Patty Massare's blog

Who would have ever thought the trend of dropping housing supply and increasing sales prices would continue for so long?  We are a few years into this seller's market, and there are no signs of it changing any time soon.

Multiple-offers, and offers over the asking price, are fairly commonplace in the more desirable areas and price ranges.  Good homes are selling very quickly, and the housing market keeps churning along in spite of lackluster new construction activity. Recent numbers indicate that low inventory levels are finally showing up in sales activity. It was bound to slow down at some point as fewer and fewer homes are available to buy.

Let's take a closer look at our local housing statistics in Mahoning County for the first 7 months of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

So how has the housing market in Columbiana County performed so far this year?  Let's take a look at January 1 through September 30, 2016 figures compared to the same period last year.  

We continue to deal with the ramifications of low housing inventory.  As a matter of fact, it has been going down, down, down over the past 10 years or so. Homeowners are staying in their homes longer for various economic and family reasons.  This is a major factor leading to the limited choices in housing opportunities for new buyers, and the decrease of 11% in new listings from last year.

It has been a busy Spring and Summer for Mahoning County REALTORS®.  With interest rates continuing at historically low levels, and with one of the most affordable housing markets in the nation, there are lots of good opportunities for buyers and sellers alike.

How is the local real estate marketing doing so far this year?  Well, let's take a look at the significant housing market trends in Mahoning County for the first six months of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

Interesting video aired by PBS about the efforts to rebuild Youngstown.  Hats off to all the people who are working hard to make Youngstown a better place to live.

The local Mahoning County residential real estate market is steady as she goes.  We have seen consistent improvements in sales over the past few years.  Other than the lack of available homes for sale in some areas, the overall outlook looks healthy.

Comparing the first three months of 2016 to the same period last year:

Closed sales were up 10.8%, from 520 sales in 2015 to 576 sales this year.  

Pendings (homes under contract but not yet closed) also increased in the first quarter of this year.  There were a whopping 746 pending sales, up 16.9% from 638 in 2015.  This is one of the highest number of pendings reported for the first quarter in the past 10 years.  This is very encouraging as we move into the Spring selling season!