© 2024 WYSO
Our Community. Our Nation. Our World.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Miami Valley Home Sales Surge, Values Increase During Pandemic

A graphic depiction of two businesspeople exchanging a sack of money for a house.
Mohamed Hassan
2020 was a record year in the Dayton area with total home sales reaching $3.4 billion. That's big a jump from $2.9 billion in 2019.

Residential real estate seems to be immune to the coronavirus.

While other parts of the economy have struggled, home sales in the Miami Valley were up 4% last year. The average price went up 11%.

Sharon Geier at Dayton REALTORS says there are simple reasons for the surge.

"Low interest rates, and also the inventory being low," she says. "Not enough sellers and lots of interested buyers afraid of missing out."

But what happens when the pandemic slows down? Will a seller's market be replaced by a buyer's market?

"I think that will happen," Geier says, "but I don’t know how quickly. It’s like a pendulum. It kind of swings. Typically, it will stabilize at some point, but I think it’s going to take some time."

She says more sellers and more new construction would help realtors keep up with demand.