Sales of existing homes in October rose on the national and state levels, but declined on the local level. Alison Holm reports.
The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales rose in October by 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.6 million - the strongest pace since February 2007. Industry analysts say a stable job market and historically low borrowing costs have spurred demand, but sales growth has been tempered by accelerating home prices and a shortage of properties on the market. Statewide, the Ohio Association of Realtors says nearly 157 thousand homes exchanged hands last month, up 3.8 percent from September and the best rate for October since 1988. In central Ohio, the Columbus Realtors trade association says more than 25 hundred existing homes were sold in its multi-county region last month, down 10.3 percent from September. But the number of existing homes sold was a record for October. The median national sale price rose by 6 percent from a year ago to 232 thousand dollars. The statewide average price was more than 163 thousand, down from nearly 166 thousand in September. In central Ohio, the average sale price in October was nearly 200 thousand dollars, down from nearly 206 thousand during the previous month.
