Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Central Ohio ends summer with rising home sales and prices



Central Ohio ends summer with rising sales and prices

(Sept. 19, 2012) Home sales during the most active time of the year showed impressive gains over last year and were the highest since 2007 when the housing market began its descent after the boom.

The 8,921 residential home closings during the months of May through August were 11 percent higher than last
 summer and 12.2 percent higher than in 2009 when home sales hit its lowest point since the summer of 2000, according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.

“Higher prices, low rates and lower inventory proved to be an exceptional environment for home sellers this summer,”
 said Jim Coridan, 2012 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “But the strongest factor was and continues to be the abundance of motivated buyers in the market today.”

Demand outstripped supply, as new listings on the market (3,096) fell 0.9 percent from the month before and the total inventory of homes for sale (11,571) was down 32.3 percent from the same time last summer (17,096).

“We’ve seen higher sales gains and falling inventory for over a year now which has pushed home prices up,” Coridan said. “We’re hoping more homeowners with an interest in selling recognize their advantage this fall as it’s getting tough to find property to sell.”

Not only that, the average turn-around time from the date “For Sale” signs went up until a bargain was struck
 decreased 15.5 percent last month from 96 days to 81 days.

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