Home sales remain elevated in Central Ohio

(Dec. 21, 2011) November marks the fifth consecutive month of increased home sales in

central Ohio this year after the first half of the year struggled to keep up with increased sales

from 2010 due to the home buyer tax credits. According to the Columbus Board of

REALTORS®, 1,406 homes sold in November which is seven percent more than the previous

year.

Additionally, the number of residential homes scheduled to close was up over 37 percent,

from 1,341 last year to 1,843 last month (November 2011).

“We’re finding that sellers recognize the challenges of today’s market and are realistically

pricing their homes to sell,” says Rick Benjamin, 2011 President of the Columbus Board of

REALTORS®. “Buyers are responding well to the pricing and, of course, the record low

interest rates. It’s still a great time to buy a home.”

Homes in central Ohio this year have sold for an average of $157,032, down 2.5 percent from

the average sale price in 2010, but up over five percent from the average sale price in the first

quarter of 2011. The average price of a home sold in November was $153,673, up 3.1 percent

from the previous month ($149,082).

The number of homes listed for sale last month (1,949) is 20 percent less than listings added

to the market in November 2010 (2,439). The total inventory of homes available for sale in

central Ohio was 12,675 at the end of November, which is down 27.5 percent from one year

ago.

As a result, the month’s supply, a measure of inventory that estimates how many months it

would take to sell the entire home inventory, fell 28.5 percent to 7.4, down from 10.3 last

year.

“A healthy months supply for our market would be around 6.5. So the decrease in inventory

is a positive sign of market recovery,” adds Benjamin. “Plus, based on the concept of supply

and demand, when we have too many homes on the market, homes are more likely to sell for

less.”

Click here to view the November sortable housing market report by area.
Click here to view the entire central Ohio Local Market Update.

The Columbus Board of 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.

For more information about the central Ohio housing market, visit

ColumbusRealtors.com/stats
To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit COCIE.org.
To view residential properties for sale, visit www.terrypenrod.com.