COLUMBUS (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST) — Homes in Central Ohio continue to sell faster and for more than they had a decade ago.

The time it took a home to sell during May dropped to its lowest point on record, according to Columbus Realtors. Last month, listed homes took an average of two weeks to sell, a speedy turnaround driven in large part by low inventory.

Ten years ago, there were 88% more homes for sale than today. Home sales are now 50% higher, according to the organization.

That lack of supply and rising prices could be cooling off the market, Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers said in a statement.

May’s sales level, while still high, was down recent peaks as more homebuyers are finding the current market in many areas too competitive or too expensive, according to Ayers. Unless more supply enters the market this summer, transactions could continue to wane despite signs of continued strong demand for single-family housing, he said.

Compared to May 2020, the average sale price jumped nearly 22% and the median sale price rose from $233,000 to $275,000, an 18% increase, according to Columbus Realtors.

A decade ago, homes under $350,000 accounted for a large majority, more 90%, of homes sold. At that time, those homes took an average of 109 days to sell.

Last month, homes in that price range totaled about 68% of the sales, and they sold in an average of 11 days.

At the other end of the spectrum, there were 13 homes over $700K that sold in May of 2011 and it took an average of 251 days for them to sell, according to Columbus Realtors. This year, there were 137 homes sold in that price range and they sold in an average of 27 days.

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