By the numbers
$618 million: Money spent on homes in the region that includes Clark and Champaign counties through November, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.
$533 million: Money spent on homes in the region through November of 2014.
$39 million: Money spent on homes in the region last month.
Source: Ohio Association of Realtors
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has written extensively about the recovering housing market since it crashed in the late 2000s, including stories digging into housing prices and new construction.
The Springfield housing market has been listed in a national study as one of the most sustainable and improved housing markets in the nation, but local Realtors and leaders said more work needs to be done.
The Health of Housing Markets Report from Columbus-based Nationwide Economicsused several factors to create the index, including employment, demographics, mortgage market and housing prices.
Springfield ranked seventh overall, while Akron (fourth), Dayton (fifth) and Toledo (ninth) also made the list. Springfield ranked fifth on the most improved list, which also included Lima (first) and Toledo (seventh). New Orleans-Metairie, LA was the worst-ranked metropolitan area in the country.
“In a sense it’s a Goldilocks measure,” said David Berson, senior vice president and chief economist at Nationwide Economics. “It’s telling us which markets are just right, not which ones are the hottest or which ones are the coldest.”
The housing market in Springfield is sustainable based on its investor purchases, mortgage credit availability and income growth, among other factors, Berson said. The study doesn’t compare cities with other cities, but rather its forecast for the future.
“(Springfield) has a steady housing market and that’s what makes it so sustainable,” he said.
The top-10 metropolitan areas are mostly located in the Midwest due to the economic recovery from the Great Recession, Berson said.
“We’re not seeing as big as an outflow of population as we saw in part because job prospects look better,” he said. “The number of new households looks better compared to say what it’s looked like in Springfield over the last 20 years.”
Springfield ranked a 3 on the study’s index for the third quarter of this year, up from a -2 in the third quarter of 2008. The scale ranges from 4 as the most positive to -4 the most negative.
“The general economic climate in the upper Midwest is better than its been in the last 10 years,” Berson said. “It’s been a pretty good indicator for a year ahead.”
The local housing market has seen about a 15 percent increase in dollar volume this year. About $618 million has been spent in the region that includes Clark, Champaign, Logan, Miami, Shelby, Auglaize and Mercer counties. Last year, the region saw about $533 million spent on homes through November, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.
The Clark and Champaign County market is as steady as its been since 2008, said Elaine Stevenson, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Heritage Roediger Realty in Springfield. Stevenson serves as the president of the Springfield Board of Realtors.
“My business has stayed pretty steady,” she said. “We can say our market here locally, although it has challenges, is good. I think it’s probably better than I have seen since 2008.”
Last year real estate agents saw turnaround, she said, and this year home sales have stayed consistent. Price and condition, however, are two of the biggest factors in selling a home, she said.
“The better conditioned homes are going to sell first,” said Stevenson, who has been a Realtor for 18 years.
Last month Ohio’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, the lowest level in more than 14 years. However, more higher-paying jobs are needed here to strengthen the housing market, Stevenson said.
Some local sellers are disappointed with the length of time their homes remain on the market, she said.
“It’s a supply and demand,” she said. “In some price ranges, we do not have enough homes available and in other price ranges, we have too many homes available.”
The recovery is a good sign, but not indicative of the overall market because there are so many different levels, Springfield Community Development Director Shannon Meadows said.
“The steady, sustained market is a good thing for our community,” she said. “It allows us to continue to work on the improvements we should be working on.”
Plenty of work needs to be done, especially with affordable housing, Meadows said. Plenty of people are living in substandard homes in Springfield and can’t afford to continue living there, she said.
“Our work isn’t done when it comes to having decent, safe and affordable housing in the city of Springfield,” she said. “But surely the recovering market will put us on a path that will help us achieve the goals.”
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