COLUMBUS, Ohio – The housing market in Columbus and the rest of Ohio shows signs of shaking off the sluggishness of the long, cold winter.
Home sales in April showed improvement from March, but still lagged behind sales a year ago, and a reluctance to put homes on the market has reduced inventory and driven up prices, according to figures from industry groups.
Sales of central Ohio homes were 18.4 percent higher last month than in March, though they were still 15.2 percent lower than last April, according to data released Thursday by the Columbus Board of Realtors.
Statewide sales increased 3.8 percent from March but were still 4.2 percent below last year, according to the Ohio Association of Realtors.
“The Ohio housing marketplace began to shake off the lingering winter doldrums in April, as activity levels rose during the month to provide a solid start to the traditional home buying season,” OAR president Chris Hall said.
There were 7.8 percent more homes and condos listed in April in the Columbus area, but that is still 7.4 percent fewer than April 2013 and the inventory level of 8,279 is 16.7 percent lower than April 2013. The inventory level in the Columbus market had dropped steadily between Last August and March.
The tight supply has driven the median sale price of a central Ohio home in April 2014 to $151,900, 10.3 percent higher than a year ago. The average sale price was $176,801, which was 22 percent higher than the statewide average of $144,734. The average sale price of a home in Ohio in April 2013 was $134,775.