Tuesday, December 31, 2013

CENTRAL OHIO REAL ESTATE MARKET NEWS

Central Ohio Housing Report - November 2013
Home prices continue to rise in central Ohio
The sale price of a home in central Ohio year to date (January through November) stands at $174,130 which is 3.7 percent higher than homes sold during the same period of 2012. The average sale price of a home during the month of November was $169,655, an increase of 2.8 percent over sale prices one year ago according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing System (MLS).
November home sales came in at 1,812 which were 10.3 percent behind sales in November of 2012. Even so, sales for the year (January through November) are up to 25,191 – 17.8 percent higher than 2012.

“It just so happens that home sales last year marked a record for the month of November,”” said Chris Pedon, 2013 president of Columbus REALTORS®. “Given our lower inventory levels, it’s not surprising sales took a bit of a hit last month.”

The number of homes and condos for sale in the Columbus region is just over 9,600, almost five percent lower than inventory levels a year ago.

“Inventory levels usually drop off during the holiday season,” adds Pedon. “But we haven’t seen inventory levels this low since 2002 so competition is fierce. As we still have buyers looking to make a commitment by the end of the year, and I’d advise any homeowner looking for an advantage to consider the market today.”

According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index (by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®), 88 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® describe the current housing market as moderate to strong, but 95 percent expect the housing market to be moderate to strong over the next six months. As for home prices, 74 percent expect home prices to rise over the next year.

View the current Central Ohio Local Market Update.
View the current Housing Market Report by area.

Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 6,200 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

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

The monthly housing reports can be found at www.ColumbusRealtors.com/stats. The reports include breakouts for 18 central Ohio counties and 53 local municipalities and school districts. Buckeye Valley Schools was added to the reports in February 2013.

For more information about the central Ohio housing market, visit www.ColumbusRealtors.com/stats.
To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit www.COCIE.org.
To view residential properties for sale, visit www.Realtor.com  
Source:  Columbus REALTORS