Toledo-area homes sell at healthy pace

September up 20% over 2012, but prices stagnate

The Toledo Board of Realtors says homes that sold last month had been on the market an average of 118 days, down 5 percent from a year earlier. This West Toledo home is at 6235 Valley Stream Road.

Home sales in the Toledo area continued at a healthy rate last month, but the average price wasn’t quite as impressive.

There were 458 sales in Lucas and northern Wood counties in September, according to the Toledo Board of Realtors. That was 20 percent higher than the 383 sold in September, 2012.

“We’re slowly moving along in a positive trend,” said Mark Kruse, a Realtor with Danberry Co.

Sales were slow for about the first 10 days of the month as Labor Day and the start of school interrupted caused a disruption, but activity took off after that, he said.

Last month’s average price of $111,770 was up only 1 percent from a year earlier, and but down from $129,321 in August.

One month does not make a trend, Mr. Kruse said, and the numbers can be explained, at least in part, by the types of homes that were sold in the last two months.

In August, 111 homes were sold for less than $50,000, and 10 that sold for $400,000 or more. Last month, there were 136 sold for less than $50,000 and only two in the more expensive category.

“The upper end has slowed down,” Mr. Kruse said.

One reason, he said, was that the vast majority of corporate transfers happen in the first half of the year.

Homes that sold last month had been on the market an average of 118 days, down 5 percent from a year earlier. The average price per square foot was $60, up slightly from last year.

New listings totaled 677, up 14 percent over the 2012 figure, but down from 825 in August.

Mr. Kruse said interest in a particular house depends on what neighborhood it’s in, the price range, and whether it has been maintained well.

Houses that are in good shape and priced correctly often sell quickly.

Mr. Kruse said during the last several years, many people didn’t have the money to put back into their homes, which means that houses on the market need air conditioners, carpeting, and paint.

With mortgage rates still low, buyers sometimes spend a little more than they had planned for a house that doesn’t need much work.

For the first eight months of the year, the number of sales and the average price ($117,651) are each up 9 percent over the same period last year.

The September numbers for the entire Multiple Listing Service in northwest Ohio weren’t much different from the Lucas-Wood county statistics. Sales were up 15 percent, while the average price was up 2 percent.

Contact Chip Towns at: ctowns@theblade.com or 419-724-6194.