Last month saw double digit increases in homes coming on the market which helped many patient buyers finally find the homes they’ve been waiting for! Sales did not see a corresponding bump which suggests the fall market may see a change in the fast pace of the past year. Continue reading for the full market report in central Ohio…
More inventory, fewer sales!
For the fourth consecutive month, new listings increased by over 20 percent. Given the lack of inventory needed to meet demand for the last few years, double-digit increases in new listings have been accompanied by a corresponding increase in home sales.
But that wasn’t the case in July according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.
There were 4,612 homes added to the central Ohio market last month, which was an increase of 21.0 percent from last year. However, at 3,630, the number of home sales only increased 2.7 percent – a marked change from the double-digit increases seen in eight of the last 10 months.
“It’s possible we’re seeing a change in the pace of housing activity as we head into the fall,” said Michael Jones, 2021 President, Columbus REALTORS®. “The welcome increase in inventory is giving buyers more choices, as well as a little more flexibility to consider their options.”
The average price of a home sold in July was $313,737, up 12.8 percent from July of 2020. The median sale price was up 12.2 percent to $275,000.
Thus far in 2021, just under five percent of homes listed had list price increases prior to sale. However, 12.6 percent of homes needed a decrease in the list price in order to sell.
These price adjustments have trended down since the beginning of the year. Last month, just under 15 percent of homes saw price adjustments, whereas in January, 27.2 percent of homes had an adjustment to their price prior to sale.
“As REALTORS®, we recommend pricing a home at market value, usually a value that will appraise,” said Jones. “If the current market supports a higher value, we’ll see that in the offers.”
The time it took to sell a home remained at 11 days last month.
Homes under $350,000 sold in an average of 9 days. Homes sold between $350,000 and $500,000 took about 12 days to sell. Homes in the $500,000 to $700,000 price range sold in an average of 15 days, and homes over $700,000 were on the market for an average of 18 days.
For the first seven months of 2021, homes have sold in an average of 17 days. Breaking this down by price range, homes under $350,000 sold in an average of 14 days. Homes priced $350,000 -$500,000 took 18 days. Homes between $500,000 and $700,000 took 27 days to sell and homes over $700,000 sold in an average of 40 days.
Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 8,700 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.