Valley home sales stay sluggish in June

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Home sales in the Mahoning Valley missed expectations in June, but the market continues to perform better than it did last year when sales began to peak here and across the country.

In May, some local real-estate agents expected June to be a better-than-average month.

In all three counties combined, 446 homes were sold in June, an increase of 4.4 percent from the same time last year when 427 homes were sold, according to data from the Youngstown-Columbiana Association of Realtors.

Houses continued to stay on the market for shorter periods of time as well, going from near 150 days last year to about 100 in all three counties, as of June.

In Mahoning County, 227 homes were sold — up from 213 last year for a 6.6 percent increase. The median sales price dropped 13.7 percent, however, from $90,820 to $78,400.

Trumbull County also saw home sales improve in June, when 157 deals were closed. That’s a 6.1 percent improvement from last year when 148 homes were sold.

The median sale price in Trumbull County dropped 8.9 percent, though, to reach $71,250 last month — down from $78,250.

In Columbiana County, home sales declined slightly from 66 to 62 last month. The median sale price increased, however, by 14.6 percent to reach $87,050 last month from $75,950 a year earlier.

Overall, Ohio’s housing market continues to improve. The Ohio Association of Realtors reported last week that sales rose by 15.5 percent across the state, making June the 24th-consecutive month of gains.