According to the August 2014 housing report by Columbus Realtors the average sales price of existing homes in Central Ohio has reached an all time high at $194,879 (7.5% up from a year ago). This is definitely good news for home sellers. But as a whole, the market has nose-dived from 2013.
Closed sales were down 11.2% in August (as compared to a year ago) and the inventory is down by 9.1%. Not a great year for the real estate industry.
Here’s the full report (pdf).
What to expect in September 2014 – our Forecast
Based on current home sales data from the MLS September may be a catch up month. Here’s what we found:
- Closed sales will only be 2.5% lower than a year ago,
- the inventory should be up by 7% (surpassing 11,000 homes listed for sale), and
- the average sales price will be up by 3.7% from a year ago. However, at $181,207 it will be lower than in August.
Dublin Home Sales
As you can see in the chart below, the stats for Dublin are not much different: the average sales price is up by 16.5% in August, while the number of closed sales is down by 8.6%.
The days on market are substantially lower (by 51.9%), which means the average time to get a home in contract in Dublin is only 39 days. Based on our experience homes under $400K sell very quickly, while more luxury residences take more than 90 days to sell.
National Housing Data
Watch the video below to see how Central Ohio housing stats compare to the Nation. The trends are similar.
For the full RE/MAX National Housing Report for August 2014 click here.
My Recommendations
For Buyers
Don’t delay your home purchase until next spring. It is very likely that interest rates will keep going up, which means the affordability will go down.
In fall there is less competition and the inventory has increased. There’s a good chance you will get a better deal in the next couple of months than you will during the “feeding frenzy” next spring.
For Sellers
People are always looking for homes and October is usually the best month to sell a home during the fall season. Home prices in Columbus are at a peak. There is a chance that values will fall next year, if interest rates go up.