Toledo metro area 90-day average altos research corp. The Market Action Index score has hovered between 50 and 54 since early March. A score of 30 or above is considered a seller’s market.
According to Altos data, Toledo-area homes are in the bottom half of the market, with a median list price of $199,900, an average 90-day Market Action Index score of 84.44, and an average of 14 days on the market. By comparison, homes in the top quartile of the market (with a median list price of $625,000) had a Market Action Index score of 35.9 and spent a median of 56 days on the market.
Agents attribute the change in market conditions to the current interest rate environment.
“Anything under $300,000 or $350,000 has very good activity, but beyond that, I think interest rates are really having an impact on buyers in those price ranges,” said Eddie Campos, the company’s president. Eddie Campos said. Northwest Ohio Real Estate Agents and a colleague At RE/MAX Preferred Associates.
“I showed my client a home that was recently listed for $599,000, and the monthly mortgage payment would be $1,400 different if that home was purchased today compared to three years ago. That’s very significant.
Campos said that in addition to an increase in days on the market for higher-priced homes, he’s also seen a decrease in listing prices at the high end of the market.
For Fleischman’s buyer clients, mortgage rates do seem to be an issue when a home needs updating.
“If there’s work to be done and they’re paying higher rates, there’s no room in their budget,” Fleischman said. “We’re seeing a lot of first-time homebuyers now who are only putting down 3% or 5% on an FHA loan, and they just don’t have the cash to make repairs and make monthly mortgage payments at higher interest rates.”
While local agents said they are still seeing bidding wars for lower prices, they noted that the multiple offer situation in July 2024 lacked the fierce competition seen in the pandemic-driven market a few years ago. But Fleischman noted that he still sees occasional upgrades to provisions, as well as exemptions from inspections and assessment gap provisions.
“I recently wrote an offer on a property that was $36,000 over list price, all cash, and the client failed because it was a beautiful brick ranch in a great location,” Fleischmann said. “But the majority of the multiple offers The bids are only fair offers, and there is a 30-day possession window after the transaction.”
As the market becomes more competitive, especially at lower prices, local agents say they are dealing with some buyer fatigue.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Campos said. “Most of the people who write us offers are on their third, fourth or even fifth offer.”
For Campos, the No. 1 challenge for his buyers is the current inventory situation.
“There’s just a lack of properties available for sale, so the competition is still there,” Campos said.
The 90-day average number of active single-family listings in the Toledo metro area was 613 as of July 5, up from 542 in early May, according to Altos Research. That number is down from 637 listings a year ago and 1,345 listings before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
But agents say there is some good news on the horizon for frustrated buyers.
“From an inventory standpoint, we’re starting to see more properties on the market,” said Jim Geyer, a broker and owner in Findlay, Ohio. ERA Geyer-Noakes Real Estate Group. “It’s slow growth and certainly not what we want, but it’s progress.”
In early July, the 90-day average number of new single-family homes listed on the market in the Toledo area was 108, up from the all-time low of 72 homes set in late February 2024.
While some would-be sellers with lower mortgage rates are choosing to stay put and try to wait out the current interest rate environment, local agents say interest rates are no longer a barrier to selling.
“I think people are hard-wired to be bored,” Fleischman said. “They’ve locked in those rates and I think they’re now seeing and realizing that rates are never going to be that low again, so it comes down to whether keeping the rates is more important than having the backyard they want or the lifestyle they want.
“Ultimately, everyone is going to be willing to pay to get the home they want.”
Heading into the fall, agents expect the Toledo market to remain relatively strong but want to give buyers more breathing room.
“Right now, we’re going to see a house listed for $399,000 and that could go up to $415,000, but I think in the fall we’re going to see a house listed for $415,000, not $430,000,” Fleischmann said. “I think buyers will have an opportunity to negotiate more, get inspections done and have some battle in the game.”
While brokers expect the upcoming presidential election to complicate matters, they remain optimistic about the long-term future of the Northwest Ohio real estate market.
“From an economic perspective, as far as employment and so on, we’re doing pretty well,” Guyer said. “Our population is holding on there and the market challenge we face is not a lack of ready, willing and able buyers. It’s inventory. But we are seeing more and more sellers considering putting their homes on the market, And the more successful we are at selling, the more motivated those potential sellers will be to list.
