Home Sales Possible Sign of Growth
Hannah Report - 8/21/09
Ohio home sales held steady last month despite the normal downturn following June, reported the Ohio Association of Realtors, which said July numbers could be a tentative sign of overall gains in the state's real estate market.
"Regardless of conditions - albeit good or bad - our market traditionally reaches its peak activity level in June, with sales escalating during the first half of the year and retreating somewhat during the latter part," said association President Jonathan M. Hall. "We're thrilled that our July sales are nearly identical to what the market posted in June - a real indicator that perhaps we've reached or at least are approaching the bottom and will begin to see an up-tick in activity in the second half of the year."
July sales of 10,473 homes were only 0.39 percent off June totals of 10,502 for Ohio. By comparison, the market posted a 10.1 percent drop here during the same month-to-month period in 2007 and a 6.7 percent decline in 2008.
"That's not to say we're out of the woods by any means ... however, we're at least seeing a light at the end of the tunnel," Hall said. "It appears that some of the anxious buyers might be returning to the market to take advantage of the favorable conditions that exist, with attractive pricing, affordable interest rates, the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit and realistic expectations among sellers."
Twelve Ohio markets posted positive or unchanged sales numbers in July when compared to July 2008, including net increases in Ashland (+8.3 percent), Athens (+2 percent), Cincinnati (+6.2 percent), Dayton (+0.6 percent), Firelands (+6.3 percent), Greater Portsmouth (+33.3 percent), Licking County (+3.2 percent) and Mansfield (+6.7 percent), Scioto Valley (unchanged), Wayne/Holmes counties (+23.1 percent), West Central region (+20.2 percent), and areas covered by Western Regional Information Systems (+5.8 percent).
"Over the course of the past few months our members have been experiencing more phone calls from interested buyers and seeing increased foot traffic at listings," Hall noted.
At the same time, moderate to major losses were seen in Columbus (-2.9 percent), Knox County (-28.8 percent), Lancaster (-8.5), Marion (-10.6), Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange (-17.5), Toledo (-5.3), and Zanesville (-15.6). Those figures dragged the statewide average for homes sold in July down -5.4 percent, compared to the same time last year.
Home prices also continued to trail last year's in most parts of the state. While Ashland saw a whopping 21.1 percent increase in real estate prices over July 2008 - a comparative anomaly - Knox County saw a -20.8 percent decrease. The overall downturn for home sales prices in Ohio was -6.1 percent, with the average property going for $141,306.