Ohio housing market up again in August

Ohio Association of Realtors news

The number of homes sold across Ohio increased 16.9 percent in August, as the market posted year-over-year gains in activity for the 26thconsecutive month, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.

“The Ohio housing market, with each passing month, continues to build a solid foundation for a sustainable and growing marketplace,” said OAR President Thomas J. Williams. “Attaining an unprecedented 26 straight months of year-over-year gains in sales activity – our longest stretch of uninterrupted growth in 16 years of tracking Ohio home sales – is a clear indicator of robust consumer confidence and a renewed appreciation that, long-term, housing is a sound investment.”

Sales through the first eight months of 2013 reached 88,268, a 17.5 percent increase from the 75,134 sales posted during the same period a year ago. The average sales price (January through August) this year is $143,786, a 6.1 percent increase from the $135,465 mark set during the period a year ago.

Total dollar volume this year is nearly $12.7 billion, a 24.7 percent increase from the eight-month mark of a year ago of nearly $10.2 billion.

Sales in August reached 13,545, a 16.9 percent increase from the 11,583 sales posted during a year ago. The August 2013 sales total is the month’s best mark since 2006. The average sales price of $149,963 is a 3.4 percent increase from the $145,093 average price posted in August 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 the following link: http://www.ohiorealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/Stats/13HS/Aug13VOCUS.pdf.