Dayton Area Home Sales for March 2009
Single-family sales increased significantly in March compared to February’s activity, as the 807 transactions reported in March was a 172-unit increase over February. Compared to the same month a year earlier, March’s sales total fell short by only 62 units or 7.13%. This is the best year-over-year figure since October of last year.
“We’ve definitely seen an upturn in home sales,” said Harry Vearn, president of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors. “Many consumers are taking advantage of the new first-time homebuyer tax credit recently enacted by Congress. As a matter of fact, the only hold up we’ve seen is in the credit market, as they have been understandably cautious in how they process loans.”
The total sales volume for March reached nearly $86 million and generated an average sale price of $106,466. The median sale price was $84,950 for the month. These figures were down 16% and 22%, respectively, compared to a year earlier. However, both figures were higher compared to both January and February’s average and median, another positive sign at the end of the first quarter.
During the first quarter, 1,999 single-family sales were reported to the Board’s MLS, compared to 2,364 in 2008, a 15.4% drop-off. A volume of $203.8 million produced an average sale price of $101,966 and a median sale price of $79,750. These figures represent declines of 15.3% and 20.3%.
As another positive sign, 2,208 listings were submitted in March, an increase of 3.08% compared to the 2,142 added during March of 2008. For the quarter however, 5,577 single-family listings were added to the MLS, a 20.7% decline compared to the 7,038 during the same time period in 2008.
The overall single-family inventory at month’s end showed 8,787 listings available in the MLS, which represented a supply of 10.9 months, down from February’s 13.5-month supply, due to the faster pace of sales in March. Last year at the same time, an inventory of 9,336 listings represented a nearly identical 10.7-month’s supply.
Statistics compiled by John Junker, MLS Data Specialist