Dear Homeowners: Great Real Estate Stats for Fourth Quarter

“In 2017 the average sale price in Central Ohio was $211,482. In 2018, the average sale price was $232,228.” - Theresa Cray

DEAR HOMEOWNERS:

I am writing to you to talk to you about our current housing market. I thought it would be nice to give you a year to date summary. I hope you find the information useful and informative. After you read through, be sure to let me know what else I can do to add value for you. I am writing and speaking to you weekly, so we definitely have time to answer your questions. 25 years of serving, has really given me a broad base to drawn from.

With all that said, here is some good news about our phenomenal City of Columbus, Central Ohio and the broader community. Our city has been growing for the past several decades. It’s a bright, clean, moving into the next phase, city. We now have great downtown housing. The city is doing a lot of revamping in the more Central zones. We are pure and simple, growing! It’s a wonderful time to live and work in our town. We are talking about serious growth. We have 2 Million 78 thousand people in our Metropolitan area. The actual city of Columbus has roughly doubled from approximately 470,000 residents to nearly 900,000 residents.

Let me get into how our growth has impacted our housing market in recent years? Well here are the facts: Housing prices have risen 10% in the past 12 months. Real estate professionals have sold approximately 24,000 homes from January 2018- September 30, 2018. Homes are also selling for 99% of asking price in-spite of the 10% increase in price points. You might ask, what are the real numbers in dollars? In 2017 the average sale price in Central Ohio was $211,482. In 2018, the average sale price was $232,228. We all know this past spring demonstrated very high demand. Creating an overheated market place. Buyers were willing to overpay for property. They were also willing to buy property in less than optimal condition with fewer updates for higher pricing.

The largest segment in this market place are families with children, who need to move just after school is out (now May) and often also have to sell a home. This “frenzy” begins typically early March. It changes, in August and I bet you can guess why? The reason is because the children are now in school and who really wants to have their kids out of school or starting late. As a parent, I surely don’t want to deal with moving after school starts and I definitely want my kids school situation wrapped well before we get through the summer.

In the fall we still have a great market. It is simply not usually the folks with small children. It is more likely people who are relocating, or those who simply are ready to move before the end of the year, or folks who need more space because of a change in family status, or investors who know it’s a good time to sell and folks who are thinking about downsizing into a more appropriate home size for their households. And of course, it is also the millennials who are now ready to buy their first home. The point is there is a market and it is a rather robust market by historical Columbus standards.

There has been a lot of speculation in the news, and other social media discussions. Here is my take, it is too early to tell. With that said the late Winter and early Spring will help us to assess the real truth about where the market is headed. It will also give us a great clue for the 2019 home selling opportunities. I believe we will see more of the same very high demand. I say this for a couple of reason: 1.) What I know for sure is our population is not getting smaller and 2.) Our population is not getting younger. Both of these factors are reasons why people move. Really, when we talk about markets; we are talking about people and their lives. People don’t move because they love to move. They move because they need to move and their lives are changing.

Here at Take a Look we understand the needs of our clients and how important the decision to sell your home is for most people. It is our goal to make your transition to your next home a seamless, well thought out process, with care and concern. I hope you find this information helpful and informative. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you and your family.

Thanks for stopping by,

Theresa Barron, MBA- Broker -Take a Look Real Estate