Columbus Dispatch USA TODAY NETWORK
The median price of a central Ohio home jumped 16.5% in September from a year ago as demand for homes continues to explode during the coronavirus pandemic.
Home buyers paid a median of $240,000 for a Columbus-area home during the month, $34,000 more than they paid last September, according to the Columbus Realtors trade association.
In other areas of Ohio, especially smaller towns, the unprecedented run-up in prices is even more dramatic. In the Knox County, Lancaster and Portsmouth areas, average sale prices leapt more than 30% in September over a year ago, according to Ohio Realtors.
In the Lancaster area, buyers paid an average of $211,294 for a home last month. A year ago, they paid $162,339. Through the first nine months of the year, average sales prices in the Lancaster area have jumped 42%.
Skyrocketing prices showed no sign of dampening demand: 3,394 central Ohio homes sold in September, 20.2% more than a year ago. Statewide, sales rose 18.1% from a year ago.
Supply can’t keep up with demand. At the end of September, 2,803 homes were listed in the Columbus area — almost half the number listed a year ago.
“While historically low mortgage rates have helped bolster interest in the market in the near term, we’re also hopeful that we’ll see a rise in the number of homes listed for sale and an increase in home construction to meet ongoing buyer demands,” Ohio Realtors President Chris Reese said.
Competition for homes in more affordable parts of central Ohio is fierce.
The median price of a home in Whitehall during September was $132,250, up 33% from $99,000 just one year ago.
In Pickerington, the median price was up 18.2% and in Reynoldsburg, the median was up 17.4%.
That’s assuming buyers can even find a home. By the end of September, only 23 homes were listed in Reynoldsburg — one-third the number that sold during the month. Reynoldsburg homes that sold in September found a buyer in an average of eight days.
Throughout central Ohio, the average home that sold in September had been on the market 21 days. zNationally, 71% of homes that sold had been listed for less than a month.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, said stay-at-home workers continue to juice demand, along with mortgage rates that now average 2.8% for a 30-year loan.
“I would attribute this jump to record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers in the marketplace, including buyers of vacation homes, given the greater flexibility to work from home,” he said.
Yun noted that homes in vacation destinations such as Lake Tahoe, the Jersey shore and the Myrtle Beach areas have jumped 34% in the past year.
Experts see little relief for home buyers ahead.
“Consumers’ demand for ‘space’ and lower interest rates should continue to fuel the thriving housing market,” said Scott Murray, an economist at Nationwide. jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker