The yo-yo factor comes into play in Valley home sales and prices

Statewide, both home sales and average selling prices were down for the month.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

Home sales in Trumbull County are up, but prices are down.

In Mahoning County, the opposite is true.

The average selling price for homes in Trumbull County in May was $87,428, down 9 percent from the same month last year.

Trumbull County lost nearly 5,000 jobs last year when General Motors and Delphi Packard Electric offered buyouts and early retirement incentives to their workers. Home sale prices have been down each month this year.

Real estate agents have said that a drop in the average selling price could mean prices are falling, or it could mean more people are buying lower-priced homes.

Despite the drop in average sales prices, the number of sales in Trumbull County has been up. Last month, the county had 184 closings on single-family homes, which was eight more than in May 2006.

Real estate closings typically occur about 30 days after a sale contract is signed.

Mahoning and Columbiana

Mahoning County had a month opposite the one Trumbull County did — home sales were down but prices were up.

The average selling price in Mahoning County last month was $99,109, which was an increase of 3 percent over the same month last year. The county had 228 closings on single-family homes, which was down 22 percent from May 2006.

In Columbiana County, the average selling price dropped significantly last month, but May 2006 was an unusual month.

The average selling price in the county last month was $84,258, which was a 27 percent drop from the average selling price of $114,659 in May 2006. That average selling price was much higher than normal for the county, however. In April of this year, the average selling price was $93,165, which was 9 percent higher than last month’s.

The county had 78 real estate closings last month, which was six more than in May 2006.

The Ohio Association of Realtors said Monday that the number of homes sold statewide in May fell 3 percent to 13,386. The average selling price also fell 3 percent to $152,385.