Home purchase agreements across Ohio reach best-ever level in August

On September 29, 2016



By Carl Horst, OAR Director of Publications/Media Relations


The Ohio Association of REALTORS reports the number of single-family homes and condominiums put under agreement in August 2016 reached a best-ever level for the month, increasing a slight 0.4 percent from the level posted during the month a year ago.


Ohio’s August Pending Home Sales Index of 153.6, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 0.4 percent from August 2015 (153.0). Activity in August fell 0.8 percent from the pace of agreements reached in July 2016 (154.8).


“Activity within the Ohio housing marketplace remains robust, as the number of homes put under contract in August reached an all-time high for the month and marks our 28th consecutive monthly year-over-year gain,” said OAR President Sara Calo. “While the market continues to face the ongoing challenge of tight inventory levels, the brisk pace of contract signings is positive indication that the confidence level among home buyers remains positive.”


Compared to 2008, a historically healthy market that marked the end of five consecutive record years for existing home sales and the onset of the recession, August’s Index score of 153.6 marks a 53.6 percent increase.


A pending sale or a sale “under agreement” is when the buyer and seller agree on terms of the sale of a home and have a signed purchase and sale agreement, but have yet to close and be recorded as such.
OAR, the largest professional trade association in the state with more than 30,000 members, is the only organization that compiles this state wide information from selected Multiple Listing Services each month. The tracking of “pending sales” provides reliable information about where the market is heading in coming months.