November home sales slipped in Northeast Ohio and recent price gains appear to be cooling, mirroring national signs that the housing market might be pausing for breath after a run of growth.
Listing-service data released this week show that sales were down 1.1 percent in November, when compared with a year before, across 18 counties. Sales eked out a 0.7% gain in the region's busiest counties, Cuyahoga and Summit, but dropped elsewhere in the region, including Lorain and Geauga counties.
That's according to Yes MLS, a listing service that tracks the vast majority of transactions. Buyers in the region purchased 43 fewer homes in November than they did during the same month of 2017. And, on average, they paid a bit less for those properties.
The average sale price for a house was $165,835 last month, down 1.6% from a year before. Condos sold at an average price of $144,624, a 2.9% annual decline.
Average sale prices fell in Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties, as well as some outlying counties where sales are meager and pricing, as a consequence, is prone to wild swings. Homes in the region sold for as little as $700 and as much as $1.3 million last month, the listing service reported.
Based on 11 months worth of data, Northeast Ohio home sales for all of 2018 are on track to just barely exceed last year's levels. Average house-sale prices have risen 4.9% this year, while condo pricing is up 5.6% when compared with January to November of 2017.
A statewide report on November home sales is scheduled for release on Dec. 19, to coincide with a monthly report on U.S. sales of previously owned homes from the National Association of Realtors. Recent housing reports indicate that the frenzied pace of sales is easing, a trend some economists attribute to rising mortgage rates and affordability challenges for buyers.
