Greater Columbus Area Market Trends

(July 25, 2007)  Buying a home in Columbus Ohio was determined to be a good investment according to a recent report by Standard & Poor’s. The report focuses on the areas most likely to decrease in home price by mid 2009.

“Those riskier areas are cities which experienced sudden price appreciation during the last 3-4 ‘boom’ years,” says Brad Bennett, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “We’re fortunate as central Ohio is such a stable market. We’re generally the last to fall and the first to recover when it comes to housing. This may not appeal to a ‘flipper’, but it does appeal to a potential homeowner looking for a dependable long term investment.”
 
Price appreciation for the first half of 2007 is just slightly behind 2006 (down 1.2 percent.)  Inventory is up 6.3 percent over last year, while sales are trailing last year by 5.7 percent.

“The fact that we have so many homes listed right now is a big part of why the average price is lower than it was a year ago,” comments Bennett. “With so much inventory, and not enough buyers, homes are taking longer to sell and homeowners are being forced to contract at a lower price in order to compete for the buyer.”

“The flip side is that, you’ll never find more to choose from as a buyer than you have right now. And with interest rates still so competitive, now really is a great time to buy a home!”