News Summary

Home prices in metro Dayton stayed flat during the second quarter while they fell in other major Ohio cities, a federal agency said Tuesday, Aug. 26.

Prices for single-family homes in the Dayton metropolitan statistical area grew 0.25 percent during the quarter ended June 30, compared to the same quarter last year, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

The government index found that second-quarter prices declined 0.18 percent compared to the first quarter of this year, essentially unchanged.

Over the last five years, prices in the Dayton area have climbed 9.8 percent, the agency said.

The Dayton metropolitan statistical area includes Montgomery, Greene, Miami and Preble counties.

Though home prices stayed flat during the quarter, when adjusted for inflation, local home prices have fallen as costs for other goods and services continued to climb, said Andrew Leventis, a senior economist with OFHEO.

"Even if prices are flat in nominal terms, in relative terms they're actually declining pretty sharply," Leventis said.

Statewide, quarterly home prices fell 0.28 percent compared to second quarter 2007. But between this year's first and second quarter, prices fell 1 percent.

Year over year, home prices fell in the Springfield, Cincinnati-Middletown, Cleveland and Toledo metropolitan statistical areas. In Columbus, home prices climbed nearly 0.5 percent during second quarter 2008 compared to the same period last year.

Nationwide, home prices fell about 4.8 percent, a record low, OFHEO said. The nation's biggest declines came in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Rhode Island.

OFHEO bases its figures on data from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7317 or ttresslar@DaytonDailyNews.com.