What housing crisis?

If there is a housing slump or melt down in my neighborhood, it would be hard to tell from the real estate ads in our SNP Upper Arlington News. If you are from San Francisco or the east coast, these may sound low, but for our neck of the woods, they are high. Plus, I'm familiar with some of these properties and I don't think they were anywhere near these prices 5 years ago. My comments appear after the double slash.

South of Lane. Wonderful 2 story in historic Old Arlington. Spacious living room and dining room. Hardwood floors, French doors, screened porch, rec room in lower level. Beautiful gardens. $498,500. New Price. // The key word here is "old." The important thing to notice is the agent doesn't mention bathrooms or garage--the photo appears to feature a home about 80 years old, so I'm guessing a 1 car garage and 1.5 baths.

Cottage style home. Charming 2-story in the Northam Park area. Great details, hdwd floors & built-ins. Generous size living & dining rooms. 1st flr den. 3 BRs, 2 full baths. Paver patio & deck. $398,000. // This is near our old neighborhood, only a bit older--probably built late 20s. From the photo I can see that the "den" is a filled-in porch with windows that don't match the original architecture, a frequent mistake in remodeling. These lots are very small, but with huge gracious trees (very expensive to maintain, btw). Landscaping looks way over grown--probably from early-90s upgrade and now is out of control.

Loch Lomond. Stately entrance to a limestone terrace. Private 1+ acre lot. Gourmet kitchen, open floor plan. 2-sty great room. 5BR, 5 full & 2 half baths. Terrific floorplan for entertaining. $1,475,000. // Not quite sure where Loch Lomond is but I think it is the northern edge of UA. From photo I'd guess a late 80s design from a catalog. This description means "this is a hard to heat barn"--you can square dance in the entry and fly kites in the great-room. The utility bills for houses like this could put a kid through college.

Desirable location. This beautiful 4 BR home is located in a prime UA neighborhood on the corner of Abinton and Redding. Recently renovated, the home features a gourmet kit w/granite counter tops, top of the line appliances & a wine cooler. Each BR is completely renovated, while new French drs lead to the extraordinary patio. Boasting new Pella windows, driveway, and exterior stucco, this home is truly a must see! $739,000.// We lived on Abington so I know this house--I think everyone who has ever lived there has remodeled it which might be why the price is so high. That sounds like a fab kitchen, but Redding Rd is a main thoroughfare through Arlington that cuts through what would be a very small area on the edge of Canterbury addition. Virtually no useable yard. If you have young children, I'd look elsewhere.

Yes, there seems to be 1) a lot of money still available, or 2) people not too anxious to move.