COLUMBUS – Warm winter weather fired up springtime home sales earlier than usual in central Ohio and across the nation, according to data released Friday.
The 2,531 homes and condos sold in the Columbus market was the highest on record for the month of March, representing a solid 51 percent increase over February and a 3.9 percent increase over a year ago, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors.
The first three months of the year have posted the highest sales for the first quarter and the number might have been higher if more people had put their homes on the market.
“Home sales could have been even stronger, but inventory limited growth” 2017 board president Mic Gordon said.
The National Association of Realtors says sales of existing homes climbed 4.4 percent last month to its highest rate since February 2007.
The U.S. housing market faces something of a split personality: A stable economy has intensified demand from would-be buyers, but the number of properties listed for sale has been steadily fading.
The number of homes added to the central Ohio market in March was a 4.1 percent decrease from March 2016 and the lowest number of new listings recorded for the month of March, which is when realtors traditionally look for inventory to climb.
“We keep thinking the inventory couldn’t get any lower – but it continues to decline,” Gordon said. “Even with the addition of new listings, inventory dropped to just over 4,200 at the end of March making it the 74th straight month of year over year decreases.”
On average, homes sold after spending 46 days on the market — six days fewer than February and nearly two weeks less than March 2016 – and the median sales price of $170,000 was a 4.3 increase over March 2016.
Nationwide, the median sales price has risen 6.8 percent from a year ago to $236,400, more than double the pace of average wage gains.