October home sales prices increase in Dayton area

Dayton-area home sales increased in October compared to last year, and yearly sales and the median sales price continue to climb.

In every major category, increased numbers were posted in October compared to the same time period in 2017. The 1,379 sales for the month edged ahead of last year, the median price ($142,500) was 9 percent higher, and the average price ($165,344) posted a 7 percent gain, according to the Dayton Realtors.

For the year through October, there have been 13,902 sales in the Dayton area, up 1 percent from last year when 13,775 properties sold. Total dollar volume through 10 months hit $2.3 billion, a 7 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Dayton Realtors.

The average home sales price was $165,766 in October, while the median price was $142,550, both 6 percent increases.

Home inventory available to Realtors increased in October, an 18 percent jump from what was available last year, according to Dayton Realtors..

The overall MLS inventory at month’s end showed 4,432 active properties available for sale, which translated to a supply of three months based on October’s resale rate, Dayton Realtors reported.

U.S. home sales also rose in October, breaking a six-month losing streak. But sales are still down from a year ago, hurt by rising interest rates.

The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing homes climbed 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.22 million last month from 5.15 million in September. But the October sales were still down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, the largest annual drop since July 2014.

“No way is the housing market on solid ground at the moment,” says Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief economist. He blamed a sharp increase in mortgage rates over the past year.

October sales were up in three of four U.S. regions. Only the Midwest recorded a drop in sales last month. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact this reporter at 513-6964521 or Rich.Gillette@coxinc.com.

CONTRIBUTED Year-to-date through October, there were 13,902 sales, up 1 percent compared to the same period in 2017 when 13,775 properties closed, according to Dayton Realtors.