Ohio Realtors report housing interest is up

7/24/2009

COLUMBUS A trade group says it is optimistic about Ohio s housing market, though state home sales in June were down 11.7 from a year ago.

The Ohio Association of Realtors points out that last month s sales of new and existing homes showed a 16.1 percent increase from May. President Jonathan Hall said that the association s members have been encouraged by increased contacts from interested buyers in recent months.

The realtors group says about 46,400 homes sold in the state in 2009 s first six months, down 17.3 percent from the first half of 2008. The state s average sale price in the January-through-June period was $123,210, 11.4 percent less than in the first six months last year.