Regional Spotlight—There were 3,428 central Ohio homes and condos listed for sale in March 2014. Although down 2.1 percent from inventory one year ago, this is up 48.3 percent from the 2,310 added the previous month according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing System (MLS).
“After one of the coldest winters on record, many sellers were waiting to put their home on the market,” says Milt Lustnauer, 2014 president of the Columbus REALTORS®. “It’s a great time to sell a home due to the lack of inventory available.”
“But it’s also a great time to buy a home as interest rates are likely going to increase. Buyers can undoubtedly get more home for their money today than they will be able to tomorrow.”
The sale price of a home sold in March 2014 was $172,019, which was 6.6 percent higher than the previous year. The median sale price of $143,500 was up 6.3 percent compared to March 2013.
There were 1,796 central Ohio homes sold in March of 2014, 10.5 percent lower than March 2013, but up over 24 percent from the previous month.
With an inventory level of 8,066, the number of homes on the market is 13.9 percent lower than March 2013.
“Inventory levels are still lagging in central Ohio, much to the chagrin of a significant number of motivated buyers right now,” says Lustnauer. “With temperatures on the rise, we expect inventory to continue in that direction as well in the coming months.”
According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index (by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®) 95 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® describe the current housing market as moderate to strong and 98 percent expect the market to be moderate to strong over the next six months. As for housing prices, 95 percent expect housing prices to rise over the next year. Additionally, since the weather has started to improve, 34 percent of respondents have seen higher than normal early spring activity.
Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 6,000 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.
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.
