Home prices rose for a second successive month
The Columbus housing market is on the rise, according to Columbus Realtors’ Central Ohio Housing Report for March.
Home prices increased for the second consecutive month with the average sales price hitting $328,769, marking a nearly $13,000 increase from February.
Additionally, the number of home sales increased by 33%, from 1,728 closings in February to 2,304 in March.
Patti Brown-Wright, President of Columbus Realtors, noted that while rising home prices could pose challenges for potential buyers, Columbus remains one of the most affordable metropolitan areas in the US.
Brown-Wright said, “Home prices continue to tick up each month around Columbus. That can pose some challenges to potential buyers, but it’s also important to remember that Columbus remains one of the most affordable metros in the US.”
Columbus' housing market was named the 12th emerging housing market by the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com's spring 2023 index.
The city was also the only one in the top 20 with a population greater than 1 million. Indiana metros, Lafayette, Bloomington, and Elkhart-Goshen took the top three spots, respectively. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, ranked fourth and fifth, while Springfield, Ohio, ranked fifteenth.
The report found that home sales in central Ohio are rising, and days on the market are dropping, with 72.6% of properties selling in 30 days or less in March.
Columbus Realtors found that 82 homes closed sales in Westerville City School District last month, on average in 16 days, while Dublin saw 33 closings, and homes were sold in 10 days.
However, with mortgage rates hovering around 7%, Brown-Wright says that competition is still fierce, and there aren't as many new listings coming onto the market as there were at this time last year.
In March, there were 2,630 new listings, a 20% decrease from 2022 when rates were around 3% lower. The decreasing number of new listings has the total inventory at 2,322 homes in central Ohio.
The report also revealed that South-Western Consolidated School District in Grove City had 151 closed sales with an average sales price of $310,138, up 13.4% year over year.
Olentangy Local School District in Delaware County had 111 closings, with an average sale price of $584,123, a 10.1% increase over March 2022.
The Columbus housing market's continued growth is good news for the city's economy and residents. As Brown-Wright notes, "Columbus continues to be a great place to call home. The market is strong, and as we head into the summer months, we expect to see continued growth."
