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Existing Home Sales Rose In May Locally And Nationally

Existing home sales rose last month on the local and national levels, but fell statewide. The Columbus Realtors trade association says nearly 31 hundred existing homes were sold in its multi-county area in May, an increase of nearly 17 percent from April. The association credits a tighter inventory, saying current levels are 40 percent below average during the past decade. The Ohio Association of Realtors says nearly 150 thousand homes changed hands last month, down 2.6 percent from April. But sales hit their highest seasonally adjusted annual rate for May since 1998. The National Association of Realtors says U.S. existing home sales rose by 1.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.53 million, the highest level since February 2007.  The association credits low inventory, low mortgage rates and increased job creation. Sale prices also increased. The median national sale price was nearly 240 thousand dollars, up 4.7 percent from May of last year. The statewide average home price of nearly 168 thousand dollars  is up 3.1 percent from May of last year. The average local price of nearly 212 thousand dollars is up by 4.7 percent from April.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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