Existing home sales rose in September on the state and national levels, but declined locally. Industry analysts credit the increases to low mortgage rates an an increase in first-time home buyers. The National Association of Realtors says sales rose 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million, despite a persistent shortage of available properties. The supply was 2.04 million, down 6.8 percent from a year ago. The institutional investors who bought up homes in recent years have continued to rent them out rather than putting them on the market. And home builders have not aggressively stepped up construction. The Ohio Association of Realtors says sales on the state level rose 5.1 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 151,100. The Columbus Realtors trade association says nearly 29 hundred existing homes were sold in its multi-county region in September, down from 31 hundred in August. But the figure represents an 8.3 percent increase from September of 2015. The national median sale price was 234 thousand dollars in September, down from 240 thousand during the previous month. The average price of an existing home in Ohio was nearly 166 thousand dollars last month, down two thousand from August. In central Ohio, the average sale price of a home during the month of September was nearly 206 thousand dollars, down from nearly 205 thousand during the previous month.
Existing Home Sales Rose On The State And National Levels In September
