Housing inventory cooling off in central Ohio
Washington, DC – December 23, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Central Ohio inventory continues to remain at a record low – lower than any year since 2000. The total inventory of homes for sale during the month of November in central Ohio was 6,976, a decrease of 9.3 percent from the previous month and 16.3 percent lower than November 2014, according to the Columbus REALTORS Multiple Listing Service.
The months supply of inventory was also a record low of 2.7 in November, ten percent lower than the previous month and 25 percent lower than 2014.
The months supply is calculated by taking the amount of inventory divided by average monthly sales over the last 12 months. In other words, if no more homes were added to the market, it would take about 2.7 months to sell all of the homes and condos current for sale in central Ohio.
“The trend in inventory for 2015 as well as 2014 has been extremely low,” said 2015 Columbus REALTORS® President Kathy Shiflet. “Sellers should realize what a great time it is to put their home on the market – Columbus is hot! People want to move here and current residents want to move up.”
Although inventory has been down, there were 2,063 homes and condos added to the market in the month of November, which was 2.8 percent more than the previous year.
There were 1,845 central Ohio homes and condos sold during the month of November, an increase of 4.0 percent from 2014, although down 21.4 percent from the previous month. Year to date (January through November), central Ohio has seen 27,153 sales, up 9.1 percent from the same period in 2014.
Homes spent an average of 54 days on the market in November, which is just four days longer than the month of October.
“Every year, sales slow down during the cooler months,” said Shiflet. “However, buyers are still ready to seal the deal on that new home which is why sales month-to-month and year-to-date continue to be quite healthy.”
The average sales price in November was $182,845, a 1.5 percent increase over November 2014, and down just one percent from the previous month. The median sale price in November was $152,888, an increase of 2.8 percent from a year ago and down just 1.4 percent from the previous month.
The average sales price is the total volume divided by the number of homes sold. The median is the midpoint — half the homes sell for less, while half sell for more.
According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index, (By the Ohio Association of REALTORS®) 93 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® would describe the current housing market as moderate to strong. Over the next year, 81 percent expect home prices to rise 0-5 percent and 12 percent expect prices to rise more than five percent.
When asked about the change they are seeing in buyers’ preference for condos over single family homes, 53 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® said no change, 33 percent said a slight to significant increase, and 14 percent said a slight decrease.
Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 7,200 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.
The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.
To view residential properties for sale, visit www.Realtor.com.
To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit www.COCIE.org.
