West Dayton’s momentum is easiest to see in the sales where a well-kept older home finds a buyer at full price, fast. At 1381 Catalpa Drive in University Row, a four-bedroom 1930 two-story did exactly that, closing at $225,000 in 11 days.
Full Asking Price in 11 Days on Catalpa Drive
West Dayton’s housing story gets written one closing at a time, and some of the most telling chapters are the quick, clean ones: a well-kept older home, a fair price, and a buyer who says yes without a long negotiation. 1381 Catalpa Drive in University Row is one of those.
The two-story house sold on November 6, 2026 for $225,000, exactly its $225,000 list price, after only 11 days on the market. It is a 1930 home with four bedrooms, two full baths and 2,051 square feet of living space, set on a 0.34-acre lot. The price works out to $110 per square foot.
Measured against the neighborhood, the result stands out. University Row recorded 17 sales over the past 12 months, with a median sale price of $149,500. This sale came in 51 percent above that median and ranks fourth among the 17, which makes it one of the strongest University Row closings of the year. Only three homes in the neighborhood sold for more, and the highest of those closed at $296,000.
The sale sits in the Northwest Priority Board area of the city, in a part of West Dayton where buyers have been paying attention to larger, character-rich homes on generous lots. Catalpa Drive offered all of that, plus a recent run of big-ticket updates that took much of the guesswork out of ownership.
What the Buyer Got Inside the House
The listing describes a home that leans on its original character. Real hardwood floors run through the main and second levels, which is the kind of detail that carries a 1930 house a long way. In the living room, decorative ceiling beams give the space a defined look, and just off the kitchen a butler’s pantry adds storage and a working landing spot for everyday dishes and supplies.
The kitchen has newer stainless steel appliances, and a sunroom adds living space beyond the main rooms. For a house with 2,051 square feet, that extra room matters: it gives the floor plan a place for morning coffee, plants, a desk or a reading chair that is separate from the living room.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom has its own ensuite bath and a walk-in closet. That is not a given in a house of this age, where a single shared bathroom often serves the whole second floor. The home has two full baths in total, and the primary suite accounts for one of them. One of the other bedrooms carries an unusually large walk-in closet of its own, described in the listing as enormous, which solves a storage problem that older homes rarely solve so directly.
Four bedrooms is the number that opens this house to the widest range of buyers. It can be a household with a bedroom for each person, a home with an office and a guest room, or a setup that changes as needs change. Pair that with the finished-feeling basement, and the usable square footage runs past what the headline number suggests.
The basement has new carpeting and glass block windows, according to the listing, which turns the lower level into extra living or hobby space rather than a place for storage boxes alone. A new laundry tub there rounds out the practical side of the lower level.
A Roof, a Furnace and 200 Amps: The Updates That Matter
Older homes sell on character, but they close on condition. At 1381 Catalpa Drive, the listing lays out a specific run of recent work that speaks to the second part.
The roof was replaced in 2025. The furnace is approximately one year old. Replacement windows are installed throughout, with the exception of the sunroom. The electrical service is 200-amp, a capacity level that handles modern appliances, central equipment and the demands of a four-bedroom household. And the basement has a new sump pump with a battery backup, plus the new laundry tub.
These are the line items that tend to worry buyers of 1930s houses: the roof over their heads, the heat for the winter, the windows, the wiring and the basement’s ability to stay dry. Each one is addressed in the listing. Taken together, they shift the buying decision from a question of what will need replacing first to a question of which rooms to settle into first.
That has real value in a price conversation. A buyer weighing $225,000 against a cheaper house that needs a roof, a furnace and an electrical upgrade is often looking at a similar all-in cost, with far more uncertainty on the cheaper side. The quick sale at full list price suggests this buyer saw the math the same way.
It also helps the neighborhood. When a house of this age is sold with its major systems recently renewed, it enters its next ownership period with a long runway before big expenses arrive. That kind of stability is what keeps a block in good order for the next decade.
A 0.34-Acre Lot, a Fenced Yard and an Attached Two-Car Garage
Outside, the property has several features that the listing calls hard to find in the neighborhood, and the numbers support that. The lot measures 0.34 acres, which is roughly twice the size of the 0.17-acre lots found on many comparable streets in northwest Dayton. The backyard is fenced, with room to relax, garden, play or entertain.
An attached two-car garage with additional storage is the other standout. In older Dayton neighborhoods, a single detached garage or a parking pad is more common. An attached two-car garage means winter mornings that start indoors, groceries that come straight into the house and a place for tools, bikes and seasonal gear without cluttering the basement.
The combination of lot size, fencing and garage is a large part of why the price landed where it did. It lifts the property out of the ordinary range of older two-stories and into a category where there are few direct competitors. Buyers who want space and a layout that works day to day have a short list in University Row, and this house was on it.
For West Dayton, that matters beyond one address. The area has long offered more land and more house per dollar than many other parts of the region, and sales like this one show buyers acting on that. A fenced yard on a third of an acre, with a garage attached and the roof recently replaced, is the kind of value proposition that brings owner-occupants into a neighborhood and keeps them there.
How $225,000 Compares With University Row
The cleanest way to read this sale is against the neighborhood’s own numbers. Over the past 12 months, University Row logged 17 sales. The median sale price was $149,500, the median price per square foot was $101, and the median home spent 45 days on the market.
Catalpa Drive cleared every one of those marks. At $225,000, it sold 51 percent above the median price. At $110 per square foot, it topped the median by $9. And at 11 days on the market, it moved in about a quarter of the time the typical University Row home takes, which is 34 days faster than the median.
The price-per-square-foot comparison deserves attention because it controls for size. This is a large house, and large houses can post big totals without commanding a premium per foot. Here the buyer paid more per square foot than the neighborhood median and still did not hesitate, which points to a house that was priced and presented in line with what it offered.
The sold-versus-list figure is 0.0 percent: the house was listed at $225,000 and sold for $225,000. A sale at full price in under two weeks says the asking number was set where the market could meet it. There was no price reduction and no extended wait, and that clean data point helps every appraiser and seller who looks at University Row next.
The fourth-place ranking out of 17 completes the picture. Three homes in University Row sold for more over the year, and the top of the range reached $296,000. Landing in the top quarter of the neighborhood’s sales, at a price more than half again as high as the median, is a strong showing for a 1930 home.
The Closest Comparable Sales
Five recent nearby sales provide the surrounding context, and the closest comparisons run on size.
The largest is on Amherst Place, a six-bedroom, 2,857-square-foot home that sold for $296,000 on August 24, 2026. That works out to roughly $104 per square foot. It is the top sale in University Row over the past year, and it is about 806 square feet larger than the Catalpa Drive house. Catalpa Drive’s $110 per square foot actually came in a little higher on a per-foot basis, even though its total price sat $71,000 below.
On Harvard Boulevard, a three-bedroom, 1,705-square-foot home sold for $180,000 on July 1, 2026, which is about $106 per square foot. A second Harvard Boulevard home, with three bedrooms and 1,688 square feet, sold for $145,000 on June 26, 2026. Catalpa Drive has about 350 more square feet than either, an extra bedroom and a much bigger lot, and it sold $45,000 above the higher of the two.
On Princeton Drive, a three-bedroom, 1,361-square-foot home sold for $170,000 on October 30, 2026, only a week before the Catalpa Drive closing. That is roughly $125 per square foot on a smaller house, and it shows that buyers in the neighborhood are paying firm prices this fall. Catalpa Drive’s $225,000 is $55,000 higher, for about 690 more square feet and a fourth bedroom.
Taken together, the pattern is consistent. Homes of 1,300 to 1,700 square feet are closing between roughly $145,000 and $180,000, and the largest house in the set reached $296,000. A 2,051-square-foot home with updated systems, a big lot and an attached garage fits comfortably between those groups, and its price sits where the size, features and condition would put it.
What This Sale Means for University Row and West Dayton
Every sale in a neighborhood is also a data point for the next one. This closing gives University Row a clear, recent reference for what a four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home with fresh systems can bring: $225,000, in 11 days, at full list. Sellers can price against it. Buyers can see the standard they should expect. Lenders and appraisers have a close, fresh comparison in hand.
The more important story is what the sale says about demand. A market in which the typical house takes 45 days to sell is not a frenzy, and buyers there are choosy. When a home sells in a quarter of that time at its asking price, it means the buyer found precisely what they were looking for: the space, the condition and the lot, all in one place. That is the kind of clear signal that encourages other owners to invest in their own roofs, windows and kitchens, because the market has shown it will pay for the work.
For West Dayton as a whole, the lesson is a familiar one that keeps getting stronger. Neighborhoods rebuild confidence through ordinary transactions between owners and buyers, with homes that are maintained, updated and occupied. A house built in 1930 with a roof from 2025 and a furnace about a year old is a good example of how older housing stock stays useful: through steady reinvestment rather than dramatic change.
University Row has plenty of this kind of housing, from larger six-bedroom homes on Amherst Place to mid-sized three-bedrooms on Harvard Boulevard and Princeton Drive. The prices in that range tell a story of buyers who see room to grow. The sale at 1381 Catalpa Drive adds to that story in a concrete way, with a number that stands in the top four of the neighborhood’s year.
Recognizing the Professionals Behind the Outcome
Listing agent Rhoda E Gazda ABR of Keller Williams Advisors Realty brought the home to market, and David Hochwalt of Glasshouse Realty Group 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 University Row
These are the practical questions that come up most often about this sale and the University Row housing market.
How much did 1381 Catalpa Drive sell for?
The home sold for $225,000 on November 6, 2026. That matched its $225,000 list price, so it closed at full asking price, after 11 days on the market. The price works out to about $110 per square foot.
What kind of home is 1381 Catalpa Drive?
It is a two-story home built in 1930 with four bedrooms, two full baths and 2,051 square feet of living space. It sits on a 0.34-acre lot with a fenced backyard and an attached two-car garage. The listing also notes hardwood floors on the main and second levels, a sunroom, a butler’s pantry and a basement with new carpeting.
How does this sale compare with the typical University Row sale?
Over the past 12 months, University Row had 17 sales with a median price of $149,500, a median of $101 per square foot and a median of 45 days on the market. The Catalpa Drive sale was 51 percent above the median price, $9 per square foot higher and 34 days faster. It ranks fourth of the 17 sales.
What updates did the house have before it sold?
The listing cites a roof replaced in 2025, a furnace approximately one year old, replacement windows throughout except the sunroom, 200-amp electrical service, a new sump pump with battery backup and a new laundry tub. These are the major systems and components that buyers of older homes tend to ask about first.
What have similar homes nearby sold for recently?
A 3-bedroom, 1,361-square-foot home on Princeton Drive sold for $170,000 on October 30, 2026. On Harvard Boulevard, 3-bedroom homes of about 1,700 square feet sold for $180,000 on July 1 and $145,000 on June 26. A 6-bedroom, 2,857-square-foot home on Amherst Place sold for $296,000 on August 24.
Is University Row a fast-moving market?
The typical home there took 45 days to sell over the past 12 months, so buyers have time to compare. Homes that are priced well and in good condition can still move quickly, as this one did when it sold in 11 days at its full list price.
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