Mahoning County Housing Market Trends

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.

According to the Monthly Indicator Report for February 2012 provided by the Mahoning Columbiana Association of REALTORS® the statistics are showing improvement and it's looking like we should enjoy a slightly healthier real estate market in 2012.   To see the full report and the charts and graphs, click on the '1 attachment' in the gray bar below this post.

The inventory of available homes is down, pending sales and closed sales are up, and the average sale price is about the same, so perhaps prices are leveling off and will start to go up again as demand increases.

It's going to take some time for home prices to recover.  However, if you are selling your home locally and buying locally, although you will likely get less for your current home than you would like, you will also be buying your new home for less . . . it kind of evens itself out.  And, there is a real good chance the interest rates are lower now than when you committed to your current mortgage, so it's worth doing the math, recognizing the potential financial advantage, and pricing your home to sell.

First time home buyers are at a real advantage now, as long as their credit is good and they can qualify for a loan.  Obviously interest rates continue to hover at record low levels, and home prices are 'we hope' about as low as they are going to go.   There are also special financing programs and grants available to qualified first timers.