Central Ohio home sales turn around

The number of central Ohio homes for sale in September broke a 91-month streak of yearover-year inventory declines, according to the Columbus Realtors trade group.

There were 5,589 homes for sale last month, up 2.6 percent from last September.

“For ninety-one straight months, inventory was declining and favored the sellers while discouraging buyers in some price points,” Columbus Realtors President Sara Walsh said in a news release. ”This slight supply shift may encourage buyers to get back in the home search arena while interest rates are still very good.”

In central Ohio, 2,593 homes were sold during September, an 11.4 percent decrease from last September. The average price was $232,228 — nearly 10 percent higher than last September.

About 20 percent fewer homes were added to the market in September compared with August’s 3,039.

“It’s not uncommon to see new listings begin to taper off as the temperature drops,” Walsh said in the release.

Nationally, home sales fell to an annual rate of 5.15 million in September, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist with that group, attributes the decline in sales to rising interest rates.

“This is the lowest existing home sales level since November 2015,” Yun said in a news release. “A decade’s high mortgage rates are preventing consumers from making quick decisions on home purchases. All the while, affordable home listings remain low, continuing to spur underperforming sales activity across the country.”

The median sale price of U.S. homes in September rose 4.2 percent from a year ago to $258,100, and nearly half of the homes sold in September were on the market for less than a month.