House Sales Off Pace YTD, Despite March Gain

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Home sales in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counites in March were up about 4% from a year earlier, boosted by gains in Trumbull County. However, sales in the three counties for the first quarter of 2017 are down about 2%.

Combined sales in the three counties in March totaled 479 units, compared with 460 units in March 2016, up 4.1%, according to data from the Youngstown Columbiana Association of Realtors.

In Trumbull County, 186 houses were sold last month, up 18.5% from the 157 sold a year earlier and ahead of the 118 sold in March. Mahoning County had the highest number of homes sold in the three counties – 236 – but its total last month was down 2.5% from the 242 sold a year earlier, although still ahead of the 150 sold in February.

In Columbiana, 57 units were sold last month, down 6.6% from the 61 sold a year earlier but up from the 37 sold in February.

Through March, 558 houses have been sold in Mahoning County, down 4.0% from the 581 sold during the first quarter in 2016, and 152 have been sold year to date in Columbiana County, off 4.4% from the 159 sold during the same period last year.

That offset the 2.2% year-over-year gain in Trumbull County, where 424 houses were sold during the first quarter, compared with the 415 during the first three months of last year.

Combined, 1,134 houses were sold in the three counties in the first quarter, down 1.8% from the 1,155 sold during the same period last year.

Average sale prices were up last month in  Mahoning and Trumbull counties from a year earlier, while the average declined in Columbiana County.

In Mahoning County, the average sale price in March was $108,746, up 2.5% from $106,107, although down from $110,548 in February.

In Trumbull County, the average sale price last month was $93,499, up 2.9% from $90,879 in March 2016 as well as up from $81,515 in February.

In Columbiana County, last month’s average selling price of $112,042 was down 8.4% from $122,364 in March 2016 but was ahead of February’s $85,887.

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