Homes are still a buy in the Valley

Home prices have fallen nearly everywhere, but it’s still tough to find a better price than in the Mahoning Valley.

The median sale price of existing homes in the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan area was the second lowest in the nation in the fourth quarter of last year.

The local figure of $61,700 was undercut only by Saginaw, Mich., which came in at $43,900. The median price is the value in the middle of all housing prices.

Prices fell last year in the Mahoning Valley, just like they did in nearly nine out of 10 U.S. metropolitan areas, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The drops came as as low-cost foreclosures flooded the market and the housing market’s decline spread nationwide, the Realtors said.

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