By Carl Horst

The number of homes sold across Ohio rose 20.5 percent in April, as the market posted gains in activity for the 22^nd consecutive month, according to the Ohio Association of REALTORS.

“The Ohio marketplace, with each passing month, continues to make significant progress in building a solid foundation for a sustained, growing housing sector,” said OAR President Thomas J. Williams. “We’ve not only posted 22 straight months of sales gains –  our longest stretch of uninterrupted growth in 16 years of tracking Ohio housing activity – but  we’re also seeing stability and steady gains in pricing which should help boost confidence that housing is a solid, long-term investment.”

Sales through the first four months of 2013 reached 35,412, a 15.6 percent increase from the 30,636 sales posted during the same period a year ago. The average sales price (January through April) this year is $128,547, a 5.1 percent increase from the $122,349 mark set during the period a year ago.

Total dollar volume this year is more than $4.5 billion, a 21.4 percent increase from the four-month mark of a year ago of $3.7 billion.

“The ongoing recovery of the Ohio housing market is widespread…with 17 of the 20 markets we track showing gains in activity so far in 2013,” Williams added. “Having so many of our individual markets record positives in a state as diverse as Ohio – with its unique blend of big urban markets and smaller, rural locales – is an indication that the Buckeye State is making significant headway in its recovery effort.”

Sales in April reached 10,991; a 20.5 percent increase from the 9,121 sales posted during the month in 2012, and reached the best mark since 2007. The average sales price of $134,388 was a 3.5 percent increase from the $129,858 average price posted in April 2012.

Data provided to OAR by Multiple Listing Services includes residential closings for new and existing single-family homes and condominiums/co-ops. The Ohio Association of REALTORS, with more than 26,000 members, is the largest professional trade association in Ohio.

Ohio Home Sales Activity

Click here to access the full Ohio home sales report…with a complete market-by-market analysis.

By Carl Horst

It appears the two-plus year trend of a shrinking number of homes in the market is beginning to reverse course, according to housing expert Bill McBride at Calculated Risk.

The historic low inventory level of “for-sale” homes across the country that was one of the major headlines of the 2011 and 2012 marketplace appears to have given way to notable uptick. Says McBride:

So far in 2013, inventory is up 17.7%. This is well above the peak percentage increases for 2011 and 2012 and suggests to me that inventory is near the bottom. It now seems likely – at least by this measure – that inventory bottomed early this year (it could still happen early next year).

It is important to remember that inventory is still very low, and is down 15.1% from the same week last year according to Housing Tracker.  Once inventory starts to increase (more than seasonal), buyer urgency will wane, and I expect price increases to slow.

As the OAR Daily Buzz noted last week, inventory levels in markets throughout the Buckeye State rose in April from the prior month, but remained well below the levels posted in 2012

By Greg Stitz, OAR Director of Research

Thirty-nine percent of Ohio home buyers were first-time buyers in Ohio, according to a 2012 survey of the state’s home buyers and sellers. This is a seven percent increase from the 2011 level, when 32 percent of buyers were first-time. First-time buyers in Ohio traditionally track comparatively with the national results, except in 2011 when 5 percent more buyers in the U.S. purchased their first home.

Sixty-six percent of 2012 first-time buyers in Ohio were married/unmarried couples, 19 percent were single females and 12 percent were single males.

This information was included in the National Association of REALTORS 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, Ohio Report.

OAR’s annual seminar — the Industry, Legal & Legislative Update — offers REALTORS the latest information regarding state and federal regulatory issues, legal matters including license law updates and changes, up-to-date news from the Ohio State House, and more is coming to a locale near you throughout June.

This don’t miss session, featuring OAR’s Peg Ritenour or Lorie Garland, will be making stops in Dayton (June 4), Cincinnati (June 6), Toledo (June 10), Cleveland (June 19), Columbus (June 20) and Cambridge (June 27).

Click here for more information and to register!

By Marilou Butcher Roth

One of the topics that is always fun to explore is fitness. Ah, yes, cardio, weights, pilates — we love them, don’t we! However, I want to take this idea a little further. How would you rate your fitness level when it comes to your business? Or how about your financial fitness, how do you measure up? Fitness is a state of mind and can be achieved in any part of our lives.

How can you raise your level of fitness in all areas of your life? Here are some categories to check:

• Business Fitness
• Relationship Fitness
• Financial Fitness
• Emotional Fitness
• Spiritual Fitness
• Physical Fitness

For you as a REALTOR to be at the top of your game, you must be looking not only at your business but these other parts of your life as well. I have seen it happen far too often, an agent will throw themselves totally into their business and quickly see other areas suffer. You can have it all, you know. It’s a matter of deciding what’s important and then creating some consistency to make sure it happens.

As you toss this idea around, you may want to ask yourself these questions: What result am I trying to achieve? How am I actively pursuing this result? What needs/wants to happen next?

I love the idea of creating fitness in all areas of your life. The biggest problem we encounter is not taking the time to tune into what it is we really want. Or sometimes, we set ourselves up with the idea that what we want is unattainable so we don’t even bother to attempt it. So let yourself become clear. What would “fitness” in these areas look like? If what you see seems too large to tackle, ask yourself what you can do (something small and measurable) to take yourself in the direction that you want to go — not the whole enchilada, just forward.

Be gentle with yourself. We often make things so much harder than they need to be! Ask me how I know!