By KIMBERLEY HAAS
It’s Super Bowl weekend and The Mortgage Note is taking a look at which city would win if Los Angeles and Cincinnati’s housing markets were pitted against each other.
With sports commentators picking the Rams over the Bengals and the notoriously high-priced homes in the Los Angeles market, such as “The One” on sale now for $295 million, people might assume the California city would be the automatic winner.
But that depends on how the two markets are lined up. As Tyler Sullivan says in his recent predictions for CBS Sports, both teams are worthy champions in their respective conferences and the Bengals have been a fantastic Cinderella story with their line-up of young faces.
Is the same true for Cincinnati? Let’s look at the statistics:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Los Angeles had 3,898,747 residents in April of 2020, while Cincinnati had 309,317.
With more residents, there is more crime in Los Angeles. A wave of violence and mayhem seemed to have descended on the city last fall, according to an article by Peter Kiefer in Los Angeles Magazine.
Cincinnati does see its share of violent crime. A year-end crime review for 2020 shows that there were 94 homicides, 249 rapes, 777 robberies, and 914 aggravated assaults that year.
Homicides were up 28.8%, which mirrored the national average increase of 28.7%. Aggravated assaults were up more than double the national average with an increase of 21.2%
Across the nation, aggravated assaults were up 10.6% during 2020, according to the report.
Los Angeles has many advantages over Cincinnati.
As a sprawling Southern California city at the center of the nation’s film and television industry, LA attracts people from all over the world.
Its sunny location with an average low of 48 degrees and an average high of 67 degrees in December – its coldest month – LA is also a great place to live for those who enjoy recreating outside.
The Los Angeles market has numerous mansions listed for sale on Zillow.
According to Rocket Mortgage analysts, Los Angeles is the sixth most expensive place to live in America. The median listing price is $860,000 and the median selling price is $760,000.
A closer look at the housing market shows that despite Cincinnati being a smaller market, there are still plenty of homes for sale with an asking price of over $1 million.
Two of the newest homes on the market in Cincinnati are located on Richwood Avenue. Both were listed on Zillow on Thursday for $1.795 million.
This new construction features five bedrooms and two baths and is located at 1048 Richwood Avenue. It is a 3,775-square-foot home.
This new construction at 1050 Richwood Avenue also has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. It is also a 3,775-square-foot home.
To get insight into what is happening in the Cincinnati market, The Mortgage Note spoke with the Director of Corporate Service at Comey & Shepherd Realtors.
Cindy Flynn said their statistics show that they are similar to the rest of the country in the fact that they have more buyers than sellers. Appreciation for homes is rising 10% to 20% year-over-year.
“That has to do with it being a seller’s market,” Flynn said. “People are still paying well over list price.”
Flynn said Comey & Shepherd’s CEO, Scott Nelson, collects data on what is happening in their market where the median buyer is 47 years old with a $98,750 income.
“That means we’re getting a fair mix of younger people and older people,” Flynn said.
Flynn said buyers are currently submitting an average of eight offers before landing a home.
“The buyer is getting a thicker skin,” Flynn explained.
As Flynn looks forward in 2022, she predicts the market will be busy. The first quarter is seeing some people trying to get into a loan before interest rates go up further.
There are more listings every day, so that means a busy spring and summer ahead, Flynn said.
Rocket Mortgage will give two grand prize winners $500,000 each for a home purchase during the game. $50,000 will be awarded every time the score changes.
It was announced on Monday that actress Anna Kendrick and the doll Barbie will be starring in the Super Bowl ad for Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Homes. They released a teaser on YouTube.
Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and Global Head of the Barbie & Dolls Portfolio for Mattel, said in a statement that they can’t wait to reveal the full spot for fans on Sunday.
“With Anna Kendrick as a co-star, the concept is a perfect fit to mark yet another monumental moment in Barbie’s history as a cultural icon with her first appearance in the big game,” McKnight said.
It is also the first time Kendrick has appeared in a Super Bowl ad.
The Super Bowl on Sunday will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Kickoff time is 6:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on NBC and Telemundo. It will be streamed on Peacock.
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blidge, and Kendrick Lamar are scheduled to perform at the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
The five musicians have collectively been awarded 43 Grammys, according to NBC News.
Tickets for the game start at $2,900 each on Ticketmaster.
Email story ideas to Editor Kimberley Haas: [email protected]