Cincinnati Real Estate Market Update
23 May2008
Filed Under Buying, Housing Market · Tagged: Housing Market, Pricing, Trends, Value · Print This Article
I opened my email today to find some great news as it pertains to our local Cincinnati Real Estate market. The good news is, we are reducing our supply of homes for sale, even though it is traditionally the time when the most homes are put on the market. When the “inventory” of homes peaks over 6 months, then we are in a strong buyers market, when we are at 13 months like we were in January, it was very difficult. This could mean good things for our market turning around. We need to keep selling the homes that are on the market, and bring the inventory down to less than 6 months but 3 months would likely be getting closer to a great market for sellers.
Loans and lending institutions are allowing more buyers to qualify for our glut of inventory, helping our supply of housing reduce as well. They are making aggressive changes towards helping more qualified buyers enter into a mortgage that they can afford, and thus aiding in inventory reduction as well. Things will continue to change and shift in this market. The one thing I know for sure, it will be too late to take advantage as buyers the minute the word gets out that the market is on rebound. Get out there and buy your house or your investment property today! There are some amazing homes and great rates, do your part to reduce our inventory and balance our market back out!
Press Release: Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors®
May 23, 2008
1,635 Homes Sold in April
Up 3 Consecutive Months
Local Realtors sold 1,635 homes last month, marking the third consecutive month of increased sales this year. The inventory of unsold homes also improved, shrinking to 9.49 months compared to 9.75 months from March and 13.31 months from January.
| Month | Home Sales | Months of Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1130 | 13.31 |
| February | 1334 | 11.32 |
| March | 1556 | 9.75 |
| April | 1635 | 9.49 |
Nationwide, April home sales seasonally adjusted were down 1% from March. They were off 17.5% from a year ago.
“Clearly, we”re making progress in reducing inventory,” said Karen Schlosser, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors, who noted a balanced market is five to six months of homes for sale. “With the spring housing market taking shape, we”ll continue to sell more homes and experience inventory reduction.”
Local Realtors participated on May 4 in a project called Super Sunday, where Realtors had 2,837 open houses for the public that day. Schlosser said that based on the response from Realtors, that did spur additional home sales.
The average mortgage interest rate last month for a fixed-rate loan was 6.14%. That compares to 6.33% one year earlier. It”s now 6.35%. Schlosser said the higher maximum FHA lending amount of $337,500 in the tri-state area will help many buyers in their quest for home ownership.\n\nSummary of Single Family and Condominium Sales
Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati
Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS®
April Monthly Home Sales
| Span | Closings | Gross Volume | Average Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2008 | 1,635 | $249,290,612 | $152,471 |
| April 2007 | 1,968 | $335,789,557 | $170,625 |
| Variance | -16.92% | -25.76% | -10.64% |
Year-to-Date Home Sales
| Span | Closings | Gross Volume | Average Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-April 2008 | 5,655 | $883,713,645 | $156,271 |
| Jan-April 2007 | 6,805 | $1,135,253,662 | $166,826 |
| Variance | -16.90% | -22.16% | -6.33% |
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