REALTOR® in Reading, Ohio

Reading traces back to 1795, when Pennsylvania Dutch settler Harvey Redinbo arrived and the town, first known as Voorhees Town, was renamed after his Pennsylvania hometown. It incorporated as a village in 1851 and became a city in 1932, and for much of the 1800s its clothing manufacturing trade made it the largest village in Hamilton County. That heritage still shows in the city’s motto, "Wir Tun Unser Bestes" — "We Do Our Best" — adopted for the U.S. bicentennial as a nod to Reading’s German roots, a detail Ela appreciates personally as a native German speaker.

Reading sits in Hamilton County roughly ten miles north of downtown Cincinnati, bordering the Roselawn neighborhood to the south. The housing stock reflects the city’s early-to-mid 20th century growth as an industrial suburb — modest lot sizes and walkable blocks. The Benson Street Bridge, built in 1901, was the second concrete rainbow arch bridge built anywhere and the first of its kind in Ohio. Community landmarks include a WWI monument at Vine and Jefferson Streets and schools such as Reading High School, Mount Notre Dame High School, and Sts. Peter and Paul Academy; the city is served by the Reading Community City School District.

Benson Street is the heart of downtown Reading and home to the Reading Bridal District, the largest concentration of bridal and wedding-related shops in the country — dozens of businesses within a few walkable blocks, a district that grew organically starting in the late 1970s. I-75, Ohio Route 126, U.S. Route 42, and the Mill Creek Expressway all provide access, with Norfolk Southern rail service running through as well.

Buyers drawn to Reading are typically looking at an established inner-ring suburb with older housing stock, a compact downtown, and straightforward highway access. Ela walks buyers through what a particular block or street has to offer — construction era, lot layout, proximity to Benson Street.

Older homes in an established city like Reading often come with character that needs to be presented well. As a Seller Representative Specialist, Ela prepares a seller’s home for the market and handles the process from listing through closing.

Ela Mildner-Shapiro is a REALTOR® with Sibcy Cline, REALTORS® at the Kenwood office, with 22 years of Cincinnati real estate experience and $150M+ in closed transactions. She holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Cincinnati and the SRS designation, and works in English and German. Through Sibcy Cline, she has access to Luxury Portfolio International and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Call (513) 703-4202 to talk through a move into or out of Reading.