About Chillicothe

Chillicothe Ohio is a town of a little over 22,000 people, located in the central-southern region of Ohio. It is approximately 40 miles south of Columbus (The capital), and 60 miles north of Portsmouth

Chillicothe was the first capital of the state of Ohio, serving from 1803 through 1810 , then once again the capital resided in Chillicothe from 1812 through 1816.

Chillicothe has a rich , diverse history ,which plays a role in many events and sights in the town. One such event is the ‘Feast of the flowering moon’ festival held every year at Yoctangee park. Approximatel 85,000 people visit this event during a 3 day period in May. Native American history is celebrated during this time, this event features Native American Dancing, Trading and family-friendly entertainment.

Another historical site in Chillicothe is the Majestic Theater, located on East Second street in downtown Chillicothe. The Majestic is a 157 year old theater, where many big-name acts have performed, acts such as Laurel and Hardy, Sophie Tucker, Milton Berle and George Arliss. The Majestic started out in 1853 as a Masonic hall , which initially was used for many civic gatherings , meetings and so forth. Recently, the Majestic has been carefully restored and acts continue to play there, for more information check out The Majestic’s Website

Here Are A Few Pictures of Chillicothe.

Homes For Sale

Chillicothe has a very diverse real estate market, ranging from very affordable single-family homes, starting out in the low $20s , up to multi-million dollar properties outside of town. Due to the wide range of properties, the real estate market in Chillicothe is quite active.

The downtown and areas that surround Chillicothe are of primarily older homes, ranging from the early to mid 1800s , on up to the 1940s, with the median age being around 130 years old. As with most towns, divisions of houses were built as time went on , so most homes are grouped with other homes of the same age. As you get farther from downtown Chillicothe, homes generally get newer. To the north, south-west, and west of downtown are several newer subdivisions. Recently, Chillicothe has seen many modern subdivisions built, along with several Condo subdivisions as well. These subdivisions generally range from a low of $80,000 on up to $350,000 median prices.

Outside of town , you can buy homes on large lots, some homes even reside on lots of 50+ acres at relatively affordable prices compared to markets within 30 miles of Chillicothe.

Land & Farms

The Chillicothe zip code are (45601) includes a large amount of land , including many farms and recreational acreage. Land prices range greatly depending on your desires. A home lot for building can be purchased easily starting at $20,000 or so. Regularly, there are large tracts of land for sale above the 100 acre range , with a great variation of price, anywhere from $1500 an acre to $7500 per acre depending on the location and features.

Because of this, it would be best to contact us so we could provide a report to you on what is available at the given time. Farm land , recreational acreage, and building lots move quite rapidly in terms of sales, which means that if you’re looking for land, you need to have a idea in mind of what you’re wanting, and be willing to purchase when it’s available.

Rentals & Apartments

At the moment , there is no official online rental management system for the Chillicothe area , however there exist a few options for finding rentals.

Craigslist Apartments is one of the better available options for finding homes for rent. Along with this , the Chillicothe Gazette and other local newspapers are good sources as well for rental properties.

As of the time being , we do not know if the Scioto Valley Association of Realtors plans on adding a rental system so that homes are listed online.

Real Estate Prices

As stated above , home prices vary greatly in the Chillicothe area, from a minimum of around $8,000 to upwards of 2 million dollars for a home.

The 2009 average price for a home inside Chillicothe city limits was stable at $102,410 across a total of 107 sold listings. The average time on market for these homes were stable also at 154 days. The average home sales price for the entire Chillicothe zip code was lower, at $90,426.34 and an average marketing time of 135 days. These numbers also include foreclosures and mobile home sales. They do not include multi-family , or commercial property sales.

Foreclosures

As with every other area in the US , foreclosures play a dramatic role in the pricing of homes for sale in the Chillicothe market area. At any given time, there are approximately a dozen properties for sale within the 45601 zip code. Foreclosures make up approximately 25% to 35% of annual home sales, which negatively impact the price of properties in the area. This is a good thing for buyers who look to find a deal , however bad for people who are concerned with home appreciation or who need to sell their homes. One can expect a savings of 10% to 20% over the cost of a similar home that is not foreclosed , however potential home buyers need to keep in mind that although the number of foreclosure sales make up a fair portion of the market sales , active foreclosure listings only account for 5% to 10% of total listings available. This means that there is a much smaller selection of homes for sale that are foreclosures than there are normal sales.

Good alternatives to a foreclosure purchases are Estate sales and Short Sales.

From recent data , short sales actually sell slightly under the average foreclosure sale ,by about a extra 5% to 10% , however they can be more difficult to deal with. When purchasing a short sale property, you must keep in mind that there is very little choice in timeline to close the property. This means that you must be ready to purchase the property (and have an available mortgage) anywhere from 14 days to 3 months after the purchase of a home. In one instance , I worked with a client who had to wait 3 months before a home received final approval from a bank to close. This can be problematic because in many cases you will not know when you can move, and in some rarer cases still , the bank ultimately refuses the sale of the property in favor of foreclosure , leaving you with many wasted weeks of effort (or months).

Estate sales on the other hand are much more straightforward than Short sales or even Foreclosures. There is normally a small savings of these types of homes ,as the estate must sell the property, however there are very few of these homes available at any given time (I see maybe 5 to 10 per year).

When looking at these types of potentially distressed sales, don’t forget that there are MANY people who have their homes for sale, and are willing to offer a bargain, and are motivated to sell. These types of conventional , owner-occupied sales can be a great investment as compared to foreclosures without any of the associated hassle.

Things To Do In Chillicothe

The Chillicothe Paints are a local minor league baseball team that is quite popular in the area. Tickets are always quite affordable, so if you’re looking for something inexpensive , watching the paints is always a great option.

As stated above , the Majestic Theater is a very popular , historical attraction that always has something going on, check out their schedule for what is available.