Howard Hanna: Optimistic on Valley housing market

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Howard Hanna, chairman and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, was in Mahoning County on Tuesday to discuss real-estate trends and the outlook for the local housing market.

In June, home sales in Ohio increased by 10.6 percent; in the first six months of the year, sales of new and existing homes increased by 12.8 percent according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.

In all, Ohio posted 12 consecutive months of sales gains with June’s report.

But the good news comes against a backdrop of conflicting headlines. New- home sales plummeted nationwide in June, hitting their lowest point in more than a year. The U.S. Commerce Department also reported last week that the economy grew at a mere 1.5 percent during the second quarter.

But Hanna remains cautiously optimistic for the housing markets in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. He said that compared with some parts of the country, markets here are on stable ground, with both sale prices up and listings down.

Hanna expects the market to continue moving in a positive direction until “at least September,” attributing the boost to an increase in shale activity throughout the region.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is the fourth-largest Realtor in the country with 134 offices across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York. In addition to home sales, the company offers mortgage, appraisal and insurance services.