COLUMBUS, Ohio – A drop in homes sales last month is not a sign of a slowdown in the reviving central Ohio real estate market, which has already turned in the best yearly performance in seven years, according to data released Thursday by the Columbus Board of Realtors.
The 1,812 homes and condos sold in November were 10.3 percent behind sales a year ago, but sales during the first 11 months of 2013 are 17.8 percent above last year’s pace and have already topped sales during the pre-recession boom year of 2006.
The drop in sales from a year ago can be attributed at least in part to last November’s record sales, as well as unsold inventory that remains high, driving up prices while dragging down sales.
“Inventory levels usually drop off during the holiday season. But we haven’t seen inventory levels this low since 2002,” board president Chris Pedon said.
The median sale price of a home in central Ohio is $145,000 which is 4.3 percent higher a year ago.
Home sales have nearly returned to pre-recession levels, with 25,191 closed sales by the end of November, just 2,302 short of the high-water mark of 27,493 in 2005 at the height of the housing boom.