The roundtable on housing and mortgages was conducted Oct. 28 at the Courtyard by Marriott, Canfield, Ohio. Ten panelists talked about the state of the Mahoning Valley housing market, housing affordability and mortgage rates. Participants were Trisha Howe, executive officer, Homebuilders Association of Mahoning Valley; Anthony Lucarelli, senior vice president/director of mortgage sales, Farmers National Bank; Alex Micco, real estate agent, Keller Williams; Marlin Palich, general manager and principal broker, Berkshire Hathaway Home-Services Stouffer Realty; Rocky Page, producing north east sales manager, Consumers National Bank; Sue Filipovich, co-owner/real estate agent, Burgan Real Estate; Michael Kurish, president and CEO, Associated School Employees Credit Union; Michael Stevens, real estate agent, Coldwell Banker; Johna Scherzer, vice president of retail lending, 717 Credit Union; and Lewis Voisey, senior vice president/regional sales manager, WesBanco Bank Inc. Business Journal associate editor George Nelson led the questions.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: How would you characterize the housing market in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys? Is there reason for optimism? Is there ample inventory across different prices and types of homes?
Marlin Palich, general manager and principal broker, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stouffer Realty: I do think that we now do have ample inventory, and statistically, even nationally, homes are staying on the market longer, which is now increasing inventory. I’d like to see more properties on the market. I think that there is a little bit of a lag, only because of interest rates and pricing right now. But there are certain brackets that I do think we could see more inventory in, and that would be in that first-time home buyer range – housing for those that are wanting to buy that American dream. That’s something that I think we need to be looking at, is affordable housing. So, in that starter range, I’d like to see a little bit more of those homes coming on the market or being constructed.
Anthony Lucarelli, senior vice president/director of mortgage sales, Farmers National Bank: I agree with all those comments. I think inventory levels are improved. I think there’s more issue with the quantity and quality of inventory today – that first-time home buyer. Prices have gone up, and I think that in large part, affordability has impacted that first-time home buyer market. But rents are going up too. So, it’s six of one and half dozen of the other optimism. [Rates have] stayed flat, which I think has encouraged buyer activity. There are challenges. We have a lot of people that are prequalified to buy a house but haven’t been able to find the right house yet. And I think as rates begin to decline, that actually will pick up. So, I think a lot of the mortgage professionals out there in the [Mortgage Bankers Association], Fannie Mae, are predicting that mortgage rates could dip below that 6% mark toward the end of next year, and I think that’s where my optimism lies. I think that if this thing goes below 6% it really starts to spur activity in the market.
Michael Stevens, real estate agent, Coldwell Banker: In addition to that and interest rates lowering, that’s obviously going to stimulate things. But let’s face it, in our local region, we have a lot to be excited about, hopeful about. In our local economy, there’s a lot of growth coming. And, you know, the buzz on that is huge population growth and that is going to be the game changer if that happens…If we have the potential growth around here that we’re talking about, then yes, we may be facing a housing crisis and very large economic growth….But I think we’re very unique, because I don’t think nationally what happens in a real estate market or anything is a reflection of our local economy, our local growth.
Rocky Page, producing north east sales manager, Consumers National Bank: I agree. Nationally, you hear about prices dropping and we haven’t seen that locally at all. So, typically we don’t drop. We plateau for a while, and then we go back up again.
Stevens, Coldwell Banker: And we’ve always been very unaffected. You don’t have a high or have a low. But maybe [for] the first time we’re actually going to see more of a high and a long term high. We’re talking maybe decades. What they’re talking about doesn’t happen overnight.
Mike Kurish, president/CEO, Associated School Employees Credit Union: I think you have to look at some of the data below the second-tier level. If you look at a lot of the homes in the Mahoning Valley, many of the homes in this area were built in the ’60s or earlier, and a lot of these homes just simply do not satisfy the needs of current buyers. They need to be upgraded to current standards. So, if you take a look at the inventory, there may be enough homes to satisfy the number of buyers, but if you get down to the particular type of home, you have some additional challenges. You also have to look at the average income level of the individuals who live in the Valley. You have new homes that come in at roughly $400,000. Only about 30% of the people that live in this Valley can afford a home of that magnitude. The home prices that buyers in this community can actually afford are more the $150-200,000 level. So that’s the inventory that I think we need to address. I think that you also need to look at the fact that homes are smaller in size than what they’ve traditionally been. Many of the homes are larger than what many buyers need. A lot of the homebuyers today are in the two to three individuals within a family unit, and they don’t need the homes that were built for five to six or more people. So, I think we need to look at some of those statistics that are just underneath the level – how many housing units are available to the number of buyers that we have.
Alex Micco, real estate agent, Keller Williams: I absolutely agree. I believe there’s a lot of optimism for our area, mostly because it’s becoming a more balanced market. From what I’m seeing, there’s a lot more inventory on the market. It’s not as much as I would like to see, especially in that first-time home buyer range, but with rates coming down, I think it’s going to transition into buyers being more favored, but also lower interest rates. More buyers means more competition as well, especially in that first-time home buyer range. But our location, it’s one of the most affordable markets in the whole U.S. So, I think there’s a lot of optimism, just based on that alone. Affordability is key.
Johna Scherzer, vice president of retail lending, 717 Credit Union: And as we’ve heard many times, first-time buyers. We have so many people that are coming into the housing market that we do need housing stock that fits their needs. They’re not looking for a huge house. They’re not looking for a $400,000 house. We have to focus on affordability and getting them into homes. Between insurance, taxes, their principal, interest, they’re looking for something that they can afford. And then, if it’s not the home they want, they budget to be able to make the improvements that they want to make to it. So, I think consumers are thinking it through, and that’s where we’re seeing more homes on the market. But we’re also seeing the ones that fit this bill that we’re looking at for these first-time homebuyers. They’re the ones that are selling quickly. So, there is a lot of optimism to come with it, and a lot of focus that’s needed to build the housing stock that our consumer wants.
Louis Voisey, senior vice president/regional sales manager, WesBanco Bank Inc.: I think optimism is the key. That’s what impacts the housing industry more than anything initially. And that first-time homebuyer is the largest block of buyers that we’ve seen throughout the history of home buying. That is the pent-up need in addition to the affordability and the type of home that they want. The other aspect is that as lenders, as communities, we’ve got to focus on addressing the ability for them to afford the payment but not have the down payment, not have the funds to get into a home. And how do we create programs and opportunities to be able to fill that gap of lack of down payment and closing costs. I think it is critical for us as an industry to close that gap.
Trisha Howe, executive officer, Homebuilders Association of Mahoning Valley: I agree with what everybody is saying. But I will definitely agree with Michael. The average home that is in our area right now is not one that a first-time home buyer is looking to purchase because you’re having to remodel, or you’re having to take a lot of money… that you don’t already have because of the amount of payments that you have to have, regardless of the interest rates…They want to look at a new constructed home. They want to look at something that is around 1,500 square feet, and they really don’t want to go over $150 per square foot to build. So, working with builders and developers and contractors in our community throughout Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, that is something that our developers and builders are up against. We want to provide for the first-time home buyer, the new construction. But you have to be somewhere where the infrastructure is already there, and if that’s not happening, you can’t afford to have these first-time homebuyers buy a lot for $80,000 to build a home on it. It’s only 1,500 square feet. So, we have a lot of optimism, because we have a lot of things going on where they’ll find things are moving into our area, especially the Kimberly-Clark area. And sitting on the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber Housing Council, we have people coming out from internationally here. They’re not looking for the big home. They’re looking for just something small. But one of the biggest things that came to their attention, to our attention was there’s no type of cultural-based community, as far as grocery stores, as far as living conditions in how they live across seas. So, they’re not looking for the big house. They can live in a two- or three-bedroom home… There’s a lot of different things that go into our inventory. And one of the things that we should look at is the people that are moving into our area from out of our country. It’s going to be a huge influx here in this area that we really need to start to address.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: In fact, a lot of these people aren’t even looking at houses. They want to move into multifamily.
Howe, HBA: This is correct because they want to bring their families over. We are very lacking in multifamily. And trying to get a developer or builder to build a duplex nowadays, it’s not happening. A lot of it is because of the cost and the code restrictions too. There’s a lot of things that have come down with regulations. I’m proud to sit on the Ohio Home Builders Association exec committee, where we fight every day to get regulations for our builders to go away. There are just some things that are coming up on the codes that are absolutely ridiculous and not needed.
Sue Filipovich, co-owner/real estate agent, Burgan Real Estate: But it’s interesting those entry level homes that are under $200,000 in our market, that’s the majority of homes that are on the market right now. But the issue with them is that they are built in the ’60s, so they need all those major things done. They need the furnace, the roof… So, these first-time homebuyers might not have the funds to be able to do that. The price point might be affordable, but the improvements might not be so that’s where the challenge is there. That’s where people who are flipping homes and rehabbing them still need to get them at a reasonable price so that they can present a good quality home that’s still affordable for entry level buyers. One of the things that I study is…what’s called absorption rate. That is the months of inventory that we have on hand. So, in a balanced market, we want six months of inventory. We haven’t had that in years. Right now, we’re right around three to six months of inventory in the tricounty area. So, it’s a healthy market. It’s still more of a seller’s market, depending on which pockets you go in. When we move into that six months of inventory is when we might start seeing some more incremental changes with it. But before, back two years ago, we were three to four weeks inventory max. That was it. Homes were just turning so fast. So, it has balanced that way, but we need to work on the affordability, and the new construction end of it.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What changes have you seen in the way people are searching for and finding a home in 2025?
Howe, HBA: Homes.com, Realtor.com. I don’t work in real estate anymore, but it used to be you would call a real estate agent for information.
Stevens, Coldwell Banker: The new laws, and Marlin could speak on that. That’s really the biggest effect over the last six to 12 months.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: There’s been that change. But also, when we’re talking about searches, we’re now talking about using AI… If you see some of the websites that are out there now, they’re incorporating that. So, you’re going to see that’s the new flavor to use for a purchaser to look for a home… If we look at our market, there’s a lot of baby boomers. Let’s say they want a condominium. They want a villa. We don’t have them. They would be giving up their houses, and a lot of them are in good shape. They’ve kept them up, but they have nowhere to go. And if they decide that they do want to finance the rate, they’re giving up a low interest rate and going to a higher…
Stevens, Coldwell Banker: With searches, too, we’re transitioning. They’re going to be relying on real estate professionals more than ever before, especially with the new agency laws. You can’t go look at a house right now without entering into an agency agreement, whether it’s permanent agreement or exclusive agreement. So, people in the public are going to find out real quick that once they’re entering into a buyer’s agreement with an agent, they’re going to rely on them, and they’re going to have to offer more services than ever before. Those laws were just implemented last year, so we’re seeing that transition now, and I think that’s going to only go in that direction, requiring the real estate agent more than ever before.
Kurish, ASECU: I think the digital access allows individuals who live in other communities to compare the Youngstown Mahoning Valley market to markets that might be in the Pittsburgh or Cleveland area or even further away. We find that there’s a lot of individuals who have jobs that allow them to work remotely, and they can exchange a home in a higher price community for a home in the Mahoning Valley for much less than what they would pay there and not have a change of standard of living. And we’ve seen a few buyers that actually fit that type of qualification, that they’ve actually moved in from the outside of the community specifically to own a home, but yet work in another community.
Micco, Keller Williams: Actually, I think open houses have certainly become a lot more popular because these buyers who know that they need to sign a buyer’s agency and don’t want to commit to one certain agent, they’re allowed to come into any open house they want without signing any documentation. So that’s something that’s starting to become more popular among these more savvy buyers who don’t want to commit to just one agent or one person.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: How are rising property values, property taxes and homeowner’s insurance rates affecting purchasing in the Mahoning Valley?
Kurish, ASECU: All those are components of the cost of ownership of a home. So much attention is always drawn to the interest rate and how that’s going to affect buyers. But insurance costs are rising at a very rapid pace compared to what they have done. Historically, we’ve seen concern with property taxes. In fact, we have certain legislative issues that are taking place right now to deal with that. All of these are costs of ownership. Individuals who do not have enough for a down payment, sometimes they have to buy [private mortgage insurance]. That’s another cost added to the cost of ownership. If you buy an older home, a lot of times that has to be updated. Those are additional costs. There’s a lot of costs that are associated, other than just the interest rate that a consumer needs to consider, including the tax and insurance.
Scherzer, 717: From ’23 to present, we’ve seen over a $50 spike in their monthly payment that’s taking away from what they can afford to spend on their home. That’s taking away from the budget they have for these repairs that we’re all talking about and these enhancements they need in the home. First, it was taxes that made that spike. Now you’re seeing it in insurance… I’m sure some of the people in finance here, you’ve seen where your buyer is coming to you, I can’t get my insurance renewed. I’m hearing that more and more out of our existing membership.
Stevens, Coldwell Banker: Condo associations. That’s probably the biggest one I’ve seen. And their HOAs are doubling.
Filipovich, Burgan: That’s exactly right, Michael. We manage condo associations as well and it is becoming more and more difficult for them to get insurance. They’re now talking about …separating, having an insurance policy and then a separate policy for roofs, because the roofs have been a major expense for insurance companies.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: … Even though roofs are supposed to last 25 or 30 years, a lot of the insurance carriers won’t carry it if they’re 15 or older. They don’t want to touch them, so that becomes an issue too.
Voisey, WesBanco: And I think that whole issue kind of ties to the educational aspect of home ownership. Because we have caused them to focus on interest rates and prices but not realizing the overall cost of housing. [We need to] focus on that education piece, so that those who are coming into the market truly understand what they’re getting involved with, what the cost will be and what their overall financial legacy and strategy is.
Page, Consumers: We do preapprovals, and people want to know how much they can afford. And in a lot of cases, before they make an offer, they’re calling us with the address to make sure, because of the property taxes, they can still afford that house. Sometimes it actually can affect whether they make an offer or don’t make an offer on a house.
Scherzer, 717: Especially your first-time buyers. It’s so critical that we’re having that conversation with them about how an escrow works – because they haven’t had that before – and talking to them to be prepared for that first year. Your payment may change…
BUSINESS JOURNAL: We’ve heard for the last several years, there’s not enough residential construction. Why is that? Is it changing? And is it changing to the extent that it needs to?
Howe, HBA: There’s a lot that goes into it. We have builders and developers that want to be able to provide new housing…But in Mahoning County, there are a lot of things that go into a developer and builders class, one of them being the infrastructure. If it’s not there, it’s very hard for that developer to go up against the EPA, the wetlands. There are just so many regulations that we work on on a regular basis down in Columbus to try to get deregulated for these developers and builders, so that they can go on moving forward to build affordable housing. And to them, affordable housing is anywhere $350,000 and up in their minds for new construction. Because of the lumber cost, the material cost, the labor and finding labor is also a huge problem. Our builders and developers are up against a lot of challenges each day. You could have somebody that is working for you one day and then taken by another company to provide for them. [But in the Mahoning Valley,] you just don’t have the infrastructure for our builders here to move forward without having to purchase a lot for anywhere like $100,000. That’s ridiculous, and that includes if the structure is there. If it’s not there to put in a road, we’re talking millions of dollars. And it’s just not feasible in our area, because that cost then falls onto our buyer, whether they’re the first–time home buyer or the person who has a beautiful home that wants to downsize and go into a villa or condo … Beautiful villas are being built on Route 46, but you’re not going to get in those villas for under $450,000. So you have to be prepared, especially a first-time buyer. You have to be prepared to have that conversation with them because they don’t have the knowledge or haven’t been taught.
Stevens, Coldwell: Those are conversations I’ve been having with some builders. The infrastructure cost is killing them. They’re making zero money. So, then what I see is a conversation back to the land in ’08 and the housing crisis that we had. What remaining developments that were left have already been gobbled up. That was the first thing to go. And now it’s almost like a builder/developer has to be all in one because they’re the only ones who can go in and afford to make zero money on the lot but make money on the construction. And no developer is going to go in and just do infrastructure and make money on the development side.
Howe, HBA: Take, for example, Pine Lake. It’s beautiful out there and how they’re developing off of Sharrott Road and all of that. I mean, it is beautiful. But now we need builders, to go in there and to open up. I try to work with a lot of my members that are obviously builders and developers to come together to work together. Don’t be so bubbled up with “this is my property.” Share the love and spread it out, because we need that housing…
Stevens, Coldwell: We’ve had conversations about JEDD too, right? We really need to do more joint economic developments with the local communities. I mean, that’s going to be the game changer…
BUSNESS JOURNAL: And the [Community Reinvestment Area] in Columbiana as well.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: An abatement, which is not unusual, right? I mean, if you look in the Cleveland market, for example, to revitalize, let’s say, Tremont, or Ohio City, and all those areas. They gave tax abatements those people haven’t paid, and you’re absolutely correct… in Columbiana proper, there’s an abatement, so you have maybe a 10-15 year. However, that abatement gives you breathing room too…Building/developing is expensive, and it doesn’t get cheaper. And again, we need to have the communities. If they want the tax dollars, they’re going to have to work with the builders to get them in, because at the end of the day, it only helps that community. The same with lenders. We used to have spec homes. There’s nobody that builds a spec home anymore. The lenders don’t want to take the risk. They got crucially injured in 2008.
Howe, HBA: Because a lot that we go up against is zoning and zoning permits…It’s the crossing of the t’s, the dotting of the i’s, and the permits and the zoning restrictions. And that’s the first thing you need is your zoning permit. And if you can’t get that, then you’re not going to be able to get the sanitary and all the other permits that fall in line. The permit is the permit. It’s $900 or whatever it is in zoning. But the thing about it is that if you have a builder that builds in Mahoning County, now that builder wants to go over to Trumbull County. Those zoning laws are different, and so I think that we’ve worked a lot also to try to get an equal amount so that everybody is on the same page. So, I can go build in Columbiana. I can build in Mahoning. I can build in Ashtabula. I can build in Trumbull, so that they’re very similar zoning regulations. And it’s not that way at all…
BUSINESS JOURNAL: We’ve talked about the ’07-08 crisis. We lost a lot of contractors, new home builders at that point. To what extent has that recovered?
Howe, HBA: I feel in our area, it hasn’t recovered much. You’re going to have your stable builders that have been in long term, and you don’t have new ones coming in.
Page, Consumers: You talk about spec loans, I’m not seeing…we’ve lost a ton of builders, a ton of subs. So right now, I think building is a land problem, finding the land. There’s a ton of demand, not a lot of builders, and builders are busy. And there’s no reason to cut prices. There’s no competition.
Voisey, WesBanco: And to the point you made earlier, not only did we not fill the gap of what was lost at that period of time, but it’s a field few young people have entered for the last 20 years.
Page, Consumers: To flip a house right now, it doesn’t make sense. With what you’re going to pay a sub to do the work, it doesn’t make sense.
Scherzer, 717: You’ll be sitting on it and waiting.
Howe, HBA: That’s why they don’t want to do a lot of spec homes as well. [It used to be] you’d do an open house, you’re selling it pretty much that day, that weekend. That was the good old days, but it’s not that way now.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: How much has the higher interest rate environment affected home sales locally? Do you expect the small cut made recently by the Fed to help with the real estate market or will it require a more long-term trend and lower rates?
Kurish, ASECU: As we said earlier, I think interest rates just represent one component of the total price of ownership. We have a lot of individuals who refinanced mortgages in 2021, and they got 3% interest rates, and they’re very prideful of the fact that they got those rates. And they talk like they’re not going to surrender those rates, but life changing events occur. Families grow in size. They need larger homes. Encourage those people that they need to jump at the opportunity if they find a home… because if they wait, the price of that house is going to increase, and waiting on the lower interest rate is just going to be nullified by not taking advantage of that opportunity. I do think interest rates will lower a little bit as we go into 2026.
Page, Consumers: And I think we talked about a high rate of 6%. Six percent is not a high interest rate. I just threw some numbers together. For example, a $200,000 mortgage at 3% which we’ll probably never see again. The payment’s $841 a month. At 6% that same [mortgage], payment’s $1,100, almost $1,200 a month. So, it does affect affordability. But I think we’ve got to get away from saying that’s a high rate of 6%. I mean, six is still a very good interest rate. It really is.
Filipovich, Burgan: I think there’s a perception when the public hears that the interest rate has come down, or the Fed cut the rate, which is really more related to the treasury bonds than the actual rate the Fed is cutting. I think there’s a misperception. But we do see more inquiries come in when they hear that from the media. Maybe if they’re on the fence and the interest rates came down, whatever small amount that is, it came down. So, it might refresh them to start looking again and really face the reality that I might not get as much of a home, but now I’m going to start looking again. I think it’s a positive thing when we do hear that…
Lucarelli, Farmers: I think lower interest rates would help from an inventory standpoint, because I think you have a lot of those people in the threes or below that. If the rate does dip below 6% that becomes a little bit more palatable. And I think if inventory opens up, then there’s more opportunity for the buyers that we have. I also think there’s a little bit of buyer fatigue. I think post-pandemic you could find 50 houses that you want and never be able to see them because somebody bought them before you could even get an appointment. I think everybody’s kind of pressed pause for a little bit. The fact that mortgage rates have stayed flat is a good thing, rather than bouncing around. I think the longer it stays flat or starts to decline, the more activity will pick up, the more people will be accustomed to the new normal, and we’ll see a little bit more activity.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: I agree… I think if they heard the magic number, I think it would be five something. And I think that would get a lot of people moving forward. I think they’re looking for something under that. But again, it’s relative… But here’s my motto. I think you should date the rate and marry the house. Because if the rate goes down, they can always refinance. Because the price is not going to go down on the house. It’s not. It’s going to continue to rise.
Scherzer, 717: And it comes back to there’s an increase in use of adjustable rates. That optimism in the market is making consumers say, ‘Okay, this isn’t my forever rate.’ It’s still a scary thing for your first time homebuyers, so it takes it away from them, kind of. But some of your more mature ones, they’re willing to come off of a low rate and look at that adjustable thinking, this is going down…
BUSINESS JOURNAL: Is anything incentivizing the people who got homes for the lower interest rates from a decade ago to move or to sell their home now, knowing their next interest rate could be doubled?
Lucarelli, Farmers: I think need is really the only thing that makes you move off of a sub 3% rate. You’ve outgrown the house, or you want to downsize, or you’ve inherited the property, or it’s too much to rehab or improve to what you need. So, I think need is probably the primary driver to move off the low interest rate.
Filipovich, Burgan: Also, if there’s such an appreciation on the value of their house, if they have that much more to work with in addition to their need. They still might be able to make the money on that home, but they got it at a lower price, [they can] sell it for quite a bit higher price, and get something that maybe fits more. Maybe they now need an office in their home. Maybe they need an exterior entertaining area that still fits into their affordability. But knowing that they have that built-in equity now is helpful in addition to those needs.
Voisey, WesBanco: I think something that was mentioned earlier, that the life events that happen to us create that. I‘ll use my wife and I as an example. We would like to go to a villa or a condo. But there aren’t those available, so we have hit a life event, but don’t have anywhere to go, so we’re going to stay in our home. So back to that idea of construction and properties that match the needs of people. It plays into that as well, because I have a two and three quarters and I’m willing to give that up not to climb steps.
Page, Consumers: We actually made the move, and we basically got half the house for the same amount of money. But at this point in our life, it was worth it. It was solely me. I just didn’t want to deal with the house anymore.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What down payment assistance programs or other opportunities are available to help first-time homebuyers unable or reluctant to get into the market today?
Scherzer, 717: At 717, we have a Your Keys, No Fees program that was designed exactly for that. A lot of the first-time homebuyers that are coming into the market, it’s a shell shock when it gets the fact of, this is what I need to pay. This is my down payment. Oh, and I need to pay these additional fees. So, with our workplace partners, we’re able to alleviate some of that burden. And then we’ve also got, with our first-time buyers, different credits that they can qualify for some with the municipalities. They have programs that are sitting out there. And Welcome Home Ohio.
Howe, HBA: And the Ohio Housing Financing Agency also offers a lot for the first-time homebuyers, as well as the Welcome Home Ohio. I know [state Rep.] Lauren McNally works very hard on getting that back to us for this spring, so our state reps are really working hard to make sure that money and funding is there, because it was such a wonderful program and has seen such success.
Page, Consumers: The city of Youngstown has a $10,000 grant program, which is amazing. It’s working great. They also offer a $15,000 grant after you purchase the house too.
Lucarelli, Farmers: There are local down payment assistance programs. The state has down payment assistance programs… A lot of banks offer down payment or closing cost assistance along with their programs. There’s also a lot of banks that offer no down payment programs, and even the agencies offer minimal down payment, a 31/2% down payment program. So, I think a lot of it is education for first-time homebuyers, especially understanding what’s available to you. I think there’s a common misconception out there that you need 20%.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: But I have a question for the lenders. What is the percentage of the loans that you would do yearly that involve those types of loans? And the second thing would be, what are the parameters?
Lucarelli, Farmers: The FHA you can buy anywhere. Fannie Mae has a first-time home buyer program with 3% down. The typical bank zero down programs are for VA or for low to moderate income borrowers, or borrowers that are buying at low to moderate income tracks, and we do probably upwards of 20% of our mortgage volume in that space. And I think that’s kind of the target for most banks.
Scherzer, 717: We’re probably slightly higher than that. But I think it’s important to note too, Fannie Mae and their first-time homebuyers. Some of these programs do have PMI. And one of the nice things about theirs…, they get a reduced PMI rate. So, when we start talking about that payment and the things that are going into their escrow, anytime that we can get them into the ones that don’t have PMI or have reduced PMI rates, that’s great for our first time homebuyers as well…
Lucarelli, Farmers: All of these programs to the down payment can be given to grant. So, it doesn’t even have to be the borrower’s funds.
Scherzer, 717: That’s where the city of Youngstown and the city of Warren’s come in because they may not be able to get in [otherwise]. And it also, when we go into those older homes, raises up funds that they can make improvements that are needed.
Page, Consumers: I would say that 10 years ago, the No. 1 thing that stopped first-time homebuyers was down payment. I don’t think it is anymore. Now I think it’s affordability. So, I think down payment isn’t the factor that it used to be.
Scherzer, 717: I think on the down payment front as well, the Ohio Home Buyer Plus program is still a great program for our people who would like to be homebuyers, to start saving.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a first-time home buyer in the next year or two?
Page, Consumers: You don’t want surprises on credit reports. The sooner we know, the better chance you have of getting in the home you want. We can restructure debt. We can find errors on credit reports. Get prequalified, No. 1.
Scherzer, 717: Even if you’re not ready for prequalification, come in, talk to your financial institution. We want to help people. We want to talk to you. If you’re going to buy in two years, great. We can talk about Ohio’s Home Buyer Plus. We can take a look at the credit. What do we need to restructure now to get your score exactly where you want it before you need to get prequalified? What will your savings need to be?
Kurish, ASECU: I think if you have that much time to look at buying a home, education is key. Know the communities that you’re interested in. Know what the difference in the tax rates are in those different communities. Know what your own credit reports are like. If you can do things to improve your credit score, you’re going to reduce your cost of credit. Restructure your debt where you can, where you can have a more affordable level. Set aside money for a down payment.
Filipovich, Burgan: And also meeting with a real estate agent as a buyer consult. Even if you’re not ready for a year or two, knowing what type of home is out there and at what price range.
Lucarelli, Farmers: I think a part of that education is understanding what programs are available to buyers, because most banks have a purchase rehab loan program where you can buy and improve. So, if the house has good bones, you could fix it to the components that need to be fixed. The education piece is big. And then if you qualify and you find something, prices are going to continue to go up. There’s always the opportunity to refinance. Rents are going up too. So, sitting on the sideline isn’t necessarily saving you a lot today.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: I think they should sit down and understand the process. It’s not just about getting preapproved… The thing that I think they should do is they need to come in. This is the biggest investment you’re going to make in your life, and it’s an equity builder. You’re building wealth… It’s understanding the whole process, and having somebody kind of handhold them through that, especially on a first-time home buyer. On somebody who’s reselling and maybe downsizing, they need to understand that process, because what it was 20 years ago is way different than what it is today.
Stevens, Coldwell: Or even five years ago.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: Even getting a loan today is way different…I think education on anything we do in life is important, but it needs to start ahead of time. Put a plan together, meet with a licensed real estate salesperson and have that person start.
Micco, Keller Williams: I think buyers also just need to have a little bit more of a long-term perspective on things and more of an open mind. You could find a home that needs some updating, but it’s clean and has really solid bones. You’re probably buying it on the lower end of the price point that you could get it for. So, if you live in it over time, update it over time, real estate always naturally appreciates over time. And then with all the updates you did to it as well, you probably have a pretty solid home in the long run.
Lucarelli, Farmers: I agree with that. I think the expectation for buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, their expectation… is to get a better property than your first home, than a starter home or a fixer upper. So, changing that expectation from the buyers would be critical.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What is the regional median home sale price, and are those who paid a lot for homes during the pandemic able to get the value out of them, or are they finding themselves under water?
Page, Consumers: Ohio’s median home price is $276,900. Nationally, it’s $462,200, so the market is still very affordable.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What other challenges do you see in the housing market locally? Is it better to be a buyer or seller going into 2026?
Kurish, ASECU: I think that’s kind of balancing out. I think there was definitely a time where, if you are a seller, you were in the driver’s seat in this Valley. But I think the inventory has increased to the point where this has turned out to be a balanced equation. I think as we go into 2026, inventory is going to increase. And if it moves in any direction, my opinion is that it would move into the buyer’s category. I think it’s a fairly balanced situation we have today.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: What local impact, if any, do you foresee from the acquisition by Compass of the parent company of Century 21 and Coldwell Banker?
Stevens, Coldwell: That has no bearing on local real estate markets. It will add more variable franchise owners and Compass kind of took on and created one of the largest real estate brokerage footprints globally… But it’s not affecting the markets in any way.
Filipovich, Burgan: I think with real estate, it is a relationship business as well. So, it’s still important for buyers and sellers to have that relationship with their agent and the size of the company varies. There are great franchise agents. There are great independent, local agents. That’s what’s most important is the professionalism of the agent that you’re working with.
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: I have to agree. I think that people do business with people at the end of the day. But I also think it may change if you’re going to have a big conglomerate. I think they’re rallying to see who is going to be the big player. I think real estate is local. I think Michael said it earlier, what happens in the Valley is totally different than what happens in Cleveland. People want to have that trusted adviser, somebody they know… But when it all comes down to it, we do business with people.
Stevens, Coldwell: On a large scale, everyone’s battling it out with Zillow right now. So, a lot of the large mergers, Compass this and that, has a lot to do with the larger scale. How that affects us with home searches, stuff like that, that’s yet to be known.
Kurish, ASECU: So not being a real estate agent but looking from the outside, I think it’s just a trend of another industry. If you look at industries across the board, you can see where this type of activity has occurred. It was many years ago that we had a lot of local hardware stores and they were kind of put aside by very large boxes. Small time restaurants have fallen to large conglomerates. Grocery stores, same thing. Another is our banking industry. It’s another different industry going through growth trends, and they will find their way. And in the end, it’s an intention that the consumer benefits from the activity.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: Any final thoughts?
Filipovich, Burgan: I’m optimistic about our Valley and moving forward into 2026, and I think that there is a lot of opportunity. We do need to work on new or improved housing for these businesses that are coming in. We have Kimberly-Clark, Vallourec. They’re all growing and building. So that is something that is a challenge. I don’t have the answers to that. But I’m very hopeful, and I love the Youngstown grit that we have here. We’re hard workers, and it’s a great foundation that’s been built for us.
Howe, HBA: I would agree with that 100%. I think the Mahoning Valley is a great place to live, a great place to call home. We have easy access to get to other places. I think it is crucial that we sit down and look at how we can help improve – getting the purchasing infrastructures down, working with the bigger utility companies and so forth…
Voisey, WesBanco: I think it’s important to do two things just reflecting back on this. I think one is the great push-pull situation we’re in with the growing economic aspect of the businesses coming in. And that always puts a strain on the housing side, because they’re linked so well together. And although we need a lot more answers in that so that they run and support each other, that’s a high-class problem to have. So that provides a lot of optimism. The other piece which is a cornerstone to me is that education when it comes to housing. A larger segment of the population does not even consider housing as a possibility within their lifetime. And we need to change that through education and through the promise of what is possible.
Scherzer, 717: I agree that education is key in the community. We have so much optimism in this community, and it’s a resilient community. There’s been ups, there’s been downs, and the community continues to build and to be there to educate people. Credit unions and things – people helping people. And at the core of it, it is about the people. It’s about all of us doing our part to work together to educate our community.
Micco, Keller Williams: I think there’s a lot of optimism in our community. I mentioned it earlier, but we live in Youngstown, Ohio. It’s one of the most affordable markets in the area compared to these big metropolitan cities and other areas. If you go to Chicago and see what you could get for $800,000 compared to what $800,000 gets you here. That’s a first-time home buyer price point over there. So I, think just appreciating where we live and understanding that. It’s a fantastic area. The cost of living is cheap. Home ownership is still affordable, and it’s just finding the right resources and people to educate you, to get you to the finish line.
Kurish, ASECU: Affordability of housing in our area is key to the growth of our communities. As employers are looking for places to relocate their businesses, it’s attractive to them if they have a community that they can come into, that their workers can find affordable housing. And that comparison of our housing costs in the Mahoning Valley to the housing cost in other areas of the state, other areas of the country, is a key attractive component to an employer looking to relocate.
Page, Consumers: I just want to reiterate, 6% is a lot better than 8% was a few years ago. We may never see 3% again. Affordable housing, a growing economy – it’s a great place to be. It really is. One thing politics has taught us is perception is reality. So, we need to keep the perception where it should be, so it becomes reality.
Stevens, Coldwell: I’m excited for the growth. I’m very optimistic about the opportunity…We’ve been talking about infrastructure costs. We’ve been talking about affordable housing. Well, what is affordable housing? … And I think the economy and all these companies coming into our area are really going to be dictating a lot of this. What’s going to be the average income? How much is the local average income? That’s going to be a huge factor in all these things that we’re talking about today. So as excited and optimistic as we are, there are still a lot of questions, and it’s going to be fun to be a part of how this all plays out.
Lucarelli, Farmers: I think we’re on the upswing of this thing. It’s not a matter of if. It’s more of a matter of when…
Palich, Berkshire Hathaway: I feel optimistic. And there’s times in this Valley – this will be my 47th year – that it wasn’t. I think the one thing I’d like to see is that everybody needs to work together. It’s great to have all this business come in, but what’s the income going to be? I think that our politicians, our communities, everybody has to work together – not at opposite ends – to pull everything together.
Pictured at the roundtable discussion are Michael Stevens, Michael Kurish, Sue Filipovich, Marlin Palich, Trisha Howe, Anthony Lucarelli, Rocky Page, Johna Scherzer, Alex Micco and Lewis Voisey.