COLUMBUS, Ohio – Home sales in central Ohio in the dead of winter 2013 were warm and healthy. The winter of 2014 has been another story.
“Extreme winter conditions played a role in cooling homes sales activity throughout Ohio, as our level of activity slid slightly for the second consecutive month,” Ohio Association of Realtors president Chris Hall said.
Sales across Ohio in February were 4.3 percent behind those of a year ago and 2.9 percent lower than in January, Hall said.
In the OAR’s statewide survey, two-thirds of the realtors said cold, snowy weather resulted in a marked decline in home buying activity, Hall said.
In central Ohio February home sales were 6.2 percent lower than the year before, which was the best February since the recession, but were slightly improved over January, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. Sales for the first two months of the year are 6 percent behind their pace at this time in 2013.
There were 1,444 central Ohio homes sold in February of 2014, compared with 1,539 in February of 2013 and 1,337 in January.
The cold weather was enough to keep a lot of homes off the market, but realtors hope they are seeing a spring thaw.
“Many sellers were waiting out one of the worst winters on record. Now that the weather is warming up, we hope to see inventory levels jump back up,” board president Milt Lustnauer said.
There were 10.7 percent fewer homes on the market than a year ago, but new listings were better than in January.
The median sale price of $135,000 was up 10.4 percent compared to February 2013.