Regional home sales up 33 percent

Staff report

Columbus

The Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange, which includes the Mahoning Valley, reported a 33-percent increase in home sales for May.

The NEOHREX region includes Summit, Portage, Trumbull, Stark, Mahoning, Columbiana, Carroll, Tuscarawas, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Medina, Ashtabula, Wayne, Holmes and Lorain counties.

Sales increased from 2,648 in May 2011 to 3,528 in May 2012. The average sales price was down 2.4 percent to $125,882, according to statistics from the Ohio Association of Realtors.

For January through May, home sales in the NEOHREX region increased by 19.4 percent to 13,206 compared with the previous year.

Home-sales activity throughout Ohio increased 19 percent in May, helping the marketplace record its 11th-consecutive monthly sales gain.

Sales of new and current homes posted a 13.3 percent increase during the first five months of 2012 compared with the same period a year ago, reaching 41,637 sales versus the 2011 mark of 36,749.

“Our market appears to be establishing a very solid foundation following the downturn we experienced as a result of the onset of the economic collapse of 2008,” said Robert U. Miller, president of the Ohio Association of Realtors. “Our recent trend-line has been very encouraging, and the industry remains cautiously optimistic that we’re making strides toward having a sustainable, growing marketplace going forward.”