Living in Centerville, Ohio: homes, prices and straight answers

Centerville or Washington Township: what is the difference?

Two governments, one school district, and one big difference in income tax. The City of Centerville sits inside Washington Township, and the two are often treated as one community covering about 32 square miles. Both are served by Centerville City Schools. City residents pay a 2.25% income tax; township residents pay no local income tax where they live, though they still pay city tax where they work.

The mailing address does not tell you which one a house is in. Look it up with the Montgomery County Auditor, and I will check it for you on every house we look at.

What is there to do in Centerville?

• Uptown Centerville, founded in 1796, with brick sidewalks and what the city calls Ohio's largest collection of early stone buildings.
• Stubbs Park: 60 acres with a summer concert amphitheater, trails and ponds.
• The Centerville-Washington Park District: nearly 50 parks connected by trails.
• The Golf Club at Yankee Trace, a city-owned 27-hole course.
• Cornerstone of Centerville off I-675, with Costco, Kroger and Cabela's.
• Close by: the Dayton Mall, Cox Arboretum and Fraze Pavilion in Kettering.

Why do Centerville homes sell so fast?

Prices here are lower than in the Cincinnati suburbs I cover, and plenty of buyers are shopping in this range. The typical home went under contract in about 24 days this summer, and prices were up about 9% from a year earlier while most areas on my list were flat or down.

If you are buying, get your loan approval done before you tour, and be ready to decide quickly. If you are selling, price it right the first week; read Should you accept the first offer? before the offers come in.

What kinds of homes are in Centerville?

Mostly houses built from the 1960s through the 1990s, plus a real share of condos, townhomes and apartments. About 13% of homes are townhomes or attached homes, more than in most suburbs. Yankee Trace, built around its golf course from 1995 on, is the big planned community, and Cornerstone has added newer villas and apartments.

Can I live in Centerville and work in Cincinnati?

Yes, but plan on about 55 minutes each way to downtown without traffic. If one of you works in Dayton and the other in Cincinnati or its northern suburbs, Springboro and Lebanon split the difference.