The national housing market is struggling – but some pockets are thriving
Cincinnati (OH-KY-IN) is another market that’s bucking the national trend. Pending home sales were up 6.2% in July compared with 12 months before, showing why focusing on the national picture doesn’t always give an accurate indication of how specific smaller markets are faring.
The reasons for the city’s housing market resilience, according to Cincinnati-based Edge Home Finance mortgage broker Jessica Eddy, are unsurprising: the fact that affordability is much less stretched than other major markets.
“The market stays strong here in the tri-state area, and that’s really due to the overall economy,” she told Mortgage Professional America. “The cost of living here compared to other parts of the country is much more affordable, and that’s a big draw.”
That reality is drawing attention from other parts of the country. Eddy said the last 18 months have brought a noticeable uptick in buyers relocating from higher-cost markets, partly due to favorable property taxes that feel low relative to what they might be used to, and higher purchasing power than they experience elsewhere.
Homebuying competition varies from one area to the next
In some of Cincinnati’s most sought-after areas – Mason, Liberty Township, Montgomery, Hyde Park in Ohio, and Fort Thomas in Northern Kentucky – the concept of a buyer’s market is largely absent.
