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Real estate markets are local, and do not necessarily reflect national or even state market conditions.  Let's take a closer look at the local real estate market conditions in Mahoning County.

The good news is that the market has been improving . . . slowly but surely . . . over the past year.  It makes the most sense to focus on what has happened for the first six months of the year compared to the first six months of last year, instead of looking at month to month comparisons, as they can fluctuate either way and the short term focus can be misleading.

This is a re-print of an email Fannie Mae sent to their network of Real Estate Brokerages in Ohio.  We would have provided a link to the information, but have not been able to locate it on the internet.  Although the Youngstown/Warren metro area was not specifically mentioned, we will experience a surge in additional foreclosures here in the months ahead.

RealtyTrac helped us compile a list of the metro areas where a rebound in foreclosure activity could put a damper on home prices… again.
The data is broken down by Metropolitan Statistical Areas, which are localities defined by the U.S. Office of Budget and Management that usually contain a city and its neighboring suburbs.

For the first four months of 2012 pending sales are up 29.2% and closed sales are up 19.2% from the same period last year.  

The average days on the market are about the same, at 152, and the average sales price of $87,123 and median sales price of $65,00 have shown no significant change.  

Housing inventory is down to an 8.9 months' supply, from 12.4 months a year ago, a much healthier level.

These trends are promising.  We all have our fingers crossed that the trend will continue leading to a normalized market and higher home values for Mahoning County homeowners.

To read a full report including charts and graphs dating back to 2004, please click on the '1 Attachment' link in the gray bar under this blog post.

The Columbiana County real estate market has shown some significant improvement for the first four months of 2012.

Pending sales are up 21.4% year-to-date compared to the same period in 2011, and closed sales are up 20.4%.  The average sales price of $82,866 is up 7.3% and the median sales price of $67,400, is also up 2.1%.

The current inventory of homes for sale is at a 9.4 months' supply, down from a 12.9 months' supply in April of 2011.

The sharp increase in pending sales is the highest number we have seen since 2007 before the real estate decline really hit us here in Northeast Ohio. This is a welcome change and good news for homeowners in Columbiana County.

To see a complete report with charts and graphs dating back to 2004, click on '1 Attachment' in the gray bar below this blog post.

The real estate market in Trumbull County continues to trend in a positive direction.  

Year to Date 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 comparisons:

• New listings taken are down 16.8% and overall inventory is down 23%, bringing the months' supply of inventory down to 8.9 months from 12.3 months in April of 2011. 
• Pending sales are up 6.1% and closed sales are up 4.9%.  It is taking, on average, 173 days from listing to closing, up 4.6%, and homeowners are getting an average of 85.4% of their listing price, showing no significant change from last year.
• The median sales price of $67,700 is up 6.6% over last year, and the average sales price of $78,137 is also up by 6.3%.

The market improvement, although less than dramatic, continues to trend in a positive direction.  Lenders are beginning to expand their loan products and guidelines helping more buyers qualify for loans.  This is good news for homeowners and perspective buyers and, hopefully, will lead to a more normalized marketplace where more sellers can sell and more buyers can buy.

To read the complete report including charts and graphs going back to 2004, click on '1 Attachment' in the gray bar below this blog post.