Miami County’s housing market remains busy according to sales data from the Miami County Auditor’s Website. Sales of residential property increased this summer, and the average sale price is still well above where it was only a few years ago.

But the numbers also show why residents should be careful about treating one countywide average as the full story. Some of the recent sales are not homes. They are vacant lots that may be used for future development. Those sales can affect the averages in ways that do not match what a family sees when shopping for a home.

The good news is that Miami County continues to attract buyers, builders, and investment. The harder question is what those sales mean for the people trying to buy, sell, or remain in a home here.

Sales Have Rebounded

The Miami County Auditor’s Office recorded 657 valid residential sales between June and August 2026. That is the highest total in this five-year comparison.

There were 630 sales during the same three-month period in 2022. Sales then fell to 555 in 2023 and 473 in 2024. The market picked up again in 2025, with 595 valid residential sales. This year’s total of 657 sales shows a strong return in activity.

That increase matters because it shows that people are still buying and selling property in Miami County, even after several years of higher interest rates and higher housing costs. A market with more sales generally gives both buyers and sellers more movement and more choices than a market where few properties are changing hands.

The average sale price has also changed sharply over those years. It was $245,341 in 2022 and $243,169 in 2023. It rose to $284,208 in 2024, then jumped to $367,222 in 2025. The average sale price this summer was $308,844.

That is still a large number. It confirms what many residents already feel: buying property in Miami County is more expensive than it was just a few years ago.

Why the Average Needs Context

The average sale price is useful, but it is not the same as the typical price of a home.

The Auditor’s figures include valid residential sales, which can include more than existing houses. They can also include vacant residential lots and land intended for development. A vacant lot is a residential property sale, but it is very different from a house sold.

That difference is important when looking at the appraised values in the data.

In 2022, the average appraisal was $285,638. It dropped to $253,921 in 2023 and then to $246,856 in 2024. In 2025, the average appraisal fell to $176,840. This year, it was $173,633.

At first glance, it may seem strange that the average sale price increased while the average appraisal fell. But the rising number of vacant lot sales helps explain it.

A vacant lot can have an appraised value far below a home, especially before a house is built on it. When many low-value lots are included in the total number of residential sales, they can lower the average appraisal across the entire group.

That does not necessarily mean that homes throughout Miami County are losing value. It means the group of sales being measured has changed.

Vacant-Lot Sales Grew Sharply

The number of low-value vacant lot sales rose greatly between 2025 and 2026.

Between June and August 2025, there were 57 residential lots sold with appraised values below $25,000. During the same period in 2026, that number increased to 153 lots.

That is an increase of 96 lot sales in one year.

Those 153 lots make up almost one out of every four valid residential sales recorded this summer. Their appraised values are much lower than the value of an existing home. As a result, they pull down the countywide average appraisal.

At the same time, larger or more expensive sales can raise the average sale price. That helps explain why the 2026 average sale price was $308,844 while the average appraisal was only $173,633.

Neither number is wrong. They simply reflect a market with many different kinds of property sales happening at once.

A Market Showing Growth and Change

The clearest message from the data is that Miami County’s real estate market is active and changing.

There are more valid residential sales this summer than in any of the prior four years. Sale prices remain much higher than they were in 2022 and 2023. There has also been a large increase in vacant-lot sales, which may point to continued interest in development across the county.

For residents, the lesson is simple. Countywide averages are helpful, but they should be read with care. The sale of a vacant lot is not the same as the sale of a family home, even though both may appear in the same residential sales totals.

Miami County remains a place where people want to buy, build, and invest. That is encouraging. But it also means residents should look beyond the headline number and understand what is included in it.

Announcing our September Community Survey!

Every other month, this publication takes time to ask our readers how they feel about the happenings in their hometown! What are the challenges? What are the opportunities? Is your hometown headed in the right direction? Our survey is the easiest way for you to express your thoughts. Next month, this publication will report out on the results.

ACCESS THE SURVEY HERE!

Thanks for your time and your participation! It is greatly appreciated!

This is what it looks like when residents stay informed. If you find value in this work, share it with a neighbor, a colleague, or anyone who cares about this community. Paid subscriptions keep it going — $5 a month.

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As I listened to nearly three hours of Troy City Council discussion from this past Tuesday night, an old saying came to mind: When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

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Piqua voters may soon face several major decisions at the ballot box. Recall petitions aimed at Mayor Jim Vetter, Vice Mayor Frank DeBrosse, and Ward 3 Commissioner Rick Walker have reportedly met the steep 1,250 signature requirement through review by the Miami County Board of Elections.

That is a major step, but it does not mean the three commissioners have been removed from office. It also does not mean the recall elections are officially scheduled yet.

The next step belongs to the Piqua Commission Clerk and the Commission itself. Under the Piqua City Charter, the clerk must certify that each petition is sufficient after the Board of Elections has completed its work verifying signatures. The clerk then presents the petitions and certification to the City Commission and notifies the commissioners whose removal is being sought.

Once that happens, the charter sets a short and clear timeline for what comes next.

The Next Steps

Each commissioner has five days after receiving official notice to decide whether to resign.

If a commissioner resigns within those five days, voters would still choose a replacement, but the ballot would not include the recall question. Instead, it would simply list candidates seeking to fill the open seat.

If a commissioner does not resign, the City Commission must order and schedule a recall election. The Commission does not have the option to ignore or indefinitely delay a petition that has been formally certified as sufficient.

Piqua’s charter says the recall election must take place no sooner than 40 days and no later than 60 days after the petitions are presented to the City Commission. If the Commission is not already scheduled to meet during the next calendar week, it must call a special meeting within three business days to set the election date.

Ohio’s general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Because that election appears to fall within the 40-to-60-day period described in the city charter, the likely outcome is that the recall questions would appear on the November ballot instead of requiring a separate recall election. That will depend on the date of the clerk’s certification and the City Commission’s formal action setting the election.

How Piqua’s Ward System Works

It is important to understand one key feature of Piqua’s form of government: City Commission candidates run citywide, not only in the ward where they live.

Piqua has a ward-based commission system, but it is not the same as a system where only Ward 1 residents elect the Ward 1 commissioner, only Ward 3 residents elect the Ward 3 commissioner, and so on. Instead, each commissioner must live in a particular ward, while all qualified voters in the city vote for commission candidates.

The ward system is meant to make sure Piqua’s neighborhoods have representation on the City Commission. A candidate for a Ward 1 seat must live in Ward 1. A candidate for a Ward 3 seat must live in Ward 3. A candidate for a Ward 5 seat must live in Ward 5. But voters throughout Piqua help decide who fills those seats.

That structure matters in the recall process.

Although the members of the commission include Vetter as the Ward 1 commissioner, Walker as the Ward 3 commissioner, and DeBrosse as the Ward 5 commissioner, the recall election would be held across the city. All eligible Piqua voters would have a role in deciding each recall question and, if needed, each successor race.

In other words, the ward tells voters where a commissioner must live. It does not limit the election to voters who live in that ward.

What Could Be on the Ballot

For each commissioner facing recall, voters would see a separate question asking whether that person should be removed from the City Commission.

The ballot language would be substantially similar to this:

Shall [name] be removed from the commission by recall?

Voters would select either:

• For the recall of the commissioner.

• Against the recall of the commissioner.

A majority vote against recall means the commissioner remains in office for the rest of the current term. A majority vote for recall means the commissioner is removed.

The ballot would also include a separate race for candidates seeking to succeed a commissioner if that commissioner is recalled. This is an important part of the process. Voters are not only being asked whether to remove an officeholder. They are also being asked who should fill the seat if the recall succeeds.

Candidates seeking to succeed a recalled commissioner must file a nominating petition at least 30 days before the election. They must live in the same ward as the commissioner they seek to replace. The commissioner facing recall cannot appear on the ballot as a candidate to succeed himself.

If no successor candidates file and a commissioner is recalled, Piqua’s charter gives the Planning Commission—not the City Commission—the job of appointing a qualified resident from that same ward to fill the vacancy.

The Separate Data Center Vote

Piqua voters are also likely to see a separate question about data centers on the November ballot.

That charter-amendment proposal grew out of the same public debate that led Save Piqua to pursue the recall petitions. The proposal would ask voters whether the city charter should prohibit certain large-scale data-center and cryptocurrency-mining development within Piqua.

The recall questions and the data-center proposal are connected by the public debate surrounding the city’s approval of the J5 LLC/Meta data-center project. Residents have raised concerns about the pace of the approval process, the waiver of the three-reading rule, electricity and water demands, local tax arrangements, infrastructure, and the community’s long-term direction.

Still, these are legally separate decisions. A voter could support the data-center charter amendment but oppose every recall. Another voter could oppose the amendment but support one or more recalls. Each issue will stand on its own ballot question.

A Civic Decision Ahead

This is an important moment for Piqua. The charter gives residents a structured way to seek change, while also giving voters—not petition organizers, city staff, or commissioners—the final say.

The most immediate item to watch is formal certification by the Piqua Commission Clerk. After that certification, the timeline becomes much clearer: a five-day resignation period, a required Commission action to schedule the election, candidate filing deadlines, and what may be a full citywide vote on the future of three commissioners and the city’s approach to large-scale data-center development.

Announcing our September Community Survey!

Every other month, this publication takes time to ask our readers how they feel about the happenings in their hometown! What are the challenges? What are the opportunities? Is your hometown headed in the right direction? Our survey is the easiest way for you to express your thoughts. Next month, this publication will report out on the results.

ACCESS THE SURVEY HERE!

Thanks for your time and your participation! It is greatly appreciated!

This is what it looks like when residents stay informed. If you find value in this work, share it with a neighbor, a colleague, or anyone who cares about this community. Paid subscriptions keep it going — $5 a month.

Subscribe now

Share

Civic Capacity runs on one thing: readers who believe local journalism matters. If you want to support this work without a subscription, you can now make a one-time contribution through Buy Me a Coffee — or in my case, Buy Me an Iced Tea. Click the button below. Every contribution goes directly into the work you read here every day.

Buy Me A Cold Beverage

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