CENTRAL OHIO ENDS SUMMER WITH RISING SALES AND PRICES

Central Ohio Housing Report - Aug. 2012

Posted: 9/19/2012

Columbus Board of REALTORS®

Central Ohio ends summer with rising sales and prices

Home sales during the most active time of the year showed impressive gains over last year and were the highest since 2007 when the housing market began its descent after the boom.
The 8,921 residential home closings during the months of May through August were 11 percent higher than last summer and 12.2 percent higher than in 2009 when home sales hit its lowest point since the summer of 2000, according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.
“Higher prices, low rates and lower inventory proved to be an exceptional environment for home sellers this summer,” said Jim Coridan, 2012 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “But the strongest factor was and continues to be the abundance of motivated buyers in the market today.”
Demand outstripped supply, as new listings on the market (3,096) fell 0.9 percent from the month before and the total inventory of homes for sale (11,571) was down 32.3 percent from the same time last summer (17,096).
“We’ve seen higher sales gains and falling inventory for over a year now which has pushed home prices up,” Coridan said. “We’re hoping more homeowners with an interest in selling recognize their advantage this fall as it’s getting tough to find property to sell.”
Not only that, the average turn-around time from the date “For Sale” signs went up until a bargain was struck decreased 15.5 percent last month from 96 days to 81 days.
According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index (by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®), 91 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® describe the current housing market as moderate to strong and 92 percent expect it to be moderate to strong over the next six months. With regard to home prices over the next year, three out of four REALTORS® expect home prices to rise.
View the current Central Ohio Local Market Update.
View the current Housing market report by area.
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.
For more information about the central Ohio housing market, visit ColumbusRealtors.com/stats
To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit COCIE.org.
To view residential properties for sale, visit Realtor.com.


Source:  Columbus Board of  REALTORS,
9/19/2012