The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
The number of homes sold across Ohio rose more than 12 percent in March, as the market posted gains in activity for the 21st consecutive month, according to the Ohio Association of REALTORS.
“The Ohio marketplace is steadily making tremendous progress in its effort to establish a solid foundation for a sustained, growing housing sector,” said OAR President Thomas J. Williams. “The fact that we’ve now posted 21 straight months of uninterrupted sales gains – a stretch unmatched in our 16 years of tracking Ohio housing activity – is a hopeful indication that the desire to attain the American Dream of homeownership remains strong among our fellow Ohioans.
“Today’s marketplace is attracting home buyers looking to take advantage of historically low interest rates and attractive pricing that exists throughout the Buckeye State,” Williams added. “There also appears to be a firm understanding – despite changing economic conditions – that housing continues to be a solid, long-term investment.”
Sales through the first quarter of 2013 reached 24,412, a 13.5 percent increase from the 21,515 sales posted during the same period a year ago. The average sales price (January through March) this year is $125,920, a 5.7 percent increase from the $119,166 mark set during the period a year ago.
Total dollar volume this year is nearly $3.1 billion, a 19.9 percent increase from the three-month mark of a year ago of nearly $2.6 billion.
“The ongoing recovery of the Ohio housing market is widespread…with 17 of the 20 markets we track showing gains in activity so far in 2013 and our prices rising in 14 of our reporting areas,” Williams added. “Having so many of our individual markets record positives in a state as diverse as Ohio – with its unique blend of big urban markets and smaller, rural locales – is an indication that the Buckeye State is making significant headway in its recovery effort.”
Sales in March reached 9,779, a 12.1 percent increase from the 8,721 sales posted during the month in 2012, and reached the best mark since 2007. The average sales price of $130,668 was a 5.2 percent increase from the $124,259 average price posted in March 2012.
Data provided to OAR by Multiple Listing Services includes residential closings for new and existing single-family homes and condominiums/co-ops. The Ohio Association of REALTORS, with more than 26,000 members, is the largest professional trade association in Ohio.
To view a market by market analysis of sales activity throughout Ohio and local contact information, click on the link below…
http://www.ohiorealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/Stats/13HS/Mar13Vocus.pdf
