Dayton Area Home Sales for March 2004
Sales of single-family homes soared in March as buyers, anticipating a continuing trend toward higher mortgage rates, rushed to take advantage of still very low rates. The 1,088 March transactions reported to the MLS was a huge 42% increase over last March's total of 765, and set yet another in a string of five consecutive monthly records, easily besting the previous March high of 863 in 2002. A record first quarter total of 2,490 single-family residential transactions, bested 2002's previous record winter-quarter total of 2,231, and was 23% better than last year's total of 2025.
A sales volume of $130,453,066 produced an average sale price in March of $119,902, a 2.9% appreciation compared to last March's $116,479. This is the first year-to -year increase in average monthly price since October of last year. Competition among sellers vying for the business of anxious buyers has gradually forced the average sale price downward in recent months. A first quarter average for 2004 of $121,042 is only a slight decline compared to the comparable figure of $121,976 for first quarter 2003, but is a significant 7.35% decline compared to year-end 2003, when the average stood at $130,647.
New single-family residential listings submitted in March also reflected the brisk pace of activity in the current market, as a total of 2,369 was a huge 441 unit or 22.8% jump compared to last March. A first quarter total of 5,821 listings in 2004 compares to 4,901 in 2003, a 920 unit or 18.7% increase. Total residential inventory at month's end stood at 5,957 or a 5.47-month's supply based on March's resale rate. This compares to a supply of only 5,320 at the same point last year, but a 7-month's supply, when the rate of sales activity was not depleting it nearly as rapidly.
The Dayton Area Board of REALTORS® is the local chapter of the National Association of REALTORS® and represents over 2,600 members and affiliates in the Dayton area.
Statistics compiled by John Junker, MLS Data Specialist