Northeast Ohio home prices continue to rise with mortgage rates still hovering near a hefty 7%, per the latest data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Why it matters: Higher home prices are good news for homeowners seeking increased equity and sellers wanting top dollar, but they can be challenging for potential buyers, especially with higher interest rates.

Zoom in: Prices have increased nearly 8% year-over-year in the Cleveland metro area and are up nearly 10% in Akron.

• The Akron and Cleveland metro areas rank No. 20 and No. 40, respectively, among the top 100 metro areas in the country for year-over-year increases.
• They're also the top two markets in Ohio in terms of price increase.

Zoom out: Nationwide, prices are up 6.6.% from last year, per the FHFA. Ohio is above that with an 8% increase statewide.

• Vermont saw the highest home appreciation in the country with a 12.8% increase, and New Jersey (11.6%) and New York (10.9%) weren't far behind.

The latest: In May, Realtor.com reported that home prices in Cleveland rose substantially to a median listing price of $135,475.

• Meanwhile, inventory decreased by 12%, and homes continued to sell at a similar pace as the previous year.

The bottom line: In January, Zillow predicted Cleveland would be one of the hottest housing markets in 2024, based on strong demand and steady home values.

• At this point, the area appears to be living up to the hype.

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Northeast Ohio's highest-compensated executive in 2023 was Brian Tierney, the CEO of Akron's FirstEnergy Corp., according to a Crain's Cleveland Business annual list.

State of play: Tierney took home more than $26 million in total compensation, the vast majority of which (more than $22 million) came in the form of stock awards.

By the numbers: Thirteen executives earned more than $10 million, though no base salary was higher than Lourenco Goncalves of Cleveland-Cliffs, at $2.1 million.

• Three CEOs among the top 25 — Kevin Stein of TransDigm, Craig Arnold of Eaton, and Richard Zimmerman of Cedar Fair — earned more than 400 times their companies' median employee.

In a stunning stat, there are as many Richards among the Top 25 as there are women — three.

Yes, but: John Morikis of Sherwin-Williams resigned as the company's top executive in December, and his replacement was a woman: Heidi Petz.

Zoom out: Progressive Insurance is the largest Northeast Ohio company in terms of revenue, ranking 62nd on the 2024 Fortune 500.

• Its president and CEO, Tricia Griffith, earned $15.6 million last year, including $10 million in stock awards.
• Her 22.7% year-over-year increase in compensation was the lowest increase among the top 10.

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🏛️ Cleveland City Hall is closed today following a "cyber incident." The nature of the incident is still unknown, according to the city. (News 5 Cleveland)

🥅 Down 3-0 to the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cleveland Monsters stormed back and won two consecutive games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, including a 5-1 beatdown Saturday.

• Game six of the best-of-seven series is tonight at 7pm in Hershey. (Cleveland.com)

💵 Cuyahoga County Council introduced a resolution last week urging the county to halt any additional investments into Israel or other foreign securities. Roughly 40 public commenters spoke in favor of the measure. (News 5 Cleveland)

📵 Senate candidate Bernie Moreno has erroneously claimed that the 2018 Blockland Solutions conference convinced AT&T to bring 5G to Cleveland. (Ohio Capital Journal)

Adopting lightning-fast emergency measures to thwart council challengers should offend all of us — including Bibb.

What's happening: The editorial board of Cleveland's metro daily has called on Mayor Justin Bibb to veto legislation that city council passed last week doubling campaign contribution limits for council candidates.

Why it matters: The ordinance was passed on an expedited schedule — only four days after its introduction — in the face of resident opposition.

• It passed 14-3, with council members Rebecca Maurer, Charles Slife and Jenny Spencer voting against it.

By the numbers: The new annual limits will be $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for PACs.

The latest: Residents who signed an open letter in opposition to the ordinance have drafted another letter urging Bibb to veto it.

The other side: Council president Blaine Griffin justified the legislation as a response to inflation and the increased costs of campaigns.

• Other council members articulated a deeper motivation — fortifying incumbents against progressive challengers.

What we're watching: Tension between the Bibb administration and council is already high. Several council members speculated last week that Bibb, whom they perceive to be in league with progressive activists, was orchestrating a slate of challengers for the 2025 races.

• A veto would likely inflame tensions further.

What's next: Bibb has 10 days to sign, not sign or veto the ordinance.

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This week's photo was taken by Arthur Truax (@art.j.film), who stopped by Blue Arrow Records in Cleveland's Waterloo Arts District.

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