My experience at what I like to call the ‘longest light in Columbus’ is usually turning right (North) off E North Broadway on my way to show homes in Clintonville or take the kids to Whetstone Park for soccer practice or gymnastics or whatever the kid-thing-du-jour is.  While it takes a while to get through the light, especially at rush hour, it is just as quick as taking a residential street off Indianola.

Coming South from Clintonville on my way home, I can turn left from High or simply wait out the light–no problems. I love the housing stock on E North Broadway. Even my 11-year-old likes it, adding the street to her list of ’streets I’d like to live on’ that she keeps in the car just a few days ago.  While I would have hated to see those big old trees torn down and would have felt bad for the homeowners and their adjusted home values had the street been widened due to a turn lane or traffic circle, I didn’t think it’d ever happen and I’m glad to see that the Mayor let a neighborhood commission make that kind of decision.

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From today’s Dispatch…”Columbus transportation planners say placing a left-turn lane from E. North Broadway to N. High Street in Clintonville would reduce congestion.

Mayor Michael B. Coleman says the turn lane would improve the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhoods by curbing the number of motorists who cut through narrow side streets to head south on High. Read the rest of this entry »

There are 108 properties for sale in the Greater Short North.

This short north brick Italianate on West First has 3 bed, 1.5 baths, and 2670 sf. It sold $282,000 last month after 154 days on the market and a price drop of $47K from the original list price

13 more are in contract.  Only 30 of those 108 properties, however, are single family homes. Take out the top 2 and bottom 2 of those active homes for sale in the Short North and you’ll find a median price for single a single family home at about $152.50/square foot and an average of around $355,400 for an average 2422 square foot house that has been on the market for an average 124 days.

A couple of my favorites are 25 E 1st for price/size/location (Yes, it only has 1 full bath) and 106 E Lincoln 3,154 sf 3 bed, 2.5 bath with character all over the place.

The six listings in contract, as usual, had an average days on market closer to 30 and as little as 6 days for the 3 bed, 1 bath, needs work 200 West Fourth Street – a 1616 sq ft foreclosure on the market at $174,900 that had multiple offers.

In the last six months, 24 homes have sold in the Short North area which, for recap purposes here, includes Victorian Village, Italian Village, Harrison West and the Circles.  Those sold homes in the Short North averaged about $$273,000 or $137/sq ft. after an average 4 months on the market. Important to note–the average and median sales price/list price was 94%.

Of note, 7 of those homes, more than 1/4 of all the homes, were 2 bedroom homes averaging $147/sf. Remember, the smaller the home, the more it costs/sq ft.  The average 3 bedroom home in the Short North sold for about $150/sf or $282,145 for around 2000 sq ft.

Next up, an update on Short North Condos for sale and sold.

This Morning’s Press Release from the Central Ohio Board of Realtors:

Home sales remain elevated in central Ohio

(Dec. 21, 2011) November marks the fifth consecutive month of increased home sales in central Ohio this year after the first half of the year struggled to keep up with increased sales from 2010 due to the home buyer tax credits. According to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, 1,406 homes sold in November which is seven percent more than the previous year.

Additionally, the number of residential homes scheduled to close was up over 37 percent, from 1,341 last year to 1,843 last month (November 2011).

“We’re finding that sellers recognize the challenges of today’s market and are realistically pricing their homes to sell,” says Rick Benjamin, 2011 President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. “Buyers are responding well to the pricing and, of course, the record low interest rates. It’s still a great time to buy a home.”

Homes in central Ohio this year have sold for an average of $157,032, down 2.5 percent from the average sale price in 2010, but up over five percent from the average sale price in the first quarter of 2011. The average price of a home sold in November was $153,673, up 3.1 percent from the previous month ($149,082).

The number of homes listed for sale last month (1,949) is 20 percent less than listings added to the market in November 2010 (2,439). The total inventory of homes available for sale in central Ohio was 12,675 at the end of November, which is down 27.5 percent from one year ago. <– That’s the key phrase and why things are normalizing.

As a result, the month’s supply, a measure of inventory that estimates how many months it would take to sell the entire home inventory, fell 28.5 percent to 7.4, down from 10.3 last year.

“A healthy months supply for our market would be around 6.5. So the decrease in inventory is a positive sign of market recovery,” adds Benjamin. “Plus, based on the concept of supply and demand, when we have too many homes on the market, homes are more likely to sell for less.”

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

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