place to hang art

Home values continue to rise which is good news for central Ohio. The average sale price for the first nine months of the year is $161,204 up 7.4 percent from the beginning of 2010 according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. 

There were fewer homes listed for sale last month than is customary for September. Over the last five years, there was an average of 3,710 homes added to the market during the month of September. However, last month only 2,997 residential homes were added to the already elevated inventory in central Ohio. 

Although slightly lower than August, the total residential listings in September (16,728) was still higher than it’s been since August of 2008 when the inventory level rose to 16,975. 

“Inventory levels had come down over the last year and a half – which is what we were working towards,” said Sue Lusk-Gleich, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “When inventory levels are too high, the increased competition forces some homeowners to sell at prices that are too low which in turn often affects the values of other neighboring homes.” 

“In order to re-balance the market, we either need the inventory to decrease or the number of buyers to increase. And since the tax credit incentives brought many buyers into the market earlier than we would have seen otherwise, we have a smaller pool of potential home buyers to absorb the inventory now.” 

Home sales were down 28.4 percent in September and the number of homes that went into contract was also down almost 25 percent which doesn’t bode went for October home sales. 

“When comparing sales figures to the previous year, we need to remember that home sales have been elevated since April of 2008 due to the tax credits,” adds Lusk-Gleich. “Even so, sales are still up four percent year to date.” 

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Champagne, Clark, Hocking, Licking, Fairfield, Knox,Logan, Marion, and Ross Counties.

taken from Columbus  Board of Realtors website

Home sales and prices up in August

Interest rates still low and the selection of homes plentiful 

August home sales in central Ohio were higher than the previous month and the average sale price of a home sold continues to rise. There were 1,605 homes sold in August which is 8.2 percent more homes sold than during the month of July. Home sales during the first eight months of the year are now 9.2 percent higher than the same period in 2009. 

“We saw a lull in housing activity after the tax credit expired which was not surprising given the frenzy of activity attributed to the generous tax credits for both first time and repeat buyers earlier this year,” said Sue Lusk-Gleich, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “This upswing in sales is a positive sign that our central Ohio housing market continues to strengthen.” 

The average sale price of a home has been inching back up this year from $145,993 in January to $169,959 in August. The average sale price year to date (January through August) is $161,645, which is 2.2 percent higher than one year ago. 

There were 3,700 homes listed for sale last month bringing the total number of homes for sale in central Ohio to nearly 17,000 which is 16.5 percent more homes than were on the market at the end of last summer. 

“With interest rates still so low and the selection of homes for sale so plentiful, any one who has an interest in buying a home should take a look at what’s available right now,” adds Lusk-Gleich.

taken from Columbus Board of Realtors website