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Real Estate Review: April 2017

Columbus is on the rise in many ways - technology, development, the housing market, population and more! We are officially the #14th largest city in the nation, trailing San Francisco by just 10,000 residents. In the rankings for Ohio's largest cities these Columbus communities dominated the top of the list:

 

#1 COLUMBUS, up 9.3 percent to 860,090.
#2 Hilliard grew by 6,470, or 22.8 percent, to 34,905.
#3 Grove City grew by 4,146, or 11.7 percent, to 39,721.
#4 Delaware grew by 3,890, or 11.2 percent, to 38,643.
#5 Dublin grew by 3,817, or 9.1 percent, to 45,568.

 

It's such an exciting time to be in Columbus, Ohio! My husband Jesse, who is a local business owner STORE 5a, and I are very involved in the community and love supporting other business owners and organizations. In April, we celebrated Rowe Boutique's 10 Year Anniversary in the Short North, attended Startup Storytellers at CMA, Impact Social for Stonewall at Venue 614, Buckeye Lifestyle's launch party for their latest issue featuring Shawn Cunix at The Toybarn and The Short North Gala!

Here are the national real estate statistics for April 2017:

The number of projected home sales dipped to 5.5 million, however the national median home price had an increase of .5% to $228,400, which is up 7.7% from April 2016. The national average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is up slightly to 4.23% still considered historically low and helping to incentivize buyers in this sellers' market! For specific questions on how these statistics affect you, please get in touch with me!

The median list price of new listings for central Ohio homes and condos during the month of April was $199,950, an 8.1 percent increase over April 2016 and a 1.0 percent increase from March. This is a new record high according to according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.

infographicApril.jpg

There were 3,543 central Ohio homes and condos added to the market in April, which is a 5.1 percent increase over March, although a 10 percent decline over the same month a year ago.

This left inventory at 4,338 which was almost three percent higher than the previous month, but is still just over 19 percent lower than a year ago and has fallen year-over-year for 75 straight months. Unsold inventory is at a 1.6-month supply at the current sales pace (unchanged from the last three months).

The 2,479 central Ohio homes and condos sold during the month of April slipped 2.1 percent from the previous month, and 10.9 percent from April 2016.

Last month marked the first dip in home sales in nine months,” Gordon said. “There’s little doubt that the number of home sales would have been higher had we had more inventory.
— 2017 Columbus REALTORS® President Mic Gordon

Homes spent an average of 40 days on the market in April, which is 6 days fewer than March and 12 days less than April 2016.

The averages sale price of a home in April was $215,246, an increase of 7.1 percent over the same month a year ago and 5.6 percent above March.

If you’ve considered putting your home on the market, now is the time to do so as the warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours stimulate even greater buyer activity,” added Gordon.

During the month of March, central Ohio homes and condos spent an average of 46 days on the market, which is 6 days fewer than February and 13 days less than March 2016.

When asked about reasons transaction haven’t closed in the past year, 53 percent cited inspection issues and 30 percent cited issues rising from appraisals.


Article shared and all information sourced via the Columbus Board of Realtors. To view the original and for more info see below: 

Current housing report – April 2017
All housing reports

Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 7,600 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.

Real Estate Review: March 2017

The real estate market is insane right now and Columbus is NO exception! Don't just take my word for it, Columbus made the Forbes list of Where to Invest in Housing 2017 and was #5 on Realtor.com's list of Top 10 Cities Where Downtown Is Making a Comeback not to mention the statistics I've compiled for you below.

Low inventory is still the biggest issue in the market, if you have been thinking of selling there COULD NOT BE a better time. Not sure what your home is worth? I've got you covered, click here for a complimentary, no pressure, personalized estimate. If you are planning on buying, I'll be honest it can be tough right now. However, with the right planning and real estate agent in can be done and with low interest rates it's still a great time!

My client testimonial for this blog is extra personal and I'm very excited to share that my husband Jesse and I purchased our first home in Clintonville! The journey to buy our own home is actually how I met my wonderful mentor Bruce Dooley and became a REALTOR®. After helping so many other people find their homes, I was ecstatic to finally be the buyer. We put in many offers along the way and beat out 8 offers to get in this particular home, but it was SO worth it!

Here are the national real estate statistics for March 2017:

The number of projected home sales rose from 5.5 million to 5.7 million! The national median home price had a slight decrease of 1.9% to $228,900 which is great for buyers. Thinking of selling? The great news for you is that the median home price is up 7.1% from this same time last year, so if you've been waiting now is the time! The best news for everyone is that the national average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is down from 4.19% in February to 4.15% making it an excellent time to get a loan and keeping the market moving. For specific questions on how these statistics affect you, please get in touch with me!

There were 2,531 central Ohio homes and condos sold during the month of March, a solid 50.8 percent increase over February and a 3.9 percent increase over the same month a year ago. 

This was the highest number of home sales on record for the month of March as well as the highest sales for the 1st quarter according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.

infographicMarch.jpg

The average sale price of a home in March was $203,924, up 6.8 percent from one year ago and 7 percent from February. The median sales price was $170,000 a 4.3 increase over March 2016. 

The average sales price is the total volume divided by the number of homes sold. The median is the midpoint -- half the homes sell for less, while half sell for more.

The record home sales that we’re seeing is a direct reflection of the strong job growth here locally as well as low interest rates for mortgages. Home sales could have been even stronger, but inventory limited growth.
— 2017 Columbus REALTORS® President Mic Gordon

There were 3,372 central Ohio homes and condos added to the market in March, which is a 4.1 percent decrease from March 2016 and the lowest number of new listings recorded for the month of March, when inventory traditionally begins 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.

During the month of March, central Ohio homes and condos spent an average of 46 days on the market, which is 6 days fewer than February and 13 days less than March 2016.

“The tight supply of for-sale homes is helping to push prices upward,” said Gordon. “Homeowner should give serious consideration to selling under these advantageous conditions.”


Article shared and all information sourced via the Columbus Board of Realtors. To view the original and for more info see below: 

Current housing report – March 2017
All housing reports

Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 7,600 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.

Practicing Seller's Etiquette

Let's face it: When your house goes on the market, you're not only opening the door to prospective buyers, but also sometimes to unknown vendors and naive or unqualified buyers. As with any business transaction, there is an expected protocol to how sellers, buyers and their respective agents interact. Should you find yourself in a sticky situation, alert your agent so he or she can address and remedy the problem. 

The Aggressive Agent

When your agent puts your house on the market, typically all promotional materials state clearly that your agent is the primary contact for buyers and buyers' agents. However, sometimes a buyer's agent will contact a seller directly to try to either win over their business or cut the seller's agent out of the deal. This is not reputable behavior and you should report it to your agent immediately if it happens to you. 

The Unscrupulous Vendor

Have you ever started a business or moved into a new house and suddenly found your mailbox full of junk mail? Unfortunately, this also can happen when you put your house on the market. When you sell your home, it necessitates all kinds of new purchasing decisions and less-than-ethical vendors are keenly aware of this. Though MLS organizations enforce rules on how posted information is used, some companies have found ways to cull information from various sources to produce mass mailing lists. If you find yourself regularly emptying your mailbox of junk, let your agent know. He or she can tap the appropriate sources to prompt an investigation into the matter. 

The Naive Buyer

Yard signs, Internet listings and other advertisements can generate a lot of buzz for your home. Some prospective buyers - particularly first-timers - will be so buzzed to see your home that they'll simply drop by. If this happens, no matter how nice these unexpected visitors are, it's best not to humor their enthusiasm by discussing your home or giving an impromptu tour. Instead, politely let them know that your real estate agent is in charge of scheduling tours and provide them with the agent's contact information. If you attempt to handle these surprise visits on your own, you might inadvertently disclose information that could hurt you during negotiations down the road. Keep this is mind when talking to friends, coworkers and nosy neighbors!

The most important thing about selling your house is the agent & brokerage you choose to list with. Everything from timing, pricing the house, staging, describing, photographing, marketing and more is dependent on the listing agent. I excel in these areas as well as communication, negotiation and other skills that contribute to a successful and stress free transaction!

For a free comparative market analysis on your home, please fill out the form on my home page under "Sell" available here.