It is no surprise to anyone that the housing market in central Ohio is still very strong. The 2019 housing market was fueled by the overall strength of the economy across most of the country. Stock markets reached new highs throughout the year, improving the asset bases of millions of Americans.
Unemployment rates fell to 50-year lows, while wages increased, creating new home buyers. Mortgage rates also declined significantly from 2018, helping to offset affordability concerns caused by continued price appreciation nationally.
| Days on Market – 2019 |
| Listing Price | Average Days on Market |
| $350,000 | 27 |
| $350,000 – $500,000 | 46 |
| $500,000 – $700,000 | 65 |
| $700,000 + | 89 |
“With a strong economy and low mortgage rates, buyer activity has been strong,” said Andy Mills, Columbus REALTORS® 2020 President.” However, central Ohio has been constrained by a lack of inventory (a lack of homes for sale). That is good for sellers, but not so good for buyers. Because demand for homes is so high, prices tend to rise, which we saw in 2019.
Comparing 2019 to 2018, the number of homes available for sale was lower by 6.2 percent. There were 3,886 active listings at the end of 2019. New listings increased by 0.8 percent to finish the year at 37,655.
With supply on the decline, central Ohio home sale prices increased to meet the demand. The overall median sales price increased 7.6 percent to $209,900 for the year. Single Family home prices were up 7.4 percent compared to last year, and Condo home prices were up 7.5 percent.
Sellers received, on average, 98.7 percent of their last list price at sale, which remained unchanged from 2018.
New construction activity has improved but is still below levels required to fully supply the market’s needs.
Ten years after the Great Recession, the U.S. has enjoyed the longest period of continued economic expansion on record. The central Ohio housing market has been along for much of the ride and continues to benefit greatly from the overall health of the economy. However, hot economies eventually cool and with that, hot housing markets move more towards balance.
“Tight inventory continues to constrain buyer activity in some parts of the Columbus Region, while other areas, we are seeing increased seller inventory starting to improve buyers’ choices,” said Mills.
“As we look at 2020, we see continued low mortgage rates and a healthy economy giving a great start to housing in the new year.”