The radio has been blasting the NAR release concerning July year-over-year drop in sales to the tune of around 29% all day long in conjunction with bits of an interview with the National Association of Realtor’s economist who said, in a nutshell, that inventory is very high and if the economy doesn’t continue on an upswing and the Country reaches 10% unemployment (officially) then the so called ‘housing recovery’ could be in jeopardy.

You know the adage, “As Columbus goes, so goes the country.” ? Well, according the Columbus Board of  Realtors, although the first half of 2010 saw home sales increase up to 39 percent over 2009, July saw a decrease of 28.6 percent in sales.

The ‘natural readjustment of the Columbus Real Estate market’

“The expiration of the homebuyer tax credits created incredible activity last spring,” said Sue Lusk-Gleich, President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, “so we’re not surprised by the natural readjustment of the market over the last couple months.”

Year to date Columbus Real Estate sales are still 11.4 percent higher than last year

There were 1,468 homes sold in July compared to 2,047 sales in July of 2009. However, year to date sales (January through July) are still 11.4 percent higher than last year.

Central Ohio’s inventory is on the rise with a nearly 12 percent increase in the number of homes on the market last month compared to a year ago. Almost half of these16,626 homes are listed for $150,000 or below and 2,980 of them are condos.

In addition, last week marked the ninth straight week that 30-year-fixed mortgage rates have met or set a new record low, according to Freddie Mac.

“The increase in inventory is an indication of homeowners wanting to take advantage of the low interest rates to move up,” said Lusk-Gleich. “And these are ideal conditions for investment and first-time buyers as well.”