Lower interest rates could help local real estate market

Falling interest rates should help the Mahoning Valley end a summer slump in home sales, a real estate official said.

Mortgage rates at some area banks have fallen under 6 percent, which is a drop of about 0.5 percentage point, said Kathy Carroll, president of the Youngstown-Columbiana Association of Realtors.

Lower rates could help a local real estate market that been down for some time. The market rebounded some in the spring but new figures show that bounce didn’t last.

Sales of single-family homes in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties dropped 24 percent last month after a 7 percent decline in July.

For more information, see Wednesday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.