Low inventory levels have Valley homes going fast

By KALEA HALL

khall@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Last year, Burgan Real Estate saw a record number of sales.

This year, the local Realtor plans to do even better.

“I think finally, after years and years, I think buyers are starting to realize that the bubble has bottomed out now,” said Patrick Burgan, broker and co-owner of Burgan Real Estate.

A shortage of inventory has driven demand and increased the sales price on area homes.

“You can’t ignore that there’s not enough inventory,” Burgan said. “When a good, quality home is out there, it will sell.”

The inventory of homes for sale in Columbiana County dropped 14.9 percent in February and by 37.7 percent in Mahoning County, according to the Youngstown/Columbiana Association of Realtors. The inventory of homes for sale in Trumbull County in February was down 18.5 percent, according to the Warren Area Board of Realtors.

“We definitely need more listings,” Burgan said.

Michael D. Klacik, broker at Klacik Realty, said the shortage of homes on the market is happening everywhere, not just here.

“Realtors are definitely selling homes, and they are going,” Klacik said.

Both closed and pending housing sales in Mahoning County increased 0.4 percent in 2016 over 2015. In Columbiana County, closed sales were up 4.6 percent in 2016 and pending sales were up 4.7 percent. Trumbull County saw a 3.2 percent increase in closed sales and a 4.3 percent increase in pending sales.

Pricing and conditions are still very important to selling a home, Klacik said, even if it is a seller’s market right now.

“We haven’t had that in a long time,” Klacik said. “You’d have to go back about 10 years.”

Roger Casale, mortgage sales manager for Huntington Bank in the Akron-Canton area and Mahoning Valley, said it is important for those interested in buying a home to get pre-approved for financing.

“The buyer with pre-approval is taken a lot more seriously,” he said.

While it is really no harder to get a mortgage now than it was before, it does take more time.

“Talking to a lender early in the game is important,” Casale said. “The documentation required with mortgages adds to the time.”

Earlier this year, the President Donald J. Trump administration reversed a decision made by former President Barack Obama to slash the fee lower-income homebuyers pay for Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance.

“I think the lenders were more excited about that than the general population,” Casale said.

What homebuyers may be watching more are the interest rates.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percent from 0.75 percent to 1 percent. The Fed forecasts two additional hikes this year.

“I think the general bias on interest rates is that they have more room to go up than down,” Casale said. “We are still right at the bottom of the barrel.”