43
Valley home sales, median price level off
YOUNGSTOWN
After months of stellar year-over-year gains for the Mahoning Valley real-estate market, figures released Wednesday by the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors show home sales leveled off in September.
Last month, closings largely were unchanged from September 2011, and the median sales price in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties stayed flat for the most part, in a trend expected to hold until after the winter months, according to some experts.
Lower home prices and record-low interest rates bode well for homebuyers and those looking to refinance, but median sales price, linked to the value area homeowners hold in their property, continues to remain stubbornly low as prices have plummeted in the Valley since the beginning of the recession.
The second half of the year never has been strong statistically for home sales, and experts agree that longer-term trends, not monthly blips, should be the focus going forward.
“Overall, the stage is being set for prices to grow; the housing market is getting better,” said Mekael Teshome, an economist at PNC Financial Services. “Demand is being supported by rock-bottom interest rates and improved affordability, which may not be good for homeowners at the moment, but the supply is being steadily absorbed.”
In Mahoning County, 174 homes were sold in September, only one more house than last year at this time. The median sales price declined from $71,950 in 2011 to $71,500 last month.
In Columbiana County, 66 homes were sold last month, compared with 60 last year. Median sales price decreased by 1.3 percent going from $69,000 in September 2011 to $68,125 last month.
Michael D. Klacik, broker at Klacik Real Estate, said high sales activity in the beginning of the year likely will cut into any major gains in the latter part of 2012. He’s predicting subdued sales until March 2013.
Klacik added that slouching sales prices are “reflective of the economy and what buyers can afford.”
“We’re not making as much money as we did 10 years ago, jobs have scaled back and we’re doing more with less,” Klacik said.
In Trumbull County, there were 133 closings in September, unchanged from the previous year, while the median sales price increased 1.3 percent going from $69,000 in 2011 to $69,900 last month.
The September report wasn’t all bad news, though; it showed that homes up for sale in all three counties stayed on the market for far fewer days in September compared with the same time in 2011, and new listings were down in both Trumbull and Columbiana counties, where pending sales for the month also were up.
Teshome said a setback in the market is not all that surprising.
“The biggest drivers of home prices and sales is jobs and income. Given the economic struggles in the past couple years, it’ll take time for the labor market to heal and home prices to kick in and come up,” he said.
Statewide home sales have not yet been released, but the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday that housing starts nationwide surged 15 percent in September to their highest point in four years.