Cincinnati's housing market in a nutshell? Unexpected
When he started to fall, he got a much-needed relief in the fall, but it was short-lived. despite a two percent discount by mortgage rates rose again and remained stubbornly high.
Turbulence in prices has also trickled down to individual markets, as real estate agents say they don't know what to expect from sale to sale.
“It's unexpected,” said Teena Jackson, a Agent in Cincinnati. “I've been doing this since 2005 and I tell clients, I've never seen a market like this, so we have to run it together.”
Cincinnati has benefited from the broader revival of the Midwest, where large corporations have opened offices to take advantage of the cheaper cost of living compared to the coasts.
These companies bring in transplants who move to work, and homebuilders flock to the area to provide additional housing on more available land. This spurred economic growth in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky and made the housing market competitive.
“We're such an affordable area compared to a lot of other areas that we bring in a lot of displacement because we have some big companies here,” Donna Deaton said. Victory + Affiliates. “We have General Electric, PNG, Amazon. It really increased a lot of our sales.”
Jackson underscores his point about unpredictability by comparing two recent sales. One was priced “heavily” and received 28 offers in less than 24 hours, eventually selling for more than asking price. But on a comparable home, his other client made an offer below the accepted price.
This is a sign of a market moving away from sellers. According to the data Inventory for sale rose to 3,019 today from 1,864 on a 90-day turnover basis in May.
A significant drop in new listings is a contributing factor. Weekly new listings were 410 on Nov. 1, but have since fallen to 186, although new listings tend to decline in December as the holidays approach.
The downward trend in listings has also pushed the average sales price down from $400,000 over 90 days in June to $350,000 now, a low point for 2024.
Relatively more homes for sale give buyers more leverage, as evidenced by Altos Research's Market Activity Index score, which fell from 55 in May to 45 today. Altos considers anything above 30 to be an indication of a seller's market.
Sandi Wethington, moment the agent said the seller recently participated in a transaction where they installed a new septic tank and a new roof to close the deal.
“I've seen a lot of concessions in 35 years of any operation, but the guy wanted to do it,” he said. “It just became a more common theme.”
While the market naturally slows during the holidays, agents in Cincinnati expect buyers and sellers to be active in the new year despite mortgage rates remaining high. People who had to move because of a recent “life event” are waiting for prices to drop, but many can't.
Despite rising inventory and falling prices, the number of homes for sale is still well below the norm.
“I still think the market is very healthy, but limited inventory is definitely an issue, and I'd say it's consistent across the board, regardless of price point,” said Meg Perez. .
