Columbus home listings drop, leaving buyers with even fewer choices
Home listings in the Columbus area fell sharply in February, offering more discouraging news for shoppers desperate to find a house.
During the month, 2,047 central Ohio homeowners stuck a for-sale sign in their yard, down almost 17% from a year ago.
In the first two months of the year, listings are down almost 13% from 2020, while sales are up 3%. The combination has made homes increasingly difficult for buyers to find.
At the end of February, 1,689 homes were listed in central Ohio, about half the number from a year ago. By March 18, that number had fallen to 1,286, well below the 2,946 listed a year earlier.
“We’ve never seen inventory this low before,” said Michael Jones, president of the Columbus Realtors trade association. “As a result, housing is moving at a frenzied pace and we’re seeing multiple offers and offers over asking price.”
Jones speculated that the COVID pandemic has kept many would-be sellers at home.
“Many homeowners have been reluctant to open their homes for showing due to concerns about the pandemic,” he said. “We expect to see an increase in sellers entering the market this spring as more and more people get vaccinated.”
When a new home does become available, competition is intense, dramatically pushing up prices. For the first two months of the year, the median sales price of a home in the Columbus area rose 10.2%.
Homes sold in February after an average of 26 days on the market, down from 43 days a year ago. But many homes fall into contract within a few days, as sellers seek “highest and best offers” by a certain time, giving them multiple bids to choose from.
Central Ohio home shoppers can take little comfort in knowing they are far from alone.
Nationwide, prices jumped 15.8% from a year ago as inventory levels fell almost 30%.
Statewide, prices rose 12% from last February while sales dipped slightly as shoppers failed to find homes.
“Marketplaces throughout the state are reporting inventory levels of homes listed for sale that are nearly half the volume of what was available for sale a year ago,” said Seth Task, president of the Ohio Realtors organization.
Investors and second-home buyers bought 17% of U.S. homes in February, the same share as a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Cash sales accounted for 22% of February’s sales, up from 20% a year ago.
@JimWeiker
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