Warm weather and the start of Spring typically mark the beginning of real estate season. As people emerge from their winter hibernation, homes will inevitably sell faster and open houses will become much busier. But is this year going to be different? After all, home sales appear to be slowing. The double digit growth rate of 2016 is down to just 1% now, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the market is slowing down. In fact, it may mean the exact opposite!

As I’ve written before, Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in America, and we expect the population to grow by 50% over the next 20 years. The basic rules of supply and demand state that more buyers lead to more demand, which ultimately leads to a healthier real estate market. So why have home sales been stagnant in 2017?

The answer is low inventory. This is a term you may have heard before, and it simply refers to the number of homes available for sale at any given time. At this time last year, there were over 5,400 homes for sale, but this year there are only 4,300 – a 21% decrease. In Layman’s terms, this means people are moving to Columbus much faster than we originally expected. The reason more homes aren’t selling is because there simply aren’t enough homes available to buy. This explains why homes are selling faster and for more money than they ever have before. In areas such as Upper Arlington, Grandview, and Worthington, for instance, homes are typically selling in less than one week.

For sellers, this is the optimal time to list your home in order to get top dollar. For buyer’s, however, it can be very frustrating, as homes are selling faster than you can keep up with. When hiring a Realtor, be sure to find someone who is very responsive, and can get you into a new listing as soon as it comes on the market. Here at the Alfriend Group, we pride ourselves in customer service. If you ever need to see a home, just call or request a showing online at www.alfriendgroup.com/showings.

For a detailed report on your neighborhood, contact The Alfriend Group today at (614) 395-1776 or email us at info@alfriendgroup.com.