I’m finding that the market continues to be relatively active, more so than past years at this 4th quarter time of the year.  More listings, more showings, more buyer actively looking and even beginning their searches late in the year.

Here is what the Board had to say about last month’s numbers. Note the bold orange quote from the Board President about contract failures…

“Home sales in central Ohio home have exceeded 2010 for the last four months according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. The 1,543 homes sold in October marks an 8.6 percent increase over the 1,421 homes sold in October of 2010. Home sales in September were up 16.6 percent compared to the year before.

Year-to-date, home sales (January through October 2011) are only 2.1 percent behind 2010 and closing the gap.  Homes put in contract last month (1,379) were up 46 percent from a year ago making October the sixth straight month of increased contracts.

“The number of homes put into contract have been up for the last several months,” said Rick Benjamin,2011 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®.  “However, contract failures – cancellations caused largely by declined mortgage applications or failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price continue to be a problem for central Ohio buyers.”

Total housing inventory at the end of October fell 23.3 percent to 13,827 existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.1-month supply at the current sales pace, up from an 8.7-month supply in September.

The average sale price for single family homes and condominiums year to date is $157,327, down 2.4 percent from homes sold January through October 2010.

“Affordability conditions this year have been the most favorable on record since 1970,” said Benjamin. “As mortgage interest rates continue to remain low, more first time home buyers, investors and move up buyers are being drawn into the housing market.”

Click here to view the October sortable housing market report by area.”

Click here to view the entire central Ohio Local Market Update.

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware,

Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign,

Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.

(Oct. 21, 2011) Home sales in central Ohio were up almost 17 percent in September making three consecutive months of home sale increases. According to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, 1,719 homes sold in September which is 16.6 percent more than the previous year’s 1,474 sales.

In addition to the increase in sales, homes that were put in contract also increased by over 58 percent last month. Year-to-date home sales (January through September 2011) are still trailing 2010 by 3.7 percent.

“As home sales for the last three months have surpassed 2010, the year-to-date sales statistics continue to narrow the gap between this year and last year when the home buyer tax credits were in effect,” says Rick Benjamin, 2011 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Although many agents are reporting increased activity, time will tell whether that activity translates into actual home sales.”

The median sale price for home sold during the month of September was $128,000, up from $127,500 in September 2010, but the median sale price is still 3.8 percent behind last year’s average for the months of January through September.

The month’s supply, a measure of inventory that estimates how many months it would take to sell the entire home inventory, fell 17.2 percent to 8.7 percent from 10.5 percent last year.

“A balanced market for central Ohio is around 6½ or 7 months supply,” said Benjamin. “So the decrease is one more positive sign for central Ohio housing.”

Posted: 10/20/2011

Click here to view the September sortable housing market report by area.
Click here to view the entire central Ohio Local Market Update.

It seems that some Columbus real estate agents were confused on how to specify designations regarding single family homes or condos and whether or not they are attached.

There are lots of abbreviations on the Columbus MLS and some are more obvious than others. Many of these aren’t seen very often out in the public sphere but they are listed on anything sent from an agent to a buyer or seller coming directly from the MLS.

DOM, for example, means Days on Market.  Here is the Columbus Board’s explanation of SFD, SFA, COD and COA….

The Residential Property Type field has been updated. The labels for SFD, SFA, COD, COA have been changed to better describe what each item represents.

FREESTANDING means that the property does not have another unit connected to it. That is, there is NO “Shared Wall” between the 2 units. This typically applies to single family stand alone residences (SFD), but can also apply to condos (COD) that do not butt against one another but are, indeed, “freestanding” on their lot.

SHARED WALL indicates that the property does indeed share a wall with another unit. This means the the property is in direct and permanent contact with the “shared wall” of at least 1 other unit directly adjacent to it. This may be the wall of the garage or of the domicile, or both. This is typical of shared wall condo units (COA) but can also apply to single family units that share a wall (SFA).

SINGLE FAMILY is defined as a property that owns the ground on which it sits. Even if the property shares a wall with another, the lot is owned by the homeowner. (Verify on county auditor website.)

CONDO can be defined as a property that does not own the ground on which is sits. The condo association generally owns the entire grounds and the condo sits on that ground (This should be verified on county auditor’s website.)