Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Local, National Existing Home Sales Declined In December

Sales of existing homes declined in December on the national and local levels, but increased statewide. Jim Letizia reports.

The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes fell 2.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million. Industry analysts blame a supply shortage that has pushed prices higher and may limit additional sales growth. The Ohio Association of Realtors says existing home sales statewide rose by 3 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly 153 thousand. The Columbus Realtors trade association says sales in its multi-county region declined 1.1 percent from November to December, with more than 22 hundred units changing hands. The median sale price of a U.S. home fell by 3 thousand dollars to 232 thousand. Statewide, the average home price fell by 3 thousand to more than 159 thousand dollars.  The average regional sale price fell by 3 thousand to more than 196 thousand dollars. For all of 2016, U.S. existing home sales posted an annual gain of 3.8 percent to 5.45 million. Locally, sales rose by 6.8 from 2015. Statewide, sales for 2016 rose by 6.7 percent.

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.
Related Content