Dayton-area home sales rise 2.5% in August

Home sales in the Dayton area remained positive in August during a continued healthy market for home sellers.

Home sales increased 2.5 percent over August 2017. The 1,647 homes sold at a median price of $150,000, up 7.7 percent from last August, according to Dayton Realtors. That median price is higher than in July but didn’t reach the record of $158,000 set in June.

The cumulative sales volume was $281.6 million, an 8 percent increase. Year-to-date, sales have also increased 1.9 percent, and median cost has ticked up 6.3 percent.

Tight inventory continues in the Dayton area, but for the second month in row, more homes were listed than in the previous year, jumping 3 percent. For the year as a whole, the low inventory can be seen, with about 100 fewer listings between January and August this year than last, according to Dayton Realtors.

There were 4,436 active listings at the end of August, about 2½ months’ worth of supply.

U.S. sales of existing homes were unchanged in August, as a shortage of houses priced at less than $250,000 — a level considered to be affordable for the middle class — has become a drag on the real estate market.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that homes sold last month at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.34 million. Existing home sales have fallen 1.5 percent during the past 12 months.