Boardman, January 3, 2012 - According to RE/MAX Valley Real Estate’s Mahoning Valley Housing Report (MVHR) for December, 2011, single family residential sales (month to month) (not seasonally adjusted) held firm at 274 units through both November and December; but annual comparison showed a slight increase of 0.1 percent over December of 2010. This was the second straight year over year increase we’ve experienced after breaking a string of 45 straight months of decline just last month.
We’d like to say we have seen the bottom in existing-home sales, but the increases have been so slight that it’s difficult to whip up a whole lot of enthusiasm for the statement. However, we remain cautiously optimistic.
The adjusted price of a median home as measured by the MVHR edged down again for the fourth straight month, slipping nearly a full point (0.9 percent) from $62,010 to $61,440. This came as December’s monthly unadjusted raw price fell 0.8 percent against November. The small dip in December is discouraging (however not totally unexpected for the buying cycle), and brings us decidedly closer to a minor double price dip going back to June of this year. This trend should see a reversal as we move into the 2012 buying season. In light of recent encouraging economic data both out of Washington and locally (especially in the jobs situation) expect to see prices turning decidedly north by the end of the second quarter in 2012.
The one very bright spot in the Report is the continuing inventory decline. December ended with only 3,299 unsold homes on the market. That’s 11.1 percent less than November and the smallest number of homes the MVHR has recorded since we began to keep records in September of 2006. A bright spot indeed!
Fourth Quarter sales showed remarkable improvement over the fourth quarter of 2010, up 14.8 percent to 846 units versus just 737 last year. At the same time Fourth Quarter figures show that prices have fallen 9.3 percent over the same time period. This confirms that we are moving through our inventory of foreclosures at a much faster pace, selling more homes for cash to investors. This has the effect of lowering our supply of marketable homes but temporarily lowering the median price. We look for the same conditions that are prompting investors to enter the market will rub off on consumers too...
”Mortgage rates ended the year hovering near historic lows in an already affordable housing market,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist, Freddie Mac. “It’s not surprising then that over 5 percent of households in December plan to purchase a home over the next six months, the highest share since May, according to The Conference Board.”
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist echoed the sentiments: “Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines....” he said.
“ The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales, which are the important final economic impact figures, should continue to improve in the months ahead,” Yun added. “– a genuine sustained sales recovery appears to be developing,”
» See Full current MVHR Report with charts and graphs
» Download Full MVHR REPORT (pdf)
About RE/MAX Valley Real Estate
RE/MAX Valley Real Estate, located in Boardman, Ohio, is an independent, locally owned, and locally operated franchise of RE/MAX Int.. It was founded in 2000 by top producers for top producers. Their agents rank number one in the Mahoning Valley for average associate production and average volume of sales. RE/MAX Valley services the real estate needs of the Mahoning Valley, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana Counties. "No one sells more real estate than RE/MAX."
For more information please visit www.OurValleyHomes.com.
About RE/MAX
RE/MAX was founded by Dave and Gail Liniger in 1973, who still manage the company’s day to day operations. From a single office in Denver, Colorado, RE/MAX has grown to be a global network of nearly 100,000 Sales Associates in more than 70 countries.
Remax.com offers consumers all home listings in thousands of U.S. cities and towns and is consistently ranked among the most visited real estate web sites.
RE/MAX has been honored as the leading real estate franchise for nine of the last ten years in the oldest and most respected ranking, “The Franchise 500 Survey,” published by Entrepreneur Magazine.
RE/MAX International is proud of its Premier Community Citizenship, which has raised over $100 million for deserving organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Children’s Miracle Network and The Sentinels of Freedom Foundation.
For more information please visit www.remax.com or www.JoinRemax.com |
