Central Ohio Housing Market Sees Sales Drop in December

The Central Ohio housing market saw a 9 percent drop in the number of houses sold in December, while home sales for 2006 were 5 percent below 2005’s totals.

The Columbus Board of Realtors said Wednesday that 1,658 residences were sold in the region last month, down from 1,829 sold in December 2005.

These results come despite an average sales price last month that was down 2.8 percent - to $168,863 - a year earlier. It appears as though Ohio mortgage applicants wish to wait for prices to drop even lower before bidding.

Houses in thre region spent an average of 111 days on the market, compared with 93 days in December 2005.

The total number of homes listed for sale in the Columbus area was up 11.6 percent to 15,613, from 13,995 in 2005, but the number of new listings added during the month was down 10.4 percent to 2,302, from 2,570.

For the year, the number of houses sold fell to 26,251, from 27,493 in 2005. Most home mortgage brokers in the area reported a lull in business.

The average sales price last year was $174,688, with houses spending an average 97 days on the market. In 2005, the average home price was $177,978, with houses spending about 86 days on the market.