Columbus housing inventory on the rise, prices remain high

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- While the pandemic caused housing prices to skyrocket, real estate experts said the lasting issue is now tied to inventory and not COVID-19.

In central Ohio, more homes are creeping back on the market and prices are staying sky high with no sign of relief. Columbus realtors said that buyers and sellers are now experiencing the new housing market normal.

"It's a little bit more intense, because we have so much demand and so little supply, that the areas that were high demand before are exponential now and areas that maybe didn't see as much high demand and had affordable prices those are very in demand now," Said Re/Max Winner Realtor Katie Crocco.

Crocco has been a realtor in central Ohio for 21 years, and she said everyone is adjusting to the post-pandemic market, which is offering high prices and not as many options.

Patti Brown-Wright with Columbus Realtors said, this summer, they are seeing more homes on the market with "1.1 months of supply" for sale in May. That means, if no other homes went on the market, it would take a little more than a month to sell all of those homes before none were left.

"This has been a good increase since the pandemic," said Brown-Wright. "So, we're hoping that it continues to increase over the next couple of months."

Prices, on the other hand, aren’t getting better with the median sales price in May at $320,000, up 3% from last year.

"We're continuing to grow, and people are interested in buying and selling in the Columbus area," Brown-Wright said.

Crocco said people and businesses are moving here and there is a lack of housing.

"There's no easy way to swallow that pill. It happens whenever anybody grows. So you talk to markets that have already been through this. And it's unfortunate but is the nature of growth. So we find places for everyone, you just may have to manage your expectations," Crocco said.