COLUMBUS – Home prices continue to soar in central Ohio, welcome news to those who are hoping to sell their home but putting the squeeze on potential buyers who find that affordable homes that do become available are quickly snatched up.
“Over two-thirds of the homes we had for sale last month were either put in contract or sold,” said Andy Mills, 2020 president of Columbus Realtors.
Despite an 8.5 percent hike in median sale prices, compared to a year ago, sales increased almost 9.0 percent and hit a record high for the month of January, according to data released by the Columbus Realtors Friday. The median sale price of a home in central Ohio in January was $197,000.
The healthy pace of sales may have been helped by an influx of more than 2,400 new residential listings, a 62 percent jump from December and a 10.4 percent increase from January 2019.
According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, Realtor.com named Columbus the seventh-hardest city in the nation to find a home. The ranking was based on the number of available listings per household.
“We have an affordable housing crisis in Ohio, and all over the country. We need a housing system that works for everyone, whether they’re renting or want to buy a home, no matter who they are, what kind of work they do, or where they live,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The Democrat is hosting a series of roundtable discussions around the state to stories about the obstacles potential homebuyers face.
Wages have not kept pace with housing costs so those looking for affordable homes to buy find it to save for a down payment, Brown said.
Home prices have risen nationwide due to a shortage of existing homes on the market and the high cost of building new homes.