Dayton, Ohio homes remain relatively affordable

Dayton-area and Ohio home prices remain relatively affordable even as home prices have become gradually less affordable nationally, according to an organization that analyses national real estate data.

“Ohio continues to be a very affordable housing market, even though we are seeing an overall statewide increase in housing prices,” said Matthew Watercutter, senior regional vice president and broker of record for HER Realtors.

According to the Dayton Area Board of Realtors, the median sales price of Dayton-area homes in May was $133,950, slightly above the May 2016 median by less than one percent.

The average sale price of $157,488, meanwhile, was four percent better than last year, the board said.

“The market is hot right now,” said Andrew Sims, chief executive of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors. “Homes are selling off the shelf in record pace. The biggest issue we are seeing right now is that there is not enough homes. Our inventory locally, and across the state and nation, is record-breaking low.”

According to ATTOM’s data, the second quarter median sales price for homes in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area — which includes Montgomery, Miami and Greene counties — was $109,900, which is down 5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2016.

Asked about the difference in numbers, Sims said the board works with Montgomery County Auditor Keith Klein to obtain “real time data.”

“It’s updated as things happen, so it’s up to date,” Sims said.

U.S. median home price of $253,000 in the second quarter of 2017 was at the “least affordable” level since the third quarter of 2008, a nearly nine-year low in affordability, according to ATTOM.

“While home price appreciation in the second quarter accelerated to the fastest pace in more than three years, wage growth turned negative, posting the biggest year-over-year decrease in five years in Q4 2016 — the most recent average weekly wage data available,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions, said in his company’s report.

Median home prices in the second quarter this year grew at a faster annual pace than average weekly wages in 403 of the 464 counties analyzed in the report, ATTOM said.

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