Central Ohio 2015 Housing Report

As a preferred vendor for the Ohio Board of Realtors, Columbus mover E.E. Ward is pleased to share Central Ohio 2015 Housing Report.

Home sales highest since 2006 despite limited inventory! Central Ohio saw a healthy increase in contracts and closings last month despite the lagging number of homes for sale in central Ohio.

The 2,147 houses, condos, and townhomes which changed hands in March 2015 were up 47.8 percent over the previous month (1,453) and 16.6 percent over the previous year (1,842). Year to date, home sales are up seven percent compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Additionally, there were 3,494 homes that went into contract last month – up 36.3 percent over February 2015 (2,564) and up 13.9 percent from March 2014 (3,067). This marks a record high for the month of March.

The uptick in new listings last month was welcome as tight inventory levels continue to plague central Ohio. The 3,461 homes listed for sale in March were up 46.3 percent over February and 1.2 percent from last spring.

Using an average of home sales over the last 12 months, it would take less than three months to clear all available houses from the market. Not only is this the quickest on record but a stark contrast to the 13.4 months supply in early 2008.

The median existing-home price last month was $152,000, 5.6 higher than the median sales price for an existing-home one year earlier. March also marked the 23rd straight month of year-over-year home price gains.

According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index (by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®) 100 percent of central Ohio REALTORS® describe the current housing market as moderate to strong and 94 percent expect housing prices to rise over the next year. Forty-one percent report higher than normal early spring activity since the weather has shown signs of improving.