Monday, October 27, 2008

How is the housing market?

I think this is the most common question I hear. “Sales are not as high as they were during the boom years but they are in keeping with pre-boom levels,” says Greg Hrabcak, president of the Columbus Board of Realtors. “That, in and of itself, is really good news, because theoretically, we should be experiencing much lower sales to compensate for the inflated numbers we saw back in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

As fewer homes were added to the market in September than in August, the number of homes for sale continued to decrease. With 16,598 homes on the market in September, the area’s inventory was at its lowest point since February,

“The housing market follows the same basic principles of supply and demand, so as inventory continues to decline from what were record high numbers just a few years ago, sales prices will increase and central Ohio will again see a market that is balanced in favor of both buyers and sellers,” Hrabcak added.

In central Ohio the housing market continues to balance. Coldwell Banker actually had 3.7% more sales in September 2008 than September 2007. Overall, the Columbus market had only 1.5% fewer sales in September 2008 versus September 2007.

The average sale price of a home in September was $160,755, down 4.5 percent year to date, but only 1.7 percent behind what the average home sold for last September.

Despite all of the negative news in the media, the housing market in Columbus is stable.

http://www.columbusrealtors.com/16482.cfm

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