Northeast Ohio house sales rose 13.4 percent in 2012; condo sales jumped
Home sales rose in Northeast Ohio and across the country in 2012. The region's housing market saw its highest sales since at least 2008, while the nation posted its best year since 2007. Higher sales and lower inventory of available homes pushed up real estate prices in many Northeast Ohio counties.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northeast Ohio's home sales rose in 2012 to their highest level in at least four years, an indication that the market is recovering after years of dragging down the economy.Higher sales and a shrinking supply of available homes pushed prices up last year in many Northeast Ohio counties. Experts expect more improvement in 2013, thanks to low interest rates and pent-up buyer demand.Sales and prices have not returned to pre-recession levels and might never reach the delirious highs of 2005 and 2006, the top of the real estate bubble. But the last year showed that housing has hit bottom.In Northeast Ohio, sales of single-family homes rose 13.4 percent last year, compared with 2011. Condominium sales, a sliver of the market, posted a 26.3 percent annual increase, according to local listing-service data for 15 counties.Statewide, home sales were up 12.7 percent from 2011, the Ohio Association of Realtors said Tuesday."This is a train that's very hard to start, but it's also hard to stop" once it gets moving, said Carl DeMusz, chief executive officer of the Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service, said of the housing market.In Ohio and across the nation, December sales dipped a bit from November but surpassed December 2011 levels.The local reports, which track new and existing homes, portray a market plodding toward slow, steady growth. Listing-service data for five counties - Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina - show that sales have been climbing but still have not reached 2000 levels.Real estate companies said their growth in 2012 bodes well for this year. At Coldwell Banker Hunter Realty, which covers a wide swath of Northeast Ohio, annual sales were up 15 percent from 2011, president Ed Dolinsky said. Between its Pepper Pike and downtown Cleveland offices, sales at Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland were up 63 percent, operating principal John Ludwick said.Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the biggest player in the region, announced Tuesday that it closed $3.6 billion worth of sales and 20,983 transactions in Ohio last year. That marked a 22 percent increase in sales volume and a 19 percent jump in the number of units sold."The momentum had a lot to do with interest rates being low," said Howard "Hoby" Hanna, president of Howard Hanna Ohio. "I'm anticipating another really strong year as the housing market continues to recover."Across the country, sales of existing homes reached their highest level - an estimated 4.65 million homes changed hands during 2012 - in five years, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide data on new-home sales will be released Friday.The national Realtors continue to say that tough lending standards and tight inventory are hindering sales. It would take just 4.4 months to sell all of the available U.S. homes at the current buying pace."Both sales and prices will again be higher in 2013," Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the national Realtors, said in a written statement.Prices are inching up, and 2012 marked the return of bidding wars and fierce competition for the best homes in Northeast Ohio. But the housing bust wiped out nearly a decade of price growth in the Cleveland area, and many homeowners remain stuck in houses or condos that are worth less than the debt they carry. Sales of bank-owned properties, though a dwindling share of the market, continue to weigh on home values."We're getting a little bit of appreciation, but not so much that we can see a turnaround. But there is light at the end of the tunnel," said Ludwick, of Keller Williams. "Real estate values are driven by supply and demand, and we have a shortage of good inventory. That's going to spur the market. The segment of the market that I think will open up somewhat is move-ups and move-downs, which have been pretty stagnant for the last couple of years."The national median - or middle - price for a previously owned home was $180,800 in December, up 11.5 percent from a year before. Ohio real estate groups report average prices, instead of medians. Across the state, the average sale price was $132,698, up 7.7 percent from December 2011.In Northeast Ohio, the average sale price for a house was $133,888 in December, an 11 percent improvement from a year before. Across 15 local counties, condos fetched an average of $122,395 in December, up 14 percent.Local homes sold for as little as $1,000 and as much as $1.3 million last month, according to listing-service data.
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