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

Exisiting Home Sales Rose In March

istockphoto.com

Realtors around the country and in Ohio are seeing a strong start to the traditional spring home-buying season. Jim Letizia reports.

The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales rose by 4.4 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.71 million - the fastest rate since February of 2007. Industry analysts say a stable economy has intensified demand, but inventories have been steadily declining. Sales listings have fallen by 6.6 percent over the past year, limiting buyer choices and fueling higher prices. Statewide, the Ohio Association of Realtors says existing home sales rose by 4.9 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 156 thousand. The Columbus Realtors trade association says more than 25 hundred existing homes were sold in its multi-county region in March, up 51 percent from February. The median national sale price was nearly 237 thousand dollars, up from 228 thousand in February. Statewide, the average sale price of 163 thousand was up 11 thousand from February. The average sale price of a central Ohio home in March was nearly 204 thousand dollars, up 7 percent from February.

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