The following information came to me today via the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. It just confirms what I have been witnessing as well!
This is great news for Cincinnati home owners and buyers!
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.
2008 Home Sales Months of Invenory
January 1,130 13.31
February 1,334 11.32
March 1,556 9.75
April 1,635 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.
Summary of Single Family and Condominium Sales
Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati
Cincinnati Area Board of REALTORS®
April Monthly Home Sales
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
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%
