COLUMBUS – Homes sold at record prices and at a record pace in central Ohio in May as a supply squeeze continues to hold back sales but drive prices higher, according to a monthly update from the Columbus Board of Realtors.
The average sale price of $227,783 was a record high and is 8.0 percent higher than one year ago, according to the Columbus Realtors Multiple Listing Service. The median sale price was $190,000, 7.3 percent higher than May 2016, 2017 board president Mic Gordon said.
Homes spent an average of 33 days on the market in May, 12 days fewer than the previous year and seven days less than April, also a record low for the central Ohio housing market, Gordon said.
Homebuyers are facing greater financial and time pressures due to shrinking inventories and that reality is reflected in sales numbers.
There were 3,177 central Ohio homes and condos sold during the month of May, 28.2 percent more than in April but 0.8 percent lower than a year ago, Gordon said. Year-to-date sales are flat compared with the same period in 2016.
The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes nationwide edged up 1.1 percent but the housing market may soon face turmoil because of a shortage of properties for sale and surging prices.
The 4,051 central Ohio homes and condos added to the market in May was a 4.8 percent gain over one year ago but, even with the added listings, the Columbus market’s inventory was still 18 percent lower than the number of homes for sale a year ago, Gordon said.