GOOD NEWS IN MARKET ACTIVITY

Central Ohio Housing Report - Mar. 2012

Posted: 4/18/2012

Columbus Board of REALTORS®

Central Ohio home sales, contracts and prices up in the first quarter

(Apr. 19, 2012) First quarter home sales in central Ohio were up 7.1 percent versus first quarter 2011 sales (4,045 vs. 3,776). March home sales jumped 36 percent to 1,653 compared to the previous month (1,215) and were up 6.1 percent more than last year (1,558) according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.

“This upward trend in home sales began last summer,” said Jim Coridan, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Average sale prices are increasing, but at a much more cautious pace.”

Average sales price fell 30.6 percent from its decade high of $192,642 in June 2005 to $133,604 in February 2009. The average sales price of a central Ohio home in March 2012 was $153,557 – 6.5 percent higher than one year ago.

The 3,466 homes listed for sale in March marks a 56.7 percent increase over the previous month, but is still 10.4 percent lower than March of 2011. The median list price of new listings last month was $149,900 – 3.5 percent higher than one year ago.

Housing inventory, which peaked at 19,291 in July 2010, continues its downward trend as the local market seeks to rebalance. Total inventory is now just over 11,500 reminiscent of inventory levels in 2003 and 2004.

Months supply has remained near 6.5 for the first three months of 2012 – a healthy level for central Ohio.

“Sales, contracts and home prices are all up this year,” adds Coridan. “This coupled with the temperate inventory levels makes for a much stronger central Ohio housing market than we had a few years ago.”

According to the most recent Ohio Housing Market Confidence Survey, 86 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® see the current housing market as moderate to strong and 89 percent expect it to be moderate to strong in the next six months. However, local professionals are split as to whether home prices will stay the same or increase over the next year.

The Columbus Board of 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 ColumbusRealtors.com/stats. The reports include breakouts for 18 central Ohio counties and 52 local municipalities and school districts. New areas included in the 2012 reports include: Grove City and local school districts for Big Walnut, Miami Trace, Johnstown-Monroe and Northridge.

Source:
~ Columbus Board of REALTORS ~
4/18/2012