Cincinnati, Ohio, The following information was contained in a press release from the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors on May 22. 2014.
The most recent tabulation from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati was for April, 2014.
Year over Year for the month of April 2013 as compared to April 2014 showed closings up +4.50%; Gross Volume up +10.73% and Average Price up +5.97%. January through April comparisons showed closings down for the year by -2.44%. (Bloggers Comment)- It is generally believed that the hard winter in Cincinnati caused the slowdown and I agree.
New listings in April, 2014 increased in volume over March, 2014 by 8.3%.
Local home mortgage rates for a fixed rate, 30 year loan averaged 4.24%. As of May 21,2014 the average for the same loan was down to 4.17%.
“Cincinnati was recently ranked 4th by the mortgage website,www.HSH.com, for being one of (the) most affordable cities to buy a home,” said Parchman. “We live and work in a stable market with affordable opportunities for not only first-time buyers, but those looking to relocate”. (Bloggers note)- Ken Parchman is the president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors.
The average March 2013 selling price rose from $156,676 to $166,025 for March 2014. The average price has increased every month for 26 months. “This shows that our market is healing after the housing crash. More buyer activity and relatively stable interest rates will continue to push prices higher,” said Parchman.
(Bloggers Comment)-I agree. I have been involved in two multiple offer transactions that we bought in one day on the market. They were in highly sought-after locations. We also lost out on a couple last November.
My advice: Be flexible, move quickly and be decisive.
Submitted by J.David Jones, Broker, Favor, REALTORS, Cincinnati, Ohio.