Market Updates

Schools Push Up Property Values

By Chris Harpster on March 22, 2012

I cannot imagine this is going over very well with the property owners… I was surprised to learn the schools had the power to challenge property values in Franklin County.

Home Sale Prices Strengthen in Central Ohio

By Chris Harpster on March 22, 2012

I find it interesting that available inventory for single family home and condos in Central Ohio has dipped down to roughly 11,000 units, (versus roughly 16,000 last year at this time) interest rates remain at records lows, yet demand still remains sluggish. In my opinion, rental rates still need to go up in order to make owning a home a more appealing investment.

Happy Holidays from Fannie & Freddie

By Valerie Ahmed on December 6, 2011

Happy holidays struggling homeowners! Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several large mortgage lenders have pledged not to foreclose on delinquent borrowers during the Christmas season. Read more from this Article

Central Ohio home sales up again in central Ohio

By Chris Harpster on November 21, 2011

The housing market is still adjusting to a variety of issues including; tighter lending guidelines, sellers’ mortgage / debt obligations, and weak demand. In spite of reduced prices and record low interest rates, I don’t expect values to move much at all. I would only recommend buying if you have significant equity for down payment or plan on staying in your home at least 5 years.

Central Ohio year to date market update

By Larry Schottenstein on April 12, 2011

Below is the current update for the Columbus Area Housing Market.  Sales overall dipped 1.1 percent compared to the same period last year.  The good news is the market is showing stability without the incentive of the “First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit”.  The bad news is that overall prices remain sluggish and most experts expect [...]

Young Home Buyers Will Lead Housing Market Recovery, Says NAHB

By MaryAnn Shoemaker on March 22, 2011

Generation X—young families and adults ages 31 to 45—are likely to lead the home-buying recovery as it gets underway, according to real estate experts who spoke at an educational webinar produced by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in partnership with Builder magazine. These potential home buyers are most likely to think it’s a [...]

Proposed Mortgage Industry Reforms—Waiting Predicted to be Costly

By Angela Murphy on February 24, 2011

You hear it everywhere today, the media is reporting about the current administration’s plan to reform the mortgage market and do away with or limit government supported programs, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, do you understand what this means to you

Home sales statistics for central Ohio in 2010

By Chris Harpster on January 20, 2011

These are very interesting times, with great opportunities. Recognizing them is the challenge.

This mess didn’t happen overnight and it is going to take some time to undo the damage that occurred during the boom years. I believe sales will remain steady and slowly improve. We should less inventory mainly due to the demand for rental homes.

Columbus, Ohio’s success story

By Larry Schottenstein on January 13, 2011

If it weren’t for central Ohio, the state would be really hurting: Columbus is Ohio’s sole “Big 8″ city to have grown substantially, up by 63 percent since 1960 to about 770,000 residents. http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/12/22/whered-you-go-ohio.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Do real estate taxes drop when the value drops?

By Larry Schottenstein on January 13, 2011

This is an interesting question with a complicated answer. On the surface one would think that in a market with declining values then real estate taxes would decrease. But they don’t because of something called the reduction factor.  The intent was to keep real estate taxes from increasing during the 1970′s when inflation caused soaring housing values.  [...]