Apr. 29—March highlighted a tough housing market for prospective buyers in Butler and Warren counties as prices went up, listings and closed sales dropped and interest rates flared.

Last month's combined listings in the two counties were down 21.5% from March 2022.

"True to the theory of supply and demand, prices have increased. We are still in what we call a 'seller's market,'" said Anne Uchtman, president of the REALTOR® Alliance of Greater Cincinnati (RAGC), which tracks housing market data in Hamilton, Butler and Warren Counties.

Prices shot particularly high in Warren County, which had a median sale price of $377,000 last month; a 9.3% increase from March 2022. Butler County, meanwhile, had a median sale price of $252,500 last month; a 1% increase from March 2022.

"It is undoubtedly an excellent time to sell, but this makes it a very difficult market for buyers," Uchtman said. She explained that, with a lack of homes to choose from, buyers in the same price range end up vying for the same houses, particularly the more modestly priced homes. "We continue to see sometimes 20 offers on a single property with bids well over asking price. This will likely continue for the next several months. We need more listings to stabilize this market."

Closed sales dipped significantly last month in comparison to March 2022, especially in Warren County, which saw a staggering 31.2% decrease. Butler County's sales dropped 19.2% last month from March 2022.

Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan said the lack of sales in March — along with even lower numbers so far through April — was worrying for the housing market, adding, "we need more sales."

"For March we are down about 20% year over year," Nolan said in correspondence to the Journal-News. "April we are down almost 40%. There is nothing for sale. What does come up sells quickly, but we have very few sales."

In the background, prospective buyers also had to contend with already-high interest rates that flared heading into March. According to FreddieMac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was just about 6.5% at the beginning of the month and peaked at 6.75%. In March 2022, interest rates had already begun their noteworthy climb, but the 3.89% rate heading into that month was still 67.1% lower than what buyers ran into in March.

The complete data from RAGC is below: — Butler County, March 2023: — Closed sales: 332, down 19.2% from March 2022 — New listings: 385, down 22.7% from March 2022 — Median Price: $252,500, up 1$ from March 2022 — Warren County, March 2023: — Closed sales: 179, down 31.2% from March 2022 — New listings: 260, down 19.8% from March 2022 — Median price: $377,000, up 9.3% from March 2022