Home sales, lot sales and building permits all up in Central Ohio

Posted: 8/2/2012

Columbus Board of REALTORS®

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According to the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio (BIA), the latest BINNS report for the first half of 2012 showed sales of new single family homes were up 17 percent with 854 sales vs. 733 in 2011.

Single family lot sales were up 22 percent to 506 sales from 414 in 2011. And single-family building permits were up 24 percent with 1,293 permits issued vs. 1,039 in 2011.

Condo activity was also elevated during the first six months of the year. Condominium sales were up 9 percent (401 sales in 2012 vs. 369 in 2011) and permits were up 50 percent (387 in 2012 vs. 258 in 2011).

The 1,111 multi-family condo permits issued January through June of 2012 represented a 104 percent over the previous year.

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® reported closed sales for first and second quarter were up 18 percent from 2011 and in contracts were up 58 percent. The median sales price of a home sold in 2012 was $135,000, a 6.3 percent increase over last year. The current central Ohio supply of inventory is at 6.6 months, down 43 percent from last summer.

Last week, the Columbus Dispatch reported sales-tax collections for the first part of the year in Franklin County were the best they’ve been since 2007 - up 7 percent.

The Dispatch report also indicated it was the best second-quarter collection in five years, beating out other surrounding counties in Ohio, which together averaged an increase of 6.3 percent.