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Cincinnati home sales down, Northern Kentucky up in January

Like the national housing market, home sales in Cincinnati declined last month.  The Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors said closings fell a little more than 7 percent in January compared to a year earlier.  It's the first time in more than two years the local market has experienced a drop in closings.

Board president Ken Parchman compares it to the stock market.  "Our home sales activity will experience occasional dips as we continue our upward growth," he said in a statement.

The CABR reports the average selling price last month continued to go up.  It was $150,908 compared to $138,952 a year earlier, about a 9 percent increase.

"The Greater Cincinnati Housing market is very stable and will continue to improve at a moderate rate," said Parchman.  "Our low inventory coupled with relatively stable, low interest rates and increasing demand, has pushed the average price higher."

January was a strong month for Northern Kentucky where, despite the severe weather this winter, home sales rose almost 14 percent. 

A statement from the Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors notes that optimism abounds among local realtors:  "We are excited to see that NKY housing is still gaining momentum in 2014 after a great 2013, which was our highest year for home sales in the last six years."

NKAR reports the average sale price was off about 4 percent in January, but it's expecting prices to heat up once the spring selling market arrives.  The average price last month in Northern Kentucky was $134,285 dollars compared to $139,618 in January 2013.