Cincinnati housing market regains its legs

Greater Cincinnati’s housing market has gotten back on its feet, according to a monthly national housing report.

The Cincinnati metro area ranked as the 14th-best housing market out of 50 metro areas around the country, according to a monthly national housing report from Clear Capital, a Truckee, Calif.-based real estate valuation analysis firm.

Local housing prices jumped 10.2 percent during the four months ending in July compared with the prior quarter. That beat the national average of a 7.9 percent increase.

Greater Cincinnati housing prices rose 11.5 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Clear Capital. That also beat the national average of 11.1 percent.

The local housing market rebounded after ranking in the bottom 15 out of 50 U.S. markets in March and April.

The overall numbers were encouraging, said Alex Villacorta, Clear Capital’s senior statistician.

“Home prices continue to show positive growth from the first quarter of the year,” Villacorta said in the report. “This trend indicates that the initial upward momentum created by the tax credit expiration is being sustained.”

The Midwest was the strongest housing region in the period ended in July. Its housing prices averaged a 14.7 percent gain from the prior quarter. The South was the next best region, with just a 7 percent price gain. On a year-over-year basis, Midwest housing prices rose 15.1 percent to lead the nation. The West was next at 7.4 percent.

Cleveland was the top market in July, with a 29.2 percent price gain from the prior quarter and a 43.2 percent increase from the same period a year ago.

via Cincinnati Business Courier