When Buckeye Chuck peaked out of his hole this morning, he did not see his shadow. This means spring will come early – good news for home buyers and sellers.
As a matter of fact, buyers are already out in force looking for the perfect home before all hell breaks loose in March and April when the spring buying season hits its peak. 
Note: If you are planning on selling this year, now’s the perfect time to get started. Especially, if your house is worth more than $400,000. There’s only a limited number of buyers in that price range, and most of them buy in spring.
New Home Sales to Increase Significantly in 2020
We are still in an inventory crunch. It will get worse in February and March as more buyers will compete for a very limited number of homes. According, to the National Association of Home Builders we should see some relief later this year.
They predict a significant increase in new home construction. The US Census Bureau reported that building permits surged by 11.1% in November, housing starts jumped 13.6%, and housing completions rose by 7.3% nationwide. Fannie Mae forecasts that 1 million new homes will hit the market in 2021.
Columbus Permits Substantially Lower
Every market is different. While Columbus is considered one of the “hottest” real estate markets in the country, new residential permits are down by 10.7% from a year ago.
Below you can see how similar boom towns like Nashville and Austin have increased new construction. Austin permitted 4 times as many new residential units than Columbus. 
This table shows total residential building permits issued for 2019 for single family homes (SFH) and apartments of more than 5 units (APT), and the change compared to last year.
The Best Opportunities in New Developments are …
There are numerous new developments in the Dublin, Plain City, Hilliard, and all along the State Route 23 corridor between Worthington and Delaware. Read about new subdivisions on our New Construction Blog.
Don’t want to wait 8 to 12 months for your new home to get completed? You may find opportunities in builders’ inventory or model homes, or pre-owned homes in subdivisions that are not completely built up yet. For instance, look at my new listing on 9570 Crabapple Court in Jerome Village.
You can buy this home for substantially less than you could build it new.
Call me if you want to see it or make an offer! Don’t Miss the Early Spring Buying Season! Call or text me TODAY at (614) 975-9650.