(January 25, 2006) Central Ohio home sales again outpaced last year for the fifth consecutive year. Over the past twelve months, REALTORS® sold 27,493 residential homes, 3.1 percent more than the 26,660 homes sold in 2004 according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. This increase follows several years of sales ranging from 7.2 to 9.7 percent higher than the previous year. “It’s been a breathtaking millenium thus far,” says CBR’s new 2006 President Chris Reese. “Year after year, experts had predicted a slow down in home sales. And year after year, buyers just didn’t stop coming. REALTORS® have hardly had time to catch their breath!” The average sale price of $177,978 in 2005 showed a 4.4 percent increase over 2004 prices. When looking at the last five years, homes have appreciated 18.5 percent. “That means a home purchased in 2000 for $150,000 is now worth $183,796” says Reese. “Keep in mind this is an average and everyone’s home will not appreciate at the same rate. Still, the argument that real estate is an excellent investment is evidenced by such a strong and continuous increase in value.” Noteworthy in 2005 was the hefty increase in inventory – higher than any other year on record. There were approximately 13,995 residential listings on the market at the end of 2005 - over 20 percent more listed homes than at the end of 2004. Of these, 11,958 were single family homes (18.4 percent higher than a year ago) and 2,037 were condos (30.5 more than one year ago), many of which were newly constructed. However, even with the increase in the number of homes on the market, REALTORS® were still able to get sellers an average of 97.5 percent of the average list price of $182,504. According to Reese, “With this level of inventory, it’s a buyer’ market right now. Mortgage interest rates, although predicted to rise, are still under 6 percent. If you’re looking to buy a home, don’t wait – now’s the time!” The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow and Union Counties and parts of Champagne, Clark, Licking, Fairfield, Knox, Logan, Marion and Pickaway Counties. To view residential and most of the commercial MLS listings, visit www.Realtor.com providing over 1.7 million homes every day. | | Additional Statistics
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