Fewer homes for sale in March
Real estate agents hope the drop in inventory will help reverse the trend of falling prices.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
While area homes on average sell for less than they did a year ago, local real estate agents hope a shrinking supply will give the market a boost.
For the first three months, the average sale price fell 3.9 percent to $120,419, compared to $125,290 for the year-ago period, according to the Dayton Area Board of Realtors. In March, prices fell 3 percent during the month to $126,790, versus $130,741 during the corresponding period a year ago.
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Dayton isn't alone. Statewide, the average sales price for the first quarter dropped 7.8 percent to $132,000 from $143,198, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.
Higher foreclosures have contributed to the price declines, said Doug Harnish, president of Gem Public Sector Services.
Over the last two years, Montgomery County logged 5,000 foreclosure filings annually, not all of which resulted in people losing their homes. It's been estimated that an influx of seized houses back into the market has caused the home supply to swell by at least 30 percent, Harnish said. Adding more homes to the mix can lead to price declines.
In March, however, inventories fell, which could give home prices a boost. For the month, single-family homes added to the Multiple Listing Service dropped 26 percent to 2,142 from 2,911 in March 2006, the board said. This marked a reversal from January and February when new home listings grew. Additionally, the region had a 10.7-month inventory in March, down from 12.2 months in February.
In Oakwood, Georgiana Nye, of Coldwell Banker Heritage Realtors, said she has seen the number of homes on the market drop from about 150 to just more than 100. But the number of pending sales has more than tripled, Nye said.
Tyler Morton, broker/owner of RE/Max Victory in Beavercreek, said he continues to see homes selling, particularly higher-end homes. In April, the company sold about 30 units, with an average price of $300,000, he said.
Not all areas have seen prices fall equally, of course. In Beavercreek and Beavercreek Twp., for example, 589 homes were sold in 2007, compared with 592 homes in 2006, a drop of less than 1 percent. But last year's average sale price was $216,379, compared with $216,469 in 2006, essentially flat, according to board statistics.
In Dayton, however, single-family home sales fell 22 percent to 1,770 last year from 2,254 in 2006, according to the board. At the same time, home prices fell 7.6 percent to $52,104 in 2007 compared to $56,411 during the prior year.
