COLUMBUS –The number of homes for sale in central Ohio continues to dwindle, slowing sales while driving prices higher.
“Inventory remains at record lows here in central Ohio. Just when you think the number of homes for sale couldn’t possibly go any lower, it does,” said 2018 Columbus Board of Realtors president Sara Walsh.
There were nearly 1,000 fewer homes on the market in last month than a year before. The 3,410 homes available for sale was 21.2 percent less than January 2017 and 12 percent fewer than in December.
As a result, sales were down 1.1 percent from January 2017
“Home sales would be even higher if we had more homes listed for sale,” Walsh said.
And, most likely, those homes would be selling for less money. The median sales price of $172,500 in January was up 7.8 percent from a year ago but has fallen by $12,500 from December’s median price.
Homes were also spending an average of 44 days on the market, 6 days more than December, but 6 days fewer than January 2017.