THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022 9:50 AM
2021 CENTRAL OHIO HOUSING ACTIVITY BREAKS RECORDS
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(Jan. 20, 2022 – Columbus Ohio) Fervent buyer demand in central Ohio, driven by pandemic-induced changes to housing needs and preferences, reached extraordinary levels in 2021. This increased competition for homes resulted in multiple offer situations which drove prices significantly higher for the year.
As a result, home prices and sales reached record highs while inventory and market time set record lows.
“The number of homes listed for sale last year was almost 11 percent higher than in 2020,” said Sue Van Woerkom, 2022 President of Columbus Realtors. “Yet seller activity simply couldn’t rise enough to meet the significant increase in demand.”
“We actually had more listings in 2021 than in any year since 2010, when the country was recovering from the stock market and housing crash of 2008, and far too many homeowners were forced to sell their homes.”
Home sales were up 9.1 percent to end the year at 36,489.
The overall median sales price increased12.1 percent to $260,000 for the year. Single Family home prices were up 12.6 percent compared to last year, and Condo home prices were up 14.3 percent.
Sellers received, on average, 102.2 percent of their list price at sale, up 2.4 percent from 2020.
Forbearance efforts by the government and lenders continued for much of the year, limiting distressed sales activity once again. In 2021, the percentage of closed sales that were either foreclosure or short sale decreased by 29.2 percent to finish the year at 1.2 percent of the market. Foreclosure and short sale activity may increase in 2022, though the strong gains in equity seen by most homeowners in the last few years will help to limit the number of distressed sales.
New construction activity, while strong, remains limited by a combination of labor and supply shortages, rising material costs, and a regulatory and operational environment that makes it difficult to scale quickly.
“The ongoing pandemic makes it difficult to predict what housing activity will look like in 2022,” added Van Woerkom. “Many economists are forecasting that mortgage rates will rise slightly this year, so housing affordability will remain an important factor to watch.”
“But we’re optimistic. Our strong job and economic climate continue to attract folks to central Ohio. And our builders are working feverishly to help provide more housing.”
Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 9,700 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development, and more.
To start your property valuation visit https://www.lpohio.com/home-valuation/
The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Muskingum, Perry and Ross counties.
To view residential properties for sale, visit https://www.lpohio.com/
To view commercial properties for sale or lease, visit COCIE.org.
Press Note: If you would like to interview a representative from Columbus REALTORS®, please contact Marqué Bressler-Preininger to set up an interview. (614) 563-2562
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