West Dayton’s housing story keeps getting written one closing at a time, and the numbers are getting harder to wave off. In Riverdale, a 1905 three-bedroom at 38 Neal Avenue just sold for its full $95,000 asking price, the second-highest sale in the neighborhood over the past 12 months.
A Full-Price Close in Riverdale
On November 4, 2026, the house at 38 Neal Avenue in Dayton’s Riverdale neighborhood closed at $95,000, exactly the $95,000 it was listed for. Riverdale recorded nine sales over the past 12 months, and this one ranks second of nine by price. In a small market, that is a meaningful place to land.
The median sale price in Riverdale across that stretch is $54,900. At $95,000, 38 Neal Avenue closed 73% above that median, a gap of $40,100. Only one Riverdale sale in the period finished higher, a $165,000 closing on 5 Oaks Avenue in April. Everything else in the neighborhood’s recent record sits below where this home landed.
This is a West Dayton story as much as a Riverdale one. Neighborhoods across the west side have been building their comeback through transactions that show buyers will pay for space, a solid layout and usable outbuildings when the home is priced where the market can see the value. A three-bedroom, two-bath house built in 1905 that holds its list price and closes at nearly twice the neighborhood median per square foot is a quiet confirmation of that pattern.
Nothing about this sale was flashy. There was no new construction and no gut renovation advertised in the listing. It was a century-old house with a bright kitchen, a fenced yard and a big garage, and a buyer who agreed with the price. That is precisely the kind of ordinary, repeatable transaction a neighborhood needs more of.
What the Buyer Got: 1905 Character at 1,454 Square Feet
The home is a single-family residence with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and 1,454 square feet of living space, built in 1905. Two full baths in a house of this age is a practical advantage. Many homes from that era were built with a single bathroom, and families, roommates or anyone sharing a house tend to notice the difference quickly.
At $95,000, the price works out to about $65 per square foot. The Riverdale median over the past 12 months is $43 per square foot, so this home sold roughly 50 percent above the neighborhood’s typical rate. That premium is the market putting a number on what the house offers: more bedrooms and more bathrooms than the smaller homes that make up much of the recent sales list, and outdoor and storage space that most Riverdale lots do not come with.
The listing leans into the home’s individuality. The marketing copy invites buyers who want personality rather than a cookie-cutter floor plan, and it describes a house with a little eccentric flair. That is a fair way to describe a 1905 build. Homes from the early twentieth century rarely repeat each other, and the listing treats that variety as a selling point rather than something to apologize for.
The practical details matter just as much as the character. Three bedrooms is the size most buyers search for first, and 1,454 square feet gives a household room to spread out without the heating and upkeep burden of a much larger property. The sale suggests that buyers in this price range are still looking for exactly that combination and are willing to pay a premium when they find it.
The Kitchen, the Yard and the 2.5-Car Garage
The listing highlights three features that do most of the work in this sale. The first is a large kitchen with a skylight. Older homes often have compact, closed-off kitchens, so a big room with overhead natural light stands out. The listing’s own line is that every kitchen looks better in natural light, and few buyers walking through would argue.
The second is a fenced yard. A fence turns a patch of grass into something a household can use right away, for pets, for kids, for a garden or for an evening outside. It is also one of the first projects a new owner of an unfenced house has to budget for, so having it done adds real value at closing.
The third is the one that likely moved the needle most: a 2.5-car garage. In older Dayton neighborhoods, parking is often a pad, a shared drive or the street. A garage with room for two vehicles plus a half bay is unusual, and the listing points to its flexibility for vehicles, storage, hobbies or all three. For anyone with tools, a project car, a workshop habit or just too much stuff, that is the kind of space that is hard to find at this price.
Together, those three features give the house a practical backbone to go with its personality. Skylit kitchen, fenced yard and oversized garage are not decorative extras. They are the things buyers use every day, and they help explain why this home closed well above the neighborhood’s median per-square-foot price.
How $95,000 Stacks Up Against Riverdale’s Numbers
Across the past 12 months, Riverdale’s nine sales produced a median price of $54,900, a median price per square foot of $43 and a median of 59 days on the market. The highest sale was $165,000. Against that backdrop, $95,000 and $65 per square foot put 38 Neal Avenue clearly in the upper tier of what the neighborhood has produced.
The rank is the achievement here. A second-of-nine finish means that of everything that sold in Riverdale over the past year, only one home commanded a higher price. That is a stronger position than the median alone suggests, because it tells appraisers, lenders and the next seller that a Riverdale home with the right size and features can clear $90,000.
It also helps to look at the spread. The median sits at $54,900, the second-highest sale is $95,000 and the top sale is $165,000. The distance between the median and this sale is $40,100. That is a wide margin, and it shows how much room Riverdale has for homes that offer more than the minimum. Buyers are evidently differentiating between houses, paying more for size, layout and amenities rather than treating every home in the neighborhood as interchangeable.
A neighborhood’s recovery usually shows up first in the upper half of its sales, where the homes that are well sized and well equipped start to pull away from the median. If the top of the market moves, the middle tends to follow, because every sale becomes a reference point for the next listing agent and the next appraiser.
The Closest Comparable Sales
The most useful comparison is Brightwood Avenue, where a three-bedroom, 1,344-square-foot home sold for $70,000 on August 31, 2026. That is the nearest match in bedroom count and size, and it works out to about $52 per square foot. 38 Neal Avenue offers roughly 110 more square feet, a second full bath per the listing and the garage, and it closed $25,000 higher at $65 per square foot. That difference lines up with the extra space and features.
On Pioneer Street, a two-bedroom, 736-square-foot home sold for $79,000 on September 4, 2026. It is a much smaller house, and at about $107 per square foot it shows that compact homes in the neighborhood can reach into the upper $70,000s. 38 Neal Avenue has nearly twice the square footage and an extra bedroom for $16,000 more. For a buyer comparing the two, the larger house delivers a lot more room per dollar.
The ceiling for the neighborhood in this window was 5 Oaks Avenue, a five-bedroom, 1,720-square-foot home that closed at $165,000 on April 24, 2026. That house has two more bedrooms and about 266 more square feet than 38 Neal Avenue, and it sold for $70,000 more. The two sales mark out a range: roughly $70,000 to $79,000 for the nearest smaller comps, $95,000 for this home and $165,000 for the largest. 38 Neal Avenue sits in the middle of the upper tier, where its size and features suggest it belongs.
Two sales on Geyer Street in the spring, one at $54,900 for a two-bedroom and one at $54,375 for a four-bedroom, show where much of the neighborhood trades. Those closings are a reminder that Riverdale still offers a wide range of entry points. They also underline how far above the typical sale this one landed.
123 Days on the Market and a Full-Price Finish
The home spent 123 days on the market before closing, about twice Riverdale’s median of 59 days. It was listed at $95,000 and sold at $95,000, a result of 0.0% against list. In other words, the price never moved.
That timeline tells a useful story. A longer marketing period is not unusual for a distinctive home. The listing itself is aimed at buyers who want something with personality, and a house like that often waits for the right match rather than the first showing. A seller who holds a price through that wait ends up with a better comp than one who cuts early, and the neighborhood benefits as well, because the recorded sale reflects what the home is worth rather than how long the seller could wait.
The listing also pointed to a second audience. The remarks note the location close to the hospital and highway access, and they suggest investment potential for traveling nurses or short-term rental use. Whether or not that is how the home ends up being used, the pitch reflects something real about the location: easy access to a major employer and to the highway makes the house practical for anyone whose day depends on getting around quickly.
A full-price close after 123 days also says something about how buyers in this segment behave. They shop carefully, compare homes and take the time to find the property with the right mix of space and features. When they find it, they pay the asking price. That is a healthy sign for Riverdale, because it shows the market is rewarding homes that deliver real utility rather than just discounting everything to move it.
What This Sale Means for Riverdale and West Dayton
One sale does not make a trend, but it does add to one. Riverdale’s nine closings in the last 12 months include a $165,000 sale on 5 Oaks Avenue, a $79,000 sale on Pioneer Street, a $70,000 sale on Brightwood Avenue and now $95,000 on Neal Avenue. The upper range of the neighborhood is holding together, and these are the data points that give future buyers and lenders confidence.
For West Dayton, the lesson is consistent with what the best recent sales have shown. Homes with real functional value, whether that is a finished lower level, a second unit, a big garage or a bright kitchen, are finding buyers at prices well above the local median. The strongest results are not always the most heavily renovated houses. They are the ones that give a buyer something concrete for the money.
For homeowners in Riverdale, 38 Neal Avenue is a new reference point. A sale at $65 per square foot against a neighborhood median of $43 is proof that the market will pay for size, parking and outdoor space. For anyone thinking about listing, it suggests that features such as a garage and a fenced yard deserve a prominent place in the marketing and in the pricing conversation.
For buyers, the sale is a reminder that Riverdale remains one of the more accessible places to buy a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a garage in the City of Dayton. At $95,000, the entry cost is a fraction of what the same square footage would run in many parts of the region, and the neighborhood’s median of $54,900 shows that there are still lower-priced homes available for those who want to take on a project.
As West Dayton keeps adding to its record of closed sales, results like this one are what progress looks like in real estate: a 1905 house with a bright kitchen, a fenced yard and a garage, a seller who held the price and a buyer who agreed to pay it. It adds to the comp set, and that is the part that lasts.
Recognizing the Professionals Behind the Outcome
Listing agent Miranda K Biedenharn of Comey & Shepherd REALTORS brought the home to market, and Pamela Querry-Wise of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services represented the buyer. Results like this come from careful pricing, strong presentation and steady work through closing, and both sides of the deal deserve recognition.
Listing data courtesy of Dayton REALTORS® MLS. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
More Common Questions About Riverdale
Here are answers to practical questions about this sale and the Riverdale housing market, based on the numbers from the past 12 months.
How much did 38 Neal Avenue sell for?
38 Neal Avenue sold for $95,000 on November 4, 2026. That was the full list price, so the sale closed at 0.0% above or below asking.
How does the price compare with the typical Riverdale sale?
The median sale price in Riverdale over the past 12 months is $54,900, so this home sold about 73% above the median, or $40,100 higher. It ranks second of nine sales in the neighborhood over that period. The highest was $165,000.
What are the home’s basic specifications?
The house was built in 1905 and has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and 1,454 square feet of living space. The listing also describes a large kitchen with a skylight, a fenced yard and a 2.5-car garage.
What was the price per square foot?
The sale works out to about $65 per square foot. The median in Riverdale over the past 12 months is $43 per square foot.
How long did the home take to sell?
It spent 123 days on the market. The Riverdale median is 59 days. The price held at $95,000 the whole time and the sale closed at that figure.
What have similar homes nearby sold for?
A three-bedroom, 1,344-square-foot home on Brightwood Avenue sold for $70,000 on August 31, 2026. A two-bedroom, 736-square-foot home on Pioneer Street sold for $79,000 on September 4, 2026. A five-bedroom, 1,720-square-foot home on 5 Oaks Avenue sold for $165,000 on April 24, 2026.
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