June was an interesting month in the Central Ohio real estate world. While most of June stayed true to the low home inventory trends we've experienced since March, there was a huge spike in the number of new listings during the final week of the month. While the total number of new listings was down 10.4% compared to June 2019, the final week of June saw a 15% increase, a trend that unfortunately began to reverse itself after the 4th of July.
Low inventory has been the overwhelming trend of 2020 so far. According to the Columbus Board of Realtors, "Unsold inventory is at a 1.1 months supply which means that, if no more inventory were added to the market, it would take just over one month to sell all listed homes based on the current sales pace. This is the lowest in the history of central Ohio housing activity."
Homes are selling at record paces and for record prices. June 2019 was one of the best months to sell your home in Central Ohio on record, and last month put those numbers to shame. The average price per square foot increased by 6.2% to $146, average sales price increased by 4.1% to $273,020, and total inventory relative to the rate of sales decreased by 39%.
Areas impacted most by this trend include some of the typical Columbus hotspots such as Grandview, the Short North, and Westerville. But due to recent work-from-home trends, we also saw massive surges in rural areas such as Johnstown, Granville, and the Buckeye Valley School District.
With interest rates near all-time lows and little signs of COVID-19 letting up anytime soon, we anticipate these trends to continue for the remainder of the year. But how long will this last? There is still a lot of pent up supply from people who want to sell their homes but won't due to COVID-19, so it's just a matter of time before the seller's market changes course. Interest rates are also at unsustainably low levels that many predict will rebound to the 4-5% range in the near future. As they say in the world of investing, a bull market can't last forever.
For more information on Central Ohio real estate or on how to save thousands of dollars when selling your home, visit www.commoncents614.com or call 614-706-1912.