House Sales in the Valley Remain Steady from a Year Ago
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The number of houses sold in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in October was down about 1% from a year earlier.
Cumulatively, 464 houses were sold in the three counties in October, compared with 469 a year ago, MLS Now, a multiple listing service collecting sales data from the northeastern Ohio region, reported Tuesday.
That includes 220 houses sold in Mahoning County last month, compared with 217 in October 2022, a 1.4% increase. In Trumbull County, 158 houses were sold last month, down 9.7% from 175 a year earlier. In Columbiana County, 86 units were sold in October, compared with 77 in October 2022, an 11.7% increase.
New listings in October increased 4.3% from a year earlier in Mahoning County, 16% in Trumbull County and 22.6% in Columbiana County.
Year-to-date, combined unit sales in the three counties were down about 14%, falling from 4,854 last year to 4,163 for the same period this year.
The total volume of houses sold in October compared with the same period last year was up in all three counties.
In Mahoning County, October sales totaled $44.7 million, up 10.1% from $40.6 million a year earlier. In Trumbull County, total sales were up 3%, from $26.1 million last October to $26.9 million last month. In Columbiana County, dollar volume totaled $15.7 million in October, up 18.8% from $13.2 million a year earlier.
Average sale prices were up in all three counties.
The average sale in Mahoning County in October was $203,402, up 8.6% from $187,232 a year ago. The average sale price in Trumbull County last month was $170,698, a 14.1% increase from October 2022’s $149,610. Columbiana County’s average sale price last month was $183,449, up 6.4% from $172,419 in October 2022.
The number of homes sold throughout Ohio in October decreased from the pace set during the month a year ago, while average prices continued to increase, according to Ohio Realtors.
Ohio home sales in October reached 11,041, a 9.2% decline from the 12,165 sales recorded during the month a year ago. The average sales price across the state in October reached $273,683, a 7.3% increase from the $254,988 mark posted in October 2022.
“Ohio’s housing market reflects ongoing trends, including higher interest rates and lower inventory, while at the same time escalating home prices, which indicate a noteworthy increase in equity,” said Ralph Mantica, Ohio Realtors president.
Throughout the country, existing home sales dropped in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. Among the four major U.S. regions, sales slid in the Northeast, South and West but were unchanged in the Midwest. All four regions experienced year-over-year sales declines.
Total existing home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 4.1% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million in October.
“Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist. “Multiple offers, however, are still occurring, especially on starter and midpriced homes, even as price concessions are happening in the upper end of the market.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
