City housing market one of hottest in U.S.
USA Today names Springfield one of the top five areas in nation.
The city of Springfield was listed as one of the hottest housing markets in the country by USA Today as a high demand for homes and a low inventory have created a tight market in the area.
The national publication released a list of what it deemed as the top 20 housing markets in the United States based on a number of housing trends.
Springfield secured a No. 5 spot on the list and surpassed other Ohio cities such as Columbus, which came in at No. 19, and Akron, which was last on the list.
The determination was made using the number of unique views per property as well as the number of days a listing stayed active on Realtor.com, according to USA Today.
The list used data from March and showed that homes on the market in the Springfield area are averaging 3.7 views per property. Those homes also were listed as being on the market for an average of 26 days with a median home price of $145,000.
Homes in the markets listed received up to four times the number of views per listing compared to the national average, according to USA Today.
The news organization added that homes in markets listed in the top 20 are selling 23 to 44 days more quickly than the typical property in the United States overall.
Affordable housing prices in Springfield as well as job opportunities in the area have played a part in the strong housing market, said Brock Bowen, the president of the Springfield Board of Realtors.
“It shows the strength of our community,” Bowen said of the high demand for homes in the city.
However, a major factor driving
the local housing market right now is that there is a low inventory of available homes in the city, Bowen added.
Bowen said the market has stayed the same compared to what was seen last fall as there are more buyers than sellers. He said all-time low interest rates have contributed to the increase in demand, and in some cases, prompted renters to buy homes.
He also added that the shortage in housing inventory has made some sellers reluctant to place their homes on the market due to trouble finding a new home to move into.
However, there are several projects in the city that aim to bring more housing to the area. One is a development called Bridgewater that aims to bring a total of 231 homes in Springfield.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said that it is the first major housing development in the city since the early 1990s. There is also a project, Center Street Townes, underway to bring 34 townhomes to downtown Springfield.
Heck said that the current housing market is also a result of longtime economic development efforts that make the city more marketable to homeowners.
He said that includes companies and manufacturers such as Silfex and Topre establishing operations in Springfield that have added jobs and brought more people into the city.