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.”

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 Realtor.com.

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