The Central Ohio Housing Market is still going strong with October sales beating last years by 184 homes sold (up by 4.4%).The average sales price was 7.9% higher, and the inventory of homes listed for sale is 14% lower than a year ago.
Click here to see detailed October 2017 market stats!
The Market: How the Average Sales Price Keeps Rising
I don’t foresee a significant change in the Columbus real estate market anytime soon. Home owners are reluctant to list, because they are afraid they won’t find a new house to move to.
This chart shows how the average sales price has changed over the past 5 years. It is cyclical and reaches its peak in June or July every year. Since 2012 the average sales price has increased by 31.8%.
The Most Expensive & Least Expensive Communities
With home values rapidly increasing you may be wondering which communities are the most and least expensive in Central Ohio. The table below was compiled from October sales. It shows the average sales price in each of the communities, the % change compared to the same month last year, and the number of properties sold. (CSD = Columbus School District, LSD = Local School District)
“Black Friday” Real Estate Deals?
Unfortunately, there are not enough homes available in the low to mid-price ranges. New construction is too expensive for many first-time buyers, as most new builds start around $400,000 (without the upgrades and options).
There’s no Black Friday Sale for real estate. However, there are excellent opportunities for homebuyers in December.
It’s the time of the year when builders offer substantial discounts on their inventory homes. These are totally new homes the builders could not sell during the summer. They want to get them off their books before the end of the year and are motivated to accept lower offers. I’ve seen discounts of up to $100,000 compared to the new build cost.
Call me at (614) 975-9650 to find out which inventory homes are still available!