Home sales prices fall

By Don Shilling

Home sales prices fall

Lower home prices lead to more sales in Trumbull County, but not in Mahoning County.

The average selling price of homes in the Mahoning Valley dropped significantly last month, pushed down partly by a glut of foreclosed homes, officials said.

The median price for homes sold in Mahoning County last month was $59,000, down 21 percent from February of last year. Trumbull County’s median price was down 13 percent, while Columbiana County’s drop was 22 percent.

Prices have been forced down in part because banks are unloading foreclosed homes at a discount, said Kathy Carroll, president of the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors. The number of foreclosed homes is on the rise again, and banks are willing to accept below-market prices so they don’t have to hold onto the homes, she said.

Carroll added, however, that some foreclosed homes are not always as good a deal as they seem. Buyers who haven’t been able to pay a mortgage also may not be keeping up with maintenance, she said.

Andrea Lupton, president of the Warren Area Board of Realtors, estimated that home values have fallen about 5 percent to 10 percent recently. She said buyers used to pay about that much over the appraised value of the home, but now sale prices are coming in at or slightly below appraised values.

The drop in median prices is larger than 10 percent because more people are buying lower-priced homes, which brings down the median price, she said. The median price is the midpoint of all sales, where half of the sale figures are higher and half are lower.

In Trumbull County, for example, 91 homes were sold at price of less than $100,000 last month, compared with 70 in February of last year.

For real estate agents, declining home prices and low interest rates mean only one thing: “It’s a great time to buy a home,” Lupton said.

People in Trumbull County apparently believe that’s true. The number of home sales in that county increased to 133 last month, up from 106 in February 2007.

Columbiana County also saw an increase, from 46 in February 2007 to 57 last month.

Mahoning County suffered a big drop, however. It recorded 123 home sales last month, compared with 158 in February 2007.

The statistics cover home closings, which typically occur 30 days after a sale agreement is reached.

Carroll blamed Mahoning County’s low sales numbers on a snowy winter.

“We’re optimistic for the spring,” she said.

She added, however, that national forecasts indicate another round of home foreclosures is about to begin.

National home sale figures for February will be released March 25 by the National Association of Realtors. In January, the median sale price nationally fell nearly 5 percent to $201,100 and sales dropped 0.4 percent. Last year was the slowest year for home sales nationally in 25 years.

shilling@vindy.com