Entries categorized as ‘Housing stats’
The 2nd quarter homes sales data is now available for our review. I confess, I thought the numbers would be better than they are. Some agents are reporting that they are busy but when quizzed, those are agents selling a fair number of REO’s or low priced homes. The more expensive homes are still selling very slowly.
The following graph is an update from one I created in May. I’ve also added more school districts for a better comparison to the northern Franklin county/southern Delaware county areas. Although many of the school districts sold substantially fewer homes than in 2008, the average price of the homes sold has not declined nearly as much. For instance, 23% fewer homes were sold in the Olentangy school district but the price that buyers paid was only 2% lower than last year. The Westerville district saw a similar disconnect with 29% fewer homes sold at an average price that was only 9% lower.
This might be a disappointment for buyers hoping to submit a low-ball offer and then have the seller accept it. The disappointment for sellers is that if they plan to hold firm with their pricing, they may have their home go unsold given the limited number of buyers.

Click to enlarge chart
The good news – for sellers – is that for the past two months, average home prices in most of these school districts has been increasing somewhat each month. The good news for buyers is that these prices are still below what they were a few years ago. The “experts” predict that the current market is a “reset” and that it will be quite some time before we return to the higher prices that we saw in 2003-2005.
Recommended reading for home buyers:
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Hilliard Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news, Jan-Jun housing stats comparison
If your home is for sale, you know how important showings can be to actually selling the home. Usually the more people that view your home, the better opportunity you have to sell. It’s a numbers game.
Not getting showings? Then something is wrong. The photos? The price? The home? The area? Yes, there are fewer buyers than in past years, especially for higher priced homes, but showings are still occurring. Perhaps, you’re wondering how your showings stack up against others.
My broker, and numerous other brokers in the CBR MLS system, subscribe to Centralized Showing Service (CSS) to simplify other agents being able to set up showings. CSS just added a new feature that allows member agents to review the stats for other homes vs our listings. We can sort the data several different ways and it will be useful when evaluating a listing price or potential necessary price reduction.
I thought you might like to see the price ranges of showings that have occurred so far this year for four of the key areas in southern Delaware County: Powell, Lewis Center, Galena and Delaware city. The pie slices equal the percentage distribution of the showings for the given area.
Showings on homes in the Powell area which encompasses the southwest portion of Delaware County.

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Showings on homes in the Lewis Center area which encompasses the southeast portion of Delaware County.

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Showings on homes in the Galena area which encompasses the east portion of Delaware County.

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Showings on homes in Delaware city which encompasses the central portion of Delaware County.

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Showings on homes in all FOUR areas.
While the four above charts show the distribution of showings within each area, the total number of showings for each area differs quite a bit. The chart below shows the relationship of the number of showings for each area. Powell had nearly half (48%) of the showings.

Click to enlarge chart
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Galena Ohio · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news
Given a choice, I would expect most home buyers would say they prefer to buy into a “stable” neighborhood where there’s not a lot of people moving out and in. They want to get to know their neighbors because there is a comfort level in that. They like stability for the kids their children come to know as playmates. Long term neighbors often watch out for each other becoming aware of what’s “normal” and what’s not … acting as an unstructured block watch group.
When I purchased my home, the neighborhood of 368 homes was still being developed. My home was in Phase 2 of ultimately 7 phases. At that early stage, I had no way of knowing whether or not it would be a stable neighborhood.
As it turns out, it is a VERY stable community. After 15 years, 43% of the homes are lived in by the original owners. 42% are lived in by the second owner, but many of those owners have lived in their home for 7-10 years. When it comes time for people to move, it’s quite common for them to express how much they really hate to leave but a new job opportunity or the need for a larger home, requires them to make their decision. That speaks volumes about the friendliness of the community.
I don’t know how the 43% compares to other communities, but it seems like it might be on the high side for 15-year old homes. When I was calculating the data for this analysis, I noticed that there was a substantial variance for the 13 streets. Two of the streets had over 80% original owners! Two other streets had only 20-some % original owners. I’m not sure why the disparity, but I suspect it is due to price. The high turnover streets tend to have lower prices so they may be appealing to first time buyers. The less transient streets have more expensive homes, thus, it’s possible those “move-up” buyers were buying their “last” home before going into a condo.
As for me, I’m one of the 2nd owners who has lived in the home for 12 years. Since The Murph has plenty of playmates, I think I’ll sit tight until I, too, decide a condo is the next step … or not.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Homes · Housing stats
Tagged: central ohio real estate market
I just updated the Sales By Subdivision section for home sales between Jan 1 thru June 20. I know quite a few of you have been checking to see if I had done it yet. Sorry I was so delinquent. That’s why I extended the date to June 20 rather than stopping at the end of May.
Categories: Central Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats
Tagged: central ohio real estate market, home sales by subdivision
Some of our subdivisions in Central Ohio aren’t doing too bad versus last year, but the home sales in total in the key school districts that I usually report on are still softer than last year. Far fewer homes have been sold Jan-Apr 2009 than were sold in the same period for 2008. However, the average prices in most of the districts are only slightly down. Remember, first-time buyers, who may buy less expensive homes, and flippers picking up REO or short-sale properties can reduce the average price of an area. If there are more of them than move-up buyers, the overall average will decline. That’s the problem with “averages”. Please, keep that in mind.
The following two graphs show the number of homes sold along side the average price (in thousands) for the YTD comparison of 2009 vs 2008. One chart shows the data for three school districts in Delaware County. The other chart shows the data for five districts that are primarily in Franklin County. The percent difference is provided for each of the appropriate columns.
Delaware County, Jan-Apr Homes Sold & Average Prices for 2009 vs 2008

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Franklin County, Jan-Apr Homes Sold & Average Prices for 2009 vs 2008

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Compared with the chart I provided in early May that showed the number of homes currently for sale, these results should indicate to buyers that they have a very good buying opportunity and to sellers that their home needs to be in top notch condition at very competitive prices.
It’s still a buyer’s market and with the very low mortgage rates, if a buyer is financially able to buy, they really should consider doing so. Feel free to call me if you have any questions.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Hilliard Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news, home sales by school district
The stock market has reported gains this morning based on good news from the National Association of Realtors®. You can read the good news here. Now, let’s hope other national media pick up on the story and stop reporting the “doom & gloom”.
- Nationally, Mar PENDING sales were up 3.2% from Feb and up 1.1% vs Mar 08.
- South was up 8.5% vs Feb and up 7.7% vs Mar 08.
- West was up 3.9% vs Feb and up 1.7% vs Mar 08.
- Northeast fell 5.7% vs Feb and was below Mar 08 by 8.2%.
- Midwest was down 1% vs Feb but up 8.2% vs Mar 08.
Categories: Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Media · Television
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news
Starting the first of May, there is still an ample supply of homes for sale to select from at a W-I-D-E range of prices. Here’s what is for sale as of this afternoon for a few school districts.
Homes For Sale as of May 1
| School District/Area |
# Homes |
Highest |
Lowest |
Average |
| Olentangy/Powell |
289 |
$2,450,000 |
$179,900 |
$546,444 |
| Olentangy/Lewis Center |
191 |
$998,900 |
$154,900 |
$327,001 |
| Olentangy/Galena |
77 |
$799,700 |
$254,520 |
$429,833 |
| Olentangy/43015 |
116 |
$7,899,000 |
$124,900 |
$632,194 |
| Dublin |
372 |
$3,250,000 |
$115,000 |
$562,860 |
| Big Walnut/Galena |
61 |
$4,700,000 |
$89,900 |
$485,367 |
| Worthington |
213 |
$995,000 |
$119,999 |
$293,958 |
| Delaware |
182 |
$775,000 |
$57,000 |
$182,594 |
Luxury Homes Over $1 Million
If you’re in the market for a luxury home, there are quite a few available in the above areas. There are 37 homes priced over $1 million in the Dublin school district. There are 16 such homes in the Powell portion of the Olentangy district. There are 13 homes priced over $1 million in the 43015 zip code in the Olentangy school district. And in the Big Walnut district there are 2 homes priced over $1 million.
If you’re ready to buy your next dream home, give me a call and we’ll find your next home.
Compare to April 1 homes for sale
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Worthington Ohio
Tagged: Olentangy school district, central ohio real estate market news, Worthington school district, Big Walnut school district, Dublin school district
Real estate agents who blog have been all abuzz today regarding a new I-Phone app from Zillow. The app allows someone driving through a neighborhood to gain detailed info on each home they are near … whether it is for sale or not. Some agents think this is a pretty cool app.
The home’s info is coming from public auditor’s site, so it’s available via a computer anyway. However, having it on an I-Phone really makes the info more immediate. Zillow will be promoting it as a benefit to buyers to learn what a home most recently sold for, what price the home is listed for (if for sale) the number of bedrooms, interior photos if it is for sale, with a phone number to call for the listing agent or the seller if they’re selling it themselves. Of course, the grossly inaccurate Zestimate will be shown as well.
Last June I wrote about Google’s Street View where cars with cameras drove streets taking a driving tour of the neighborhood. Zillow is taking that a step further with even more details on each home.
While this might be handy for legitimate buyers, I wonder if we, as regular homeowners, aren’t losing too much of our privacy. As we know, these things tend to be quickly picked up by “unsavory” characters.
How do you feel about having someone with an I-Phone sitting in a car outside your home pulling up the details of your home? What if your home is for sale … do you want them to be able to see your room arrangement, furniture, electronics, or where the kids’ rooms are?
This scares me. Does it bother you as well?
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Internet · Safety · Sellers · Technology
Tagged: Zillow, Google Street View
The Columbus Board of Realtors® issued their monthly press release today, with home sale figures for March.
Drum roll please …
“Home sales continued to increase in March, marking the highest number sold in a single month since October, and a sign that first-time buyers are starting to come off the fence.”
Gary Parsons, president of the CBR said, “It appears historically-low interest rates, realistic sellers and the $8000 tax credit are positively impacting our market.” There were 1,360 homes sold in March … a 21% increase over February sales.
Affordability is still at record levels. The average sales price increased in March to $143,287. That’s the highest average sales price this year. “Prices are still favorable, but as more inventory is absorbed, prices will continue to rebound,” Parsons said.
This weekend is supposed to be VERY NICE! It will be a great weekend to shop for a home. If you’re in search for a luxury home near Hoover Reservoir, be sure to come to my open house at 4570 Red Bank Rd, Galena 43021. Google Map
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Home buying process · Home prices · Home selling process · Homes · Housing stats · Realtor® selection · Sellers
Tagged: Columbus Board of Realtors®, central ohio real estate market news
Last Friday, I wrote an article for home buyers who are preparing to write a purchase offer. In it I mentioned that when preparing comps, the buyer and their agent should consider the style of home. It’s important to make apples-to-apples comparisons since there is or can be differences based on the style.
Ordinarily ranch homes cost the most per square foot even when they’re being built. Consider that a 2000 sq ft ranch can have twice the “footprint” that a 2000 sq ft 2-story does. Depending upon the design, it can require a larger lot and of course, land costs money. It also can have twice the roofing material, trusses, basement walls, etc. Because of the higher cost, fewer are built. However, with boomers now wanting the ease of living on one floor, the demand for this style may surpass supply … hence, maintaining a higher price per square foot.
The next style that is apt to sell at a higher price per sq foot is the home with an owner’s suite on the first floor. Again the boomers like this convenience, with extra space upstairs for when the grandkiddies come to visit.
The least expensive home to build is the 2-story with all bedrooms on the top floor. This style has the most demand so builders build LOTS of them and can do it very efficiently, thus, keeping costs lower. They also may require less land. If the supply of this style of home gets too high vs the demand, this style may see the most downward pressure on price.
To illustrate the differences to prices by style, I checked the home sales since January for just the Olentangy school district which encompasses most of southern Delaware County. I separated the Powell area from the Lewis Center – Galena areas, since prices differ.
Powell area by Style
| Style |
All BR’s Up |
1st flr MBR |
Ranch |
Split |
| # Homes |
28 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
| Avg Sq Ft |
2984 |
3790 |
2477 |
3420 |
| List $ |
$323,204 |
$486,102 |
$300,887 |
$415,766 |
| Sold $ |
$307,252 |
$449,256 |
$285,975 |
$407,697 |
| % of List $ |
95% |
93% |
95% |
97% |
| $/sq ft |
$108 |
$118 |
$116 |
$117 |
Lewis Center, Galena area by Style
| Style |
All BR’s Up |
1st flr MBR |
Ranch |
Split |
| # Homes |
48 |
11 |
3 |
12 |
| Avg Sq Ft |
2548 |
2955 |
3200 |
3450 |
| List $ |
$262,161 |
$303,202 |
$281,266 |
$326,782 |
| Sold $ |
$251,186 |
$287,143 |
$268,300 |
$314,223 |
| % of List $ |
96% |
95% |
96% |
94% |
| $/sq ft |
$99 |
$99 |
$100 |
$89 |
Regardless of the area you’re considering, it’s a good idea to do a similar evaluation for the home or homes you are considering. Of course, you don’t want to overpay for a home, but you also don’t want to offer too low of a price that might cause your offer to be rejected. Being armed with this complete evaluation will help you be a smarter buyer.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Galena Ohio · Home buying process · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news, popular housing styles
In Monday’s post, I advised home buyers to put on their running shoes to get ready to buy a home this Spring. There is an ample supply of homes to select from at a W-I-D-E range of prices. Here’s what is for sale as of this afternoon for a few school districts.
Homes For Sale as of April 1
| School District/Area |
# Homes |
Highest |
Lowest |
Average |
| Olentangy/Powell |
273 |
$2,450,000 |
$189,900 |
$548,272 |
| Olentangy/Lewis Center |
189 |
$998,900 |
$169,700 |
$319,929 |
| Olentangy/Galena |
74 |
$799,700 |
$149,900 |
$431,554 |
| Olentangy/43015 |
113 |
$7,899,000 |
$159,900 |
$634,144 |
| Dublin |
348 |
$3,250,000 |
$109,900 |
$555,604 |
| Big Walnut/Galena |
123 |
$4,700,000 |
$37,000 |
$433,771 |
| Worthington |
200 |
$899,900 |
$119,900 |
$279,352 |
| Delaware |
188 |
$775,000 |
$12,500 |
$178,749 |
Luxury Homes Over $1 Million
If you’re in the market for a luxury home, there are quite a few available in the above areas. There are 33 homes priced over $1 million in the Dublin school district. There are 18 such homes in the Powell portion of the Olentangy district. There are 14 homes priced over $1 million in the 43015 zip code in the Olentangy school district. And in the Big Walnut district there are 4 homes priced over $1 million.
After you have your running shoes on, give me a call and we’ll find your next home.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Home buying process · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Worthington Ohio
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news
I just received GREAT NEWS from NBC4 on Twitter.
Nightly News doing a week of “good news”. Brian Williams asked for ideas. We like the idea, have any ideas for us to do the same?
Needless to say, I tweeted back my input on positive ideas they could consider for the real estate market. We need to get the media to switch their focus from reporting only on the negative without trying to look for the positives. When they report only the negative, they are contributing and could actually cause further bad news. It’s about time they take some responsibility for their actions. Glad to see NBC is stepping up to the plate to do that.
Some of the points I tweeted back were:
- 92-95% of homeowners are PAYING their mortgages.
- The $8,000 1st Time Tax Credit is a great program for new buyers, especially considering the low home prices and low interest rates.
- When I updated the average prices for the school districts (on my web site), 20% of the districts increased their average price since January’s report.
- People don’t buy homes like they buy stocks. They buy them to LIVE in.
When I did the TV interview last week with ABC, I hoped to also reflect that positive take. While I don’t know how the interview will get edited when it airs later this week, I’m hoping the snippets will reflect that positive take.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Central Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Media · Television
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news, NBC4
It’s really easy to get totally depressed if we listen to the news. It seems every new day brings more upsets – at least that’s how the media presents it. Bad news sells so they don’t bother to look at the “bright side”. They paint a horrible picture then talk about consumer confidence being down. They’ve been doing this for over a year.
Well, I’m only one voice in the wilderness, and I try to remain positive. I like to look for the silver lining in the cloud. Doing that has served me well over the years and opened doors or led to opportunities that I otherwise might not have found.
Here’s how I’m trying to turn my mindset around:
- The stock market has returned to late 1990 levels. How did I feel then? I don’t recall being concerned that the Dow was in the 6’s at THAT time, so why should I be concerned now? I don’t recall the media being in a Chicken Little mode then. Why are they now?
- Only 5-8% of homeowners are in trouble with their mortgages. That means that 92-95% of homeowners are NOT in trouble. Why does the media make the minority sound as if they are the majority when they are not?
- In 1997, I purchased my home at 8.5% interest rate. How did I feel about that rate? I’ve owned three homes in the past 30 years and bought all of them when rates were in the 8’s. The rates are now in the high 5’s to low 6’s. That’s a lot better than it used to be, so I should feel good right?
- If I were to put my home on the market today, it would likely sell for 20-25% more than I paid for it in 1997. That’s certainly a good thing and it makes up for the stock portfolio being flat with 1997.
- During the interim 12 years, I’ve benefited from tax deductions to my mortgage interest and property taxes giving me even more benefit.
- I’ve been making my mortgage payments for 12 years, and refinanced in the early 2000’s so my payment is less than what I would pay for a small 2BR apartment. The equity I have is most definitely a good thing.
When I purchased my homes, I didn’t do so with any thought to the rate of return I would receive from them. We don’t buy homes in the same way we buy stocks or mutual funds. We buy homes with the dreams of living in them, raising families, entertaining friends, having the in-laws for holiday dinners, etc. So why does the media treat a home purchase as if it were a stock purchase. Only investment speculators buy houses that way, not ordinary people.
So my “GLASS IS HALF FULL” outlook is that I’m going to think as I did when it was 1997. Then I’ll either ignore the media or I’m going to turn off the friggin’ TV.
Besides, just think … I’ll be 12 years YOUNGER! Nothing wrong with that!
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Central Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Housing stats · Media · Television
I’m the chair for the CBR’s Tech User Committee. At the start of yesterday’s meeting, I ask the 40-some agents in attendance if their business was thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or were they working with “fence-sitters”. Probably a good half of them indicated a “THUMBS-UP”. They’re busy! A few others said they were working with the fence-sitters. Almost all agents felt that March was going to be a busy month … when the weather is less nasty.
Last night I received an email from the CBR President, giving January statistics for the entire MLS system.
- 266 fewer homes were sold Jan 2009 vs Jan 2008. The Pres attributed it to the weather and the economy. (remember how bad/cold the weather was in December!)
- More than 1,000 homes went into contract during Jan 2009, an indication that sales may be increasing due to the the 1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.
- In January, there were 17.4% fewer homes for sale than in Jan 2008. That means a major reduction to inventory which is needed to create balance to supply-demand.
- The average price of homes sold in Jan was $137,446. This could be due to sales of homes in trouble financially.
Busy Realtors® … low inventory … low interest rates … appealing 1st Time Homebuyer program … flat prices … ALL POSITIVE SIGNS!
I’ve written before how the media tends to put negative spins on stories because people are more apt to read those stories. When they do this, they are really doing a disservice to the industry or people they’re covering. Here’s how a local NBC reporter wrote up the above information. There are so many other headlines she could have chosen that would have better helped the local market of which she represents. And, this is from a station that is currently running a promo of “Where Accuracy Matters”.
We need the media to step up to the plate to help the nation OUT of some of the problems, not continue to propel us downward! OK, I’ll step off my soapbox now.
Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.
Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Columbus Ohio · Franklin County · Home buying process · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Media · Realtors® · Sellers · Television
Tagged: central ohio real estate market news, economy stimulus, NBC 4