Midwest housing market still afloat

COLUMBIA — The Midwest’s existing-home sales fell 16 percent last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. But while the region's sales declined, they didn't fall as much as two of the other four housing regions.

Existing-home sales also dropped in the South and Northeast regions, by 17.6 percent and 18 percent respectively. The West region had a sales increase of almost 18 percent, while the other regions declined.

Boone County’s housing market might have helped the Midwest's number. According to the Columbia Board of Realtors' quarterly report, the average sale price of a single-family home in December was $178,848, an increase of 9 percent from the previous December’s average. But the volume of single-family homes decreased by almost four million, thereby limiting supply and driving up demand.
The national average sale price of an existing home dropped by 13.2 percent.