CLEVELAND, Ohio — In a season when home sales typically slow down, Northeast Ohio’s housing market maintained steady growth heading into the holidays, on the heels of a strong spring and summer.
Sales of new and previously owned houses were up 24.4 percent in October, when compared with a year before. Condominium sales, a sliver of the market, were 43.8 percent higher than in October 2011, according to listing service data for 15 local counties. And sales rose from September, the Northern Ohio Regional Multiple Listing Service said.
Statewide, home sales increased 23.1 percent in October, the 16th consecutive monthly gain, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.
Existing-home sales nationally rose 2.1 percent, the National Assocation of Realtors said.
Distressed homes — foreclosures and short sales — accounted for 24 percent of October’s sales nationally, unchanged from September but down from 28 percent in October 2011.
Recent sales growth, coupled with fewer listings, is nudging prices higher in some Northeast Ohio communities. Across the 15-county area, the average sale price for a single-family home was $129,824 last month, up 13.2 percent from a year before. Condos sold at an average price of $114,435, down 0.5 percent.
The lowest sale price? A single-family home for $900, listing-service data shows. The highest was the $4.1 million Bratenahl mansion that new Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife, Dee, bought in early October.
A deeper dig into the data shows that sales rose from October 2011 in all seven counties tracked by The Plain Dealer. And average sale prices rose in six of those counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit. Lake County’s average sale price fell 1.9 percent.
Real estate trade groups will release reports on October home sales at 10 a.m. today. An Ohio report will reflect sales of new and previously owned homes. The national report covers only existing homes. Data on U.S. sales of new homes is due out Nov. 28.