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Housing sales mostly positive across Mahoning Valley
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Realtors are optimistic for 2015 housing sales in the Mahoning Valley.
January’s closed sales were up year over year in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, and pending sales were up across the Valley.
“Even though it has been colder, it seems people are still out there looking for a home,” said Marlin Palich, general manager of Northwood Realty Services of Ohio, which covers the Valley and surrounding counties. “I think the housing market is looking up in 2015.”
But spring does make everything a little brighter, including the housing market.
“Come April, when the snow is gone and spring starts to bloom, you get amazed by the attitude of the public,” said Michael D. Klacik, broker for Klacik Realty in Poland.
Columbiana County saw no change in closed sales from January 2014 to January 2015, but pending sales increased by 56.8 percent.
New listings went from 98 to 73 — a 25.5 percent drop, data released by the Youngstown/Columbiana Association of Realtors showed.
Mahoning County had a 16 percent increase in closed sales when it went from 125 in January 2014 to 145 in January 2015.
Pending sales also increased in the county by 38.1 percent, while new listings decreased by just 4.3 percent.
Trumbull County also saw an increase in pending and closed sales, data released by the Warren Area Board of Realtors showed. Pending sales increased by 25.6 percent from January 2014 to January 2015, and closed sales went from 110 to 125 for a 13.6 percent increase. New listings stayed the same at 215 in January 2014 and 2015.
The higher cost of rent, better loan rates, stabilization of prices and a better job market are some of the reasons for a positive housing market.
The average sales price in Columbiana went from $93,964 up to $99,468 year over year. Mahoning’s average sales price went down from $92,617 to $91,387.
Lastly, Trumbull saw an increase in the average sale price from $80,572 to $82,400.
“It is still the American dream to own your own home,” Palich said. “Overall, we have been through the worst, we have come out of it and we are stabilizing.”