Local home sale prices fall

A large number of foreclosed homes is pushing down home sale prices locally, Realtors said.

“The market is flooded,” said Kathy Carroll, president of the Youngstown-Columbiana Association of Realtors. “We have an overabundance of houses.”

About 20 percent of the home listings in the area are foreclosed homes, said Dan Crouse, past president of the Warren Area Board of Realtors.

“Banks are offering them at an incredible price. They want these homes off their books,” he said.

The effect of the foreclosed homes can be seen in 2007 real estate sales numbers, which were released this week by the Youngstown-Columbiana association.

The average home sale price in Mahoning County was down 5 percent to $98,011. The number of homes sold last year was down 6 percent to 2,301.

In Trumbull County, the average sale price fell 9 percent to $90,269, while the number of homes sold fell 8 percent to 1,770.

In Columbiana County, the average sale price dropped 14 percent to $86,021, while the number of homes sold dropped 6 percent to 803.

For more on this story, see Friday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.