properties sold in the months from June 2007 to September 2007.  This “bubble” of increased transactions over this past summer seems to contradict the general feeling that the market is slow.  Of course we all know that the market in general isn’t great for home sellers but there is still demand for Indian Hill properties.

The next graph will tell us the average price of the properties that did sell each month compared to previous years.

I don’t see a major difference in this year versus 2005 or 2006.  The value of Indian Hill Real Estate is so varied that there is always going to be a good amount of variability in the average sales price on a month-to-month basis.

The next graph will fill in the question as to whether or not sellers are willing to negotiate more on price these days.

This graph takes the final sales price and divides it by the asking price at the time the purchase contract was written, thereby giving us an average percent reduction in price per deal by month.  It does appear here that we were trending slightly lower at the beginning of this year as compared to previous years in the average negotiated discount.  Once you mentally remove that extreme dip in May (obviously skewed data from one or two deals) you can see that the 3rd Quarter of 2007 seems to have come back in line with previous years.

Finally, we must look at the average days that a property remained on the market before a purchase contract was secured.  It is important to realize that this data can be misleading depending on if a home was re-listed several times before selling.  When a property that hasn’t sold is taken off the market and then put back onto the market (either by the same agent or by a new one), the “Days on Market” goes back to zero.  So a property could have been on the market for 180 days and not sold and then another 60 days in the new listing before an acceptable contract was signed.  This property would have a true “Days on Market” of 180 + 60 = 240 days but the statistical data in the MLS will show only the 60 days on market and ignore the original 180 days.

It appears as though the average Days on Market for the Indian Hill area have remained somewhat steady.  I do think that this graph shows a bit of a slower market this year since June than would be expected.  This correlates to what many home sellers in Indian Hill are feeling.

Overall it does seem that the Indian Hill Real Estate market is fairing pretty well through this nationally tough period.  We tend to be insulated from the major demand swings experienced on the East Coast and West Coast though.  Most people realize that this is a very good time to be a Buyer in this market and with good negotiation there are deals to be had.

Mortgage Rates Drop to Five-Month Lows

Mortgage rates have fallen to lows not seen in five months, according to the latest weekly report from Freddie Mac. The average interest for 30-year fixed loans was 6.26 percent, compared to 6.33 percent a week ago; and this was the lowest level since rates averaged 6.21 percent during the week of May 17.

“Continued market concerns about weaker economic growth and further declines in the housing market have kept mortgage rates low over the last few weeks,” according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist at the mortgage finance giant.

Also, rates on 15-year fixed products fell to 5.91 percent from 5.99 percent last week; rates on five-year adjustable rate mortgages declined to 5.98 percent from 6.03 percent; and rates on one-year ARMs slipped to 5.57 percent from 5.66 percent a week ago.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, Martin Crutsinger (11/02/07)