Dayton area home sales stay strong

Home sales are still going strong in the Miami Valley despite the usual slow-down that comes ahead of the end of the year.

Across Ohio 13,339 homes sold in September, a jump of 5.4 percent from the same month in 2018.

In the Dayton area, homes sales jumped even more, increasing 7.5 percent from September 2018 to 1,425 last month, according to statements from Ohio Realtors and Dayton Realtors.

“I think one of the things that has helped us so far is we’ve had a very mild fall and nice weather,” said area real estate agent Herman Castro. “The minute that it drops below freezing and we get snow flurries and so forth, the market will slow down just a little bit. The combination of interest rates are low, the economy is good and the weather is great — those three things are like the perfect storm because it’s making it a great time for people to get out there and look.”

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The median sales price of a home in the Dayton area jumped 11.7 percent from September last year to $162,000, according to Dayton Realtors. The average sales price also grew 8.1 percent to $181,317. The average sales price across Ohio was $198,351, up 7.9 percent.

“Activity levels in September were robust, with buyers taking advantage of favorable interest rates and positive economic conditions,” said Ohio Realtors president Anjanette Frye. “Equally important, the market posted a continued, steady rise in the average sale price, an indication that buyers understand that housing is a solid, long-term investment.”

But usually around this time, the market would be slowing down as cold weather moves in and the holidays approach, Castro said.

“It has not slowed down, that’s the thing. It’s been interesting,” said Jan Leverett, president of Dayton Realtors. “It’s just a good solid market. The panic and the frenzy has stopped and that’s a good thing because people are then thinking about what they’re doing and there’s not buyer’s remorse.”

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During the peak of the summer home sales, houses were selling within hours of being listed, Leverett said. Homes are still selling fast, but it’s taking more like five to seven days.

There’s been a shortage of homes especially between $150,000 and $350,000, both the Realtors said.

In a typical housing market, there’s a well-oiled cycle where young homeowners look to upgrade and older area residents look for smaller homes as they downsize with age, Castro said.

With a tight inventory where homes are selling quickly, both the upgrading and downsizing homeowners wait to put their houses on the market until they find their new homes, he said.

“There’s still a shortage of inventory. It’s still pretty much a seller’s market. It’s a fantastic time to sell, the best it’s been in a long time,” Castro said. “The market hasn’t started to slow down yet, it’s just starting to come back to where it has been, where it should be.”

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So far this year, 12,561 homes have been sold in the Dayton area, about the same as in 2018. But the dollar volume of sales through the first nine months increased 7 percent to $2.2 billion, the release said.

Current inventory includes about 2.4 months of resales based on September’s rate. Last year there were nearly 1,000 more homes up for sale in September than this year, representing 3.3 months.

In a normal market, about 18 months worth of inventory is ideal, Leverett said.

While the election could impact home sales late next year, Castro said 2020 is expected to be just as strong as 2019.

“If you’re planning on selling, now’s the time because we don’t know how long the interest rates are going to stay good and how long the economy is going to stay good,” he said.

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