DaytonDailyNews.com

Ice cream seller Baskin-Robbins wants to add franchisees and stores in Dayton and Ohio.

Plans call for the company to have 90 stores in Ohio within five years, said James Franks, director of franchising.

"It's a wide-open market for us," Franks said.

In the Dayton area, he said, plans call for the company to sign eight franchisees, each of whom would open between two and four stores during the next few years, Franks said. The seller of ice cream and frozen treats counts Clark, Greene, Montgomery, Miami and Darke counties in the Dayton market.

Baskin-Robbins executives also want to enter or expand operations in Cincinnati, Columbus, Mansfield and Toledo, Franks said.

The company helps franchisees select real estate and often locates in malls and shopping centers, Franks said.

Dayton-area home prices stay flat

Home prices in the Dayton area stayed nearly flat during the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same quarter in 2006, federal officials said.

Home prices for the Dayton metropolitan statistical area climbed 0.07 percent during the quarter, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The agency's Housing Price Index includes purchases and mortgage refinances.

The Dayton MSA includes Montgomery, Greene, Miami and Preble counties.

OFHEO officials said fourth-quarter prices climbed about half of one percent over third quarter 2007. In the meantime, prices have climbed 11.1 percent over the last five years.

Prices in the Springfield MSA rose 0.3 percent during the final quarter of 2007, versus a year ago. But they slipped 2.45 percent compared to the third quarter of last year.

Commercial real estate broker promoted

Commercial real estate broker Digger Daley has been promoted to second vice president of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker's office in Dayton, the company said.

Daley, who joined CTMT in 2004, specializes in industrial sales and leasing. His clients include General Electric, Evenflo and Procter & Gamble. He holds a bachelor's degree in business and law from the University of Cincinnati, CTMT executives said.

Tresslar covers commercial and residential real estate for the Dayton Daily News. He can be contacted at (937) 225-7317 or ttresslar@DaytonDailyNews.com.