Area home sales sluggish in May

Area home sales sluggish in May

Home sales throughout the Mahoning Valley were sluggish last month, with the exception of Mahoning County where sales increased by 21 percent from 2012.

Although the median sales price dropped by 0.3 percent to $78,000, Mahoning County saw closed sales increase by 21 percent in May. In all, 236 homes were sold last month versus 195 in 2012, according to data from the Youngstown-Columbiana Association of Realtors.

In Columbiana County, closed sales dropped by 7.7 percent in May. Sixty homes sold last month, compared to 65 at the same time last year. The median sales price of those homes spiked 58 percent, though, going from $60,000 in May 2012 to $95,000 last month — the highest median sales price in the county since 2011, according to YCAR’s historical data.

Trumbull County saw sales decline by 4.2 percent last month, when 161 homes were sold, compared to 168 in May 2012. The median sales price dropped 6.7 percent to $70,000