And you don’t buy homes for sale in Columbus in a vacuum.  Just like all real estate is local, regions tend to have their own economies. Just like the Columbus area housing market hasn’t crashed to the tune of the National real estate markets that make all the headlines and take over mindshare, the Columbus economy is vast and varied and weathering the storm better than you may expect.

I recently ran across a conversation that Walker Evans had with Dr. Bill LaFayette, the Vice President of Economic Analysis at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. They discussed a variety of topics related to the Columbus economy.

This is a great snapshot of the Columbus economy. If you’re moving or relocating to Columbus, Ohio, then  you may be surprised to hear about how important rail is to the region, or tourism.  Here is a small exerpt of this interview that touches on passenger rail…

WE: Being able to see some of these results from the shipping and commercial rail sector, do you think we could see some of the same types economic benefits from passenger rail service? We’re very close to seeing the 3C passenger rail systemstarting. Do you think we will see a similar type of benefit from personal transportation?

BL: Different but important. The benefit would be making it easy to get from Cincinnati to here, from Cleveland to here, which would be a big boost for our tourism market. Again, another sector that we may not give as much credit to as it deserves, we get a lot of tourism here. We have been cited as a travel spot. The Short North specifically has been cited in national and international publications. We have been in The New York Times travel magazine a of couple times, The Los Angeles Times and when SkyBus was flying, just about every city that SkyBus connected Columbus with sent a reporter here to ask the question, “why would in the world would anyone jump on a plane and go to Columbus?” And those articles were absolutely glowing, so we sell ourselves short, we definitely do. There is much more to see and do here than we often think.

WE: We posted links to a lot of those stories as they started to roll in due to Skybus. After they ended up folding, a lot of people were saying it was a total waste of time, waste of money, a waste of everything… but the amount of positive press on a national level that Columbus received out of the whole ordeal might have helped balance the equation in the end.

BL: Oh, it was definitely a positive. It sort of reminded the air travel community that Port Columbus is an available, accessible airport with capacity.

The first week of Summer, the 40 year anniversary of Woodstock and Comfest weekend…..It can only mean that Delicious Real Estate is declaring this the Summer of Love, Columbus Neighborhood Love!

We’ll be out on the streets, talking to real live Columbus area Natives about their Neighborhoods and why they Love their Columbus Neighborhood.

Want to send in your video or send a link to it? That’ll work too. We’ll roll out at least 3-5 short videos per week. Get excited Columbus and tell the world about why you love your community.

Great Blue Herons Mayor Coleman! I ran across this on a neighborhood message board….

“Just a reminder to folks with fish ponds.

I have noticed Giant Blue Herons flying across our downtown skies
recently. They are more than likely searching for easy sushi meals
provided by our well stocked fish ponds. If you don’t want to lose your
outdoor fish, I suggest you provide them with good hiding places in the
pond or consider covering your pond with netting (deer nets work well)
until your pond plants are able to provide sufficient cover for the fish
to hide from predators.”

I think we have a couple falcons around downtown also (?) and it’s not unusual to see a hawk or two flying around urban neighborhoods. I once saw a giant owl across the alley from me, 3 blocks from downtown.

Speaking of homes in German Village, the Brewery District and Merion Village retaining value, Don’t forget about the Columbus Audobon Park on the Whittier Peninsula, scheduled to open soon. See a power point presentation regarding the area here: A tourist trap for Birds.