Not in keeping with its name Wester-ville is a suburb of Columbus located to the north and east of the capital city. The city is nonetheless a self-sustaining city with very little dependence on the much larger Columbus. Westerville boasts a population of 37,000 that is served by its own electric and water utility departments, unlike the neighboring communities that are dependant on the Columbus services. Columbus is actually dependant on Westerville for help in education. The Westerville School District reaches well into the surrounding areas bordering Westerville proper. It has three high schools 4 middle schools and 12 elementary schools.

  Westerville is named after the generous Westervelt family that joined the early settlers of the area and donated land for a school that eventually became Otterbein College, which holds a prominent place next to historic uptown. Actually the post office was named after the family, which served as a reference point for the budding town. As the village grew Westerville was adopted as the town’s name. Westerville has so much to offer residents and is always striving to be an area leader. I couldn’t possibly list all the public or privately funded organizations, clubs and recreational associations/leagues. Many celebrations/events and parades promote a small town feel and a true sense of community. Many shopping, dining and entertainment alternatives are sprinkled throughout the area and very convenient for all residents.

   Making your home in Westerville will be a pleasant decision for almost everybody! You will have a wide variety of activities to choose from, a wonderful school system, fantastic city services and properties that have been steadily appreciating over the years at a constant rate. The best part of looking for a home in Westerville is that the average price per square foot of the structure is very reasonable compared to the cost of homes in many of the neighboring communities. Westerville has a vast selection of architectural styles to choose from because the building of homes has spanned many decades. Each neighborhood has it’s “footprint” that shows the popular characteristics of the period in which they were built. Many streets are still paved with brick in the quaint communities of yester year.

   Gains in infrastructure around the Maxtown Road area have helped residents, visitors and those working in the area in dealing with added traffic from the growing community. The city has always been very concerned about growth vs. comfort/services and the burden it puts on present residents. The growth has afforded several public works such as the extravagant recreation center and wonderful parks that are available to benefit residents.  

Market Update

The Westerville real estate market has had its ups and downs as all of the central Ohio markets have been going through. Most of the slowdowns and hot periods have been strongly affected by interest rate changes and of course the wide swings in consumer energy costs. It seems that when buyers are feeling uncertain during the adjustment period of higher energy costs both for home and transportation they are less likely to commit to a large purchase. Then the market slows and sellers experience longer listing periods. Lower sale prices are a result for those that can’t wait out the slower market. The same goes for interest rates. Buyers were spoiled by the easy to get 5 to 5.5% interest rates of 2002-2004. Naturally many buyers are willing to wait and bet on the percentage going lower because of very active up and down fluctuations in lending rates that we are experiencing. This has lead to a very volatile market that hasn’t followed previous years sales models. One thing to consider if you are buying a larger home, is that it may make sense take less for the sale on a smaller less expensive home and also pay less on the purchase of a larger more expensive home because of the slower market. Market trends usually will affect all levels of the market sometimes impacting the more expensive homes harder. I.e. Let's say homes are selling for an average of 3% less than previous months. A 4,500 lost on a 150,000 sale of your present home can mean a 6,000 savings on a 200,000 purchase of your new home. Many people see the value in the purchase in a slower market as long as it’s in a solid area like Westerville has proven to be. The values bound back after slow periods because it is such a great place to live. Over all Westerville sales have remained good just not as strong as previous years. Building has also slowed, but this was expected and many have been surprised on how long the crazy building boom lasted. It’s now time to take a breath and let the dust settle, so to speak.

If you are interested in real estate information about a certain Westerville neighborhood or want to find out how your home fits in today’s market place, just call or e-mail me. The info is free with no obligation. I’m a local Realtor with Century21 HomeStar and want to be of service to you and believe strongly in word of mouth advertising. Let me show you how my service can help you. You may be just curious and not ready to make the move but you may have a friend or family member that could use my knowledgeable experience.