Pending Home Sales in Ohio Reach New High in May
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The number of single-family houses and condominiums put under agreement in Ohio in May rose for the 25th consecutive month compared to the results from 2012, the Ohio Realtors Association reported Thursday.
The association's May Pending Home Sales Index of 145.6 rose 20.1% from the May 2012 index score of 121.2.
A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” occurs when the buyer and seller agree on terms and have signed a purchase and sale agreement but have yet to close and be recorded as such.
“With each passing month, we’re continuing to make steady, significant progress in rebuilding a solid foundation for stable, growing housing marketplace in Ohio,” said Thomas J. Williams, president of the Ohio Association of Realtors, in a prepared statement. “It’s evident that buyers are not only confident that homeownership is a wise, long-term investment, but are eager to take advantage of the ideal conditions that exist in today’s marketplace with favorable pricing and low interest rates.”
Williams is employed by Northwood Realty at its office in Austintown.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2008, which marked the end of five consecutive record years for sales of existing houses and the onset of the Great Recession. Activity levels in 2008 reflected a historically healthy, balanced market. The May pending sales index of 145.6 marks a 45.6% increase from the benchmark index of 100 in May 2008
The Ohio Association of Realtors, with 26,000 members, is the largest professional trade association in the state.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition and to our free daily email headlines.