Nov. 21, 2019 – Columbus Ohio) Favorable interest rates, new inventory, a rise in sales contracts and strong price growth contributed to keeping the housing market active last month according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.
The average home sold for $239,729 in October 2019, up 6.3 percent over last year. The median sale price of $205,000 was 5.7 percent higher than in October of 2018.
There were 3,285 homes and condos added to the market last month, which was about the same as September, but 7.4 percent more than last year.
That brought the total number of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of October to 5,254 which was down almost three percent from a year ago, but up from September.
“Housing activity tends to start to cool as the temperatures drop but we’ve seen inventory rise throughout most of 2019, including last month,” said John Myers, 2019 President of Columbus REALTORS®. “Given our struggle over the last several years to provide the homes needed to meet the demand, this is a boon for those in the market to buy their first or next home.”
During the month of October 2019, homes under $350,000 took about 24 days to sell and homes selling for $350,000 to $500,000 sold in an average of 44 days. Homes over $700,000 were on the market for an average of 80 days and homes in the $500,000 to $700,000 price range took an average of 88 days to sell.
There were 3,258 homes put in contract in October, which was up from the previous month (2.3 percent) and 6.6 percent higher than last year.
“Pending home sales are a strong indicator of sales to come,” added Myers. “Favorable mortgage rates have been a significant contributor as they help all buyers afford more home and often are the reason first-time buyers are able to get their foot in the door.”
The 2,709 homes sold last month were slightly below last year (1.2 percent) yet the number of sales from January through October remains just 0.6 percent ahead of 2018.
With the rise in inventory and lukewarm sales, the months’ supply remained steady at 1.9.
The months’ supply is calculated by taking the amount of inventory divided by average monthly sales over the last 12 months. In other words, if no more homes were added to the market, it would take about 1.9 months to sell all of the homes and condos current for sale in central Ohio.
Current housing report – October 2019
Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of almost 8,000 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.
