I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday, got all your Black Friday Shopping done, and celebrated yet another Buckeye victory over the team up north.

We spent a couple of days in Chicago and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with our sons. Visiting the Christkindl Market, which is an Austrian and German tradition, was not such a great idea. It was so crowded you could hardly move. So, we missed out on the Glühwein (hot mulled wine) and the heart shaped Christmas mugs it came in.

The October 2018 Housing Report was published just before we left last Wednesday. Here are the highlights and some tips if you plan on selling.

New Listings Push Inventory Higher

During the month of October, we saw a 5% increase in the number of new listings. As home sales decreased, the inventory has finally started to rise (by 5.3% as compared to October 2017).

October sales and pending contracts were lower than last years. Surprisingly, pending contracts have increased by 3.7% compared to September.

Personally, I saw an increase of new listing and buying activity in October and November. This is good news after a rather disappointing summer.

Price Reductions are More Common as Days On Market Rise

Sellers are adapting to the changing market. According to Columbus Realtor’s President Sara Walsh “44.43 percent of home sellers reduced the price of their home to ensure a timely sale.”

The October housing report shows that the average sales price is only 95.7% of the original list price. Sellers had to accept a 4.3% discount to get their listings sold. This compares to a 0.9% discount during the peak of the seller’s market in June 2018.

Not only did sellers accept larger discounts in October, it also took 33 days on market (DOM) to sell a home. That’s 10 days more than in June 2018.

This chart shows how sellers have accepted lower offers this October and September (red line) than a year ago (blue line).

October 2018 Columbus Housing Stats

Here are the exact numbers for October 2018 (compared to the same month a year ago):

  • Closed Transactions – 2,742 – DOWN by 0.7%
  • Pending Contracts – 3,055 – DOWN by 4.1%
  • Inventory for Sale – 5,405 – UP by 5.3%
  • New Listings – 3,059 – UP by 5.0%
  • Days on Market – 33 – UP by 3.0%
  • Average Sales Price – $225,519 – UP by 4.7%

Recommendations

Based on the housing stats I recommend that you buy in fall and list in spring.

Buy in Fall: There’s less competition in November and December. Sellers are more motivated and readier to accept lower offers. Don’t delay. You will get caught up in another spring buying frenzy with competing offers and bidding wars.

List in Spring: Start getting your house ready for sale now. The spring buying season will start early next year, so you should put your home on the market in late January or early February.

Call or text me TODAY at (614) 975-9650, so we can discuss the best-selling and moving strategy for you!