COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio realtors are calling 2014 a win, looking at the half of the glass that is full more closely than the half that is empty.
Home prices improved and sellers got more of the price they wanted as small inventory and a shortage of new listings slowed the market, according to the year-end data released Friday by the Columbus Board of Realtors.
Home sales ended the year at 26,655 trailing 2013 by 2.1 percent making 2014 the fourth highest year on record for home sales in central Ohio. The peak year of the housing boom was 2005 when 27,493 homes were sold.
The figures suggest that the 2014 real estate recovery was not as strong as 2013’s but at least it was still a recovery
“Interest rates remained lower than most expected which helped fuel buyer activity. However sales still fell flat due to the lack of inventory which plagued the market during most of 2014,” 2014 board president Kathy Shiflet said.
In other words, you can’t buy what is not for sale. Seller activity decreased 3.9 percent from 2013.
Statewide sales finished 2014 with a 1.3 percent decrease from 2013 though prices saw a 5 percent gain, according to the Ohio Association of REALTORS.
Inadequate mortgage liquidity, stagnant wages and student loan debt also made it more difficult for would-be home buyers, she said.
But Shiflet points to an uptick in sales during three of the last four months of the year and a 2.5 percent increase in pending sales for the year to 27,823.
The backlog of unsold homes decrease during the year, causing modest price increases, making homes less affordable than they were in 2012 and 2013 but better than the market’s long-term average, Shiflet said.
Columbus, Beechwold/Clintonville, Dublin, Gahanna, Grove City, Hilliard, Olentangy School District, Pickerington, Westerville and Worthington were the most active areas in 2014.
Many area realtors expect the market to improve or continue at its current pace this year since foreclosure and short sales are near multi-year lows, which will remove a deadweight on prices.
Bolstered by “economic tailwinds,” Shiflet thinks housing will improve in 2015 but believes first-time buyers need good jobs.
Interest rates should be stable until mid-year, but could increase then.