Greater Cincinnati home sales are so robust that they may set another record this year — defying an otherwise stagnant economy.

        Buyers may have the advantage. They're finding a large number of for-sale homes to choose from. And because houses are taking longer to sell — 72 days compared to 66 last year — some sellers are feeling pressured to lower their asking prices.

        Mortgage rates that are at three-year lows, meanwhile, are driving a buying and selling frenzy that's pleasing almost everybody.

        “There are pockets that's a buyer's market and pockets where it's a seller's market,” says Dale Weisker, owner of Weisker & Associates, a real estate firm on Cincinnati's west wide. “A lot of it depends on location and what people are looking for.”

        Through April of this year, home sales in the eight-county Greater Cincinnati area totaled 8,240, compared with 7,714 during the first four months of last year, which also set a record, according to Tristate boards of Realtors.

        The housing market is confounding an otherwise anemic economy characterized by a weak stock market, rising consumer debt and lingering concern in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

        Demand and inventory remain greatest for homes priced at $250,000 and below. They accounted for 88 percent of the 6,612 homes sold in the first four months of this year in Southwest Ohio, which makes up 80 percent of Tristate sales.

        But pricier homes are selling well, too. Sales of homes ranging from $350,000 to $450,000 are up 10 percent this year over last at his company, Mr. Weisker says.

        Many affluent buyers, he says, are seeing homes as less-risky investments than stocks.

        Jack and Stephanie Volker have experienced the power of the market first-hand. In the past year, they've sold two houses and bought two — ending up in a home they had long admired in Norwood.

        In May 2001, the couple sold a condominium in Columbia Tusculum for $95,000, about $4,000 less than their asking price but a price they were comfortable with accepting.

        Prompted by lower mortgage rates, the Volkers bought a $134,000 home in Norwood last July, gambling that the home would sell for much more given the neighborhood's appreciation rate.

        They were right. In April, the Volkers sold that home for $153,000 and bought the larger home they loved in Norwood for $169,900.

        “We were not interested in moving or looking to move, but with rates low and when the home we always admired in Norwood was put on the market at a reasonable price, we jumped at the chance,” Mrs. Volker says.

        The Volkers benefited from mortgage rates that have been at their lowest levels since February 1999. Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages now average 6.82 percent, down from 7.34 percent a year ago. The difference means a monthly savings of about $35 for the buyer of a $100,000 home, according to the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors.

        Real estate experts say the low rates make purchasing a home more affordable for many first-time buyers. First-timers also are being helped by mortgage programs with below-market interest rates.

        “There are now so many different ways people can come up with the financing, including more bond money being offered,” Mr. Weisker says. “And that's helping boost sales of those homes.”

        At the same time, homeowners like the Volkers, those in their first or second houses, are jumping on the low rates to buy more expensive homes.

        “We did very well selling our previous homes as well buying the one we have now,” Mrs. Volker says. “The low interest made a big difference in getting willing buyers and buying ourselves.”

        Persistent buyers also can negotiate some favorable deals.

        Mike Wolfer, owner of ReMax Unlimited, which has real estate offices in Anderson Township, Montgomery and West Chester, says buyers are being more selective, looking seriously at two or three homes before making a commitment.

        Negotiations are continuing up to the closing dates, and discounts are being more readily offered for defects found during pre-sale home inspections, he says.

        The market is in contrast to that of a booming economy three years ago, when some sellers were receiving multiple offers and selling their homes above the asking price.

        Still, not all sellers are backing off their asking prices now, Mr. Wolfer says.

        “There's a battle in that buyers and sellers are negotiating hard with each other, but no one is controlling the market,” he says.

        One of the Tristate's largest Realtor groups says the hot housing market is a win-win for both buyers and sellers.

        “It's more of a balanced market,” says Terry Hankner, executive vice president at Comey & Shepherd in Mariemont, the city's fifth-largest residential estate firm. “Buyers are paying fair prices, and sellers are accepting fair prices.”

        That's what Rob and Becky Young learned when they bought another home before selling their previous one earlier this year.

        The couple bought a larger home in Kenwood in March for a little more than $200,000, about $20,000 below the asking price.

        “We were able to get such a deal because we offered a fair price and allowed the seller to stay there until her new place was done,” Mr. Young says.

        A month later, the Youngs sold their old Kenwood home for about $170,000, about the same as the listing price. A healthy housing market led to three bids and a home sale in two weeks.

        Despite the market, some homes will always sell quickly, experts say.

        Says Mr. Young of his old house: “It was priced right and in a good school district.”

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