In Warren County, residential sales went from 3,407 for 2017 to 3,290 for 2018, a 3.4 percent decrease, with the average price rising from $260,415 to $273,569, a 5.1 percent increase.
Home sales for the Greater Cincinnati area dropped from 26,024 in 2017 to 25,616 in 2018, a 1.6 percent dip, with the average price rising from $202,340 to $214,016, a 5.8 percent increase.
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“Homes in the $150,000 to $250,000 price range with our lower inventories moved faster that those homes priced above $260,000,” said Michelle Billings, president of the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors. “In all three markets, with low inventory, consumers witnessed a seller’s market where homes in move-in ready condition priced properly sold quickly. Sellers raised their prices and buyers, in multiple offers, raised their offered prices due to the high demand.
“For the Cincinnati region, even though the number of sales in 2018 were down 1.6 percent, 2018 was still the third highest and one of the strongest sales years in the past 10 years.”
Butler County saw the largest drop in home sales for the month of December, with sales down 18 percent compared to the same month in 2017. Warren County home sales increased 2 percent in December 2018 compared with December 2017.
“Despite the slow sales in December 2018 home sales remained one of the top three strongest in over 10 years,” Billings said.
Cincinnati-area home sales are decreasing but at a rate slower than the national average, statistics show. The slowdown has helped boost inventory levels, which is good news for buyers who previously dealt with a very limited selection of homes, according to a recent report by RE/MAX Southern Ohio.
In 2018, Cincinnati was among the top 50 on the list of Best Places to Live according to rankings from U.S. News and World Report.
“They said that Cincinnati is very affordable, great for job prospects and quality of life,” Billings said.
The local numbers match Ohio’s solid housing market, which was extremely active in 2018 as the sector established record-setting levels in average sales price and total dollar volume, while nearly mirroring the best-ever rate of sales activity, according to Ohio Realtors.
The average sales price across Ohio in 2018 reached $182,561, a 5.6 percent increase from the $172,884 mark posted during 2017.
Amount of residential sales and average sales price: 2018 vs. 2017
Butler County
2018 sales: 4,996
2018 average price: $199,532
2017 sales: 5,011
2017 average price: $185,036
Warren County
2018 sales: 3,290
2018 average price: $273,569
2017 sales: 3,407
2017 average price: $260,415
Greater Cincinnati region
2018 sales: 25,616
2018 average price: $214,016
2017 sales: 26,024
2017 average price: $202,340
Source: Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors
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