Forum Discussion: State of Dayton Real Estate Market

Community and business leaders addressed commercial and residential real estate agents Thursday morning about issues affecting the state of real estate in the Dayton housing market.

Speakers at the annual State of Real Estate in the Miami Valley discussed development, educational and government initiatives - including the jobs slated to come here from the Base Realignment and Closure Process of 2005, as well as down payment assistance programs - and their impact on the community. More than 200 people attended the event, held at the Dayton Area Board of Realtors.

“We wanted to demonstrate to them that while there are challenges, these challenges have opportunities,” said Bruce Pearson, president of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and moderator of the speakers. “This region is really well positioned to take advantage of those opportunities.”

The speakers were: Georgiana Nye, president of the Dayton Area Board of Realtors; J.P. Nauseef, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton Development Coalition; Dan Foley, Montgomery County commissioner; Colin Campbell, Realtor; Rick Perales, Greene County Commissioner and University of Dayton campus planning director; and Tom Raga, senior director of regional strategy and development for Sinclair Community College.

While the region will benefit from the 1,100 direct jobs slated to come here from the BRAC process, it also faces challenges. Montgomery County has decided to increase the property transfer fee from 10 cents for every $100 to 30 cents for every $100, a move that is not well received by most real estate agents.

But Dan Foley, Montgomery County commissioner, said it was a necessary move to help slow the decline of the general fund’s revenue. In the past five years, the fund has remained flat or decreased. This year it’s about $150 million.

Campbell said the Dayton region has experienced hardships due to the sluggish housing market. But he emphasized that the housing market has seen harder times than these: In 1980, home mortgage rates were up to 17 percent.

“Our problems today are minor compared to in the past,” Campbell said.

He said he expects home prices to increase and inventory to decline, which will soon stabilize the market.

Perales discussed the University of Dayton’s plans for construction on its recently acquired NCR Corp. property. He talked about building an arts facility and academic building, as well as incorporating green space and parking areas. All of this, he said, will be a boon for Montgomery County and Ohio mortgage seekers in the area.

Raga talked about how Sinclair Community College is an asset to the region, enrolling more than 20,000 students each year. He talked about the additional campus the college is opening in Warren County, and how the Dayton campus will be untouched in spite of the new development.

Nye said the session was well received by real estate agents.

“Obviously this has the benefit of letting you know what’s going on in the area,” Nye said.