By Jayme Bukszar

I’m very excited to be part of the Bedford Tribune, a new local publication dedicated to the Bedford community. This column will focus on “Local Housing Matters” and community development in a Bedford-centric manner.

I’m fairly new to the Bedford scene, but, have over 20 years of experience in community development at the municipal and nonprofit levels in the Greater Cleveland area. I also earned a Master of Urban Planning and Development from Cleveland State University, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. (Say that 5 times fast!)

I thought it might be helpful to start the conversation with a few basic facts about Bedford’s population and housing stock:

· Bedford is home to 13,049 people per the 2012 American Communities Survey (ACS).

· The community is quickly becoming more diverse. In 2000, 79% of the population was white and 17% was African American. The 2012 ACS showed these figures to be closer to 50-50.

· There were 7,037 housing units in 2012; approximately 50% are owner-occupied. Owner occupancy is down from 60% in 2000. This can likely be attributed to many factors. One is that lenders will often not provide mortgages under $50,000 so foreclosed and/or deteriorated homes get gobbled up by bulk buyers who turn previously owner occupied homes into rentals. This is a topic that will be explored in greater detail in the near future.

· Rental rates have increased. The Median Gross rent in 2012 was $744 compared to $609 in 2000. I’m personally curious about how much of the increase can be attributed to appreciation in prices versus homes becoming rentals and driving up the numbers. This will be explored, as well.

· Bedford, like everywhere, took a hit in housing prices during the recession, however it’s holding its own compared to neighboring communities. In December 2017, the Plain Dealer published an article comparing homes sales throughout Ohio. Below are some of their findings. Please note that Bedford’s median sales price decreased at close to the same rate as Cuyahoga County overall.

2012-2016 Median Sales Price 2007-2011 Median Sales Price % Change

Bedford $91,500 $103,800 -11.8%

Bedford Heights $97,800 $122,600 -20.2%

Garfield Heights $73,600 $95,900 -23.2%

Maple Heights $71,800 $95,900 -25.0%

Cleveland $67,500 $84,300 -19.9%

Cuyahoga County $122,200 $134,900 -9.4%

The good news is that while City of Bedford’s housing market does have challenges, it appears to be stabilizing. There are steps that can be taken to further increase housing values and owner occupancy. We will be talking to the City of Bedford to find out their housing strategies as well as local industry leaders to explore best practices. We welcome your thoughts and ideas about local real estate issues as we move forward and I can be reached at jaymebukszar@gmail.com.

Sources:

neocando.case.edu/ http://neocando.case.edu/nst/ http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2017/12/ranking_every_ohio_city_county_9.html

A note about US Census data:

Starting in 2010, the decennial census is a short-form only census. During previous decennial censuses, most households received a short-form questionnaire, while one household in six received a long form that contained additional questions and provided more detailed socioeconomic information about the population.

The more detailed socioeconomic information once collected via the long-form questionnaire is now collected by the American Community Survey. It is sent to a small percentage of the population on a rotating basis. https://www.census.gov/history/www/programs/demographic/american_community_survey.html