There's been some off-topic conversations in various threads about Columbus' housing market. Thought I'd create this thread for those discussions. Some recent articles:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180311/central-ohio-homebuilders-far-shy-of-meeting-high-demand

 

This article from today shows how new builds lag demand, because they're too expensive to build for various reasons; including low density requirements in many suburban communities.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/business/20171207/columbus-pegged-as-hot-real-estate-market-for-2018

 

https://columbusrealtors.com/Uploads/Documents/Stats/18-01_HsgRpt.pdf

 

That report shows how hot the entire central Ohio market is.

 

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/fact_sheet/multifamily-metro-outlook-quarterly-columbus.pdf

 

That report shows rental supply is meeting demand. We'll see what this summer's report shows.

There's been some off-topic conversations in various threads about Columbus' housing market. Thought I'd create this thread for those discussions. Some recent articles:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180311/central-ohio-homebuilders-far-shy-of-meeting-high-demand

 

This article from today shows how new builds lag demand, because they're too expensive to build for various reasons; including low density requirements in many suburban communities.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/business/20171207/columbus-pegged-as-hot-real-estate-market-for-2018

 

https://columbusrealtors.com/Uploads/Documents/Stats/18-01_HsgRpt.pdf

 

That report shows how hot the entire central Ohio market is.

 

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/fact_sheet/multifamily-metro-outlook-quarterly-columbus.pdf

 

That report shows rental supply is meeting demand. We'll see what this summer's report shows.

 

In another thread, there was the suggestion that banks are growing more reluctant to finance new housing in Columbus because there is concern that the area is being overbuilt.  That view fully contradicts the articles here, which support that the lack of financing is actually hurting the market and may even be causing an area-wide shortage. It seems there is a pretty obvious disconnect here. 

More about this issue (from a Dispatch-owned but non-paywall site):

 

http://www.columbusalive.com/entertainment/20180307/local-politics-housing-challenges-on-horizon

There's been some off-topic conversations in various threads about Columbus' housing market. Thought I'd create this thread for those discussions. Some recent articles:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180311/central-ohio-homebuilders-far-shy-of-meeting-high-demand

 

This article from today shows how new builds lag demand, because they're too expensive to build for various reasons; including low density requirements in many suburban communities.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/business/20171207/columbus-pegged-as-hot-real-estate-market-for-2018

 

https://columbusrealtors.com/Uploads/Documents/Stats/18-01_HsgRpt.pdf

 

That report shows how hot the entire central Ohio market is.

 

https://www.fanniemae.com/content/fact_sheet/multifamily-metro-outlook-quarterly-columbus.pdf

 

That report shows rental supply is meeting demand. We'll see what this summer's report shows.

 

In another thread, there was the suggestion that banks are growing more reluctant to finance new housing in Columbus because there is concern that the area is being overbuilt.  That view fully contradicts the articles here, which support that the lack of financing is actually hurting the market and may even be causing an area-wide shortage. It seems there is a pretty obvious disconnect here. 

 

The overbuilt part and the comments on the other thread were more for multi-family and the apartment sector. Single family was not meant to be included in that assessment on the other threads.

 

There is an affordable housing issue in many markets now that typically is handled by the multi-family side of things. There was softening at the upper end of the apartment market from a lender perspective which caused some of the financing concerns.

Group looking to preserve affordable housing near Nationwide Children’s Hospital

By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch

Posted: April 5, 2018 at 3:53 PM

 

As a neighborhood near Nationwide Children’s Hospital redevelops, a group is working with Columbus leaders on ways to preserve mixed-income housing in the South Side area.  The areas include part of the Southern Orchards neighborhood just south of the hospital, the Driving Park neighborhood east of the hospital and the Near East Side north of the hospital and Interstate 70, into which Nationwide Children’s is expanding.

 

Columbus was one of four cities chosen to be part of the most-recent class of the Daniel Rose Land Use Fellows by the Rose Center for Public Leadership.  Columbus; Salt Lake City, Utah; Richmond, Virginia; and Tucson, Arizona, are receiving technical assistance from the Urban Land Institute and the National League of Cities.

 

A team of urban development and design professionals has been in Columbus this week interviewing community and business leaders, city officials and others to learn more about the neighborhood.  A public presentation with preliminary recommendations is scheduled for Friday at the Michael B. Coleman Governmental Center.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180405/group-looking-to-preserve-affordable-housing-near-nationwide-childrens-hospital

^ Business First report about that group's recommendations:

 

---

A dozen experts studied Columbus' income disparities and affordable housing issues. Here's what they suggest:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/06/a-dozen-experts-studied-columbus-income.html

Columbus Business First has complied all their recent articles about Central Ohio affordable housing issues onto one location on their website:

 

One Community: A closer look at the affordable housing problem

From Realtor.com - the Columbus housing market moved into the top 10 list of "Hottest Real Estate Markets in America" for March 2018.  A hot real estate (housing) market is defined by Realtor.com as "metropolitan centers where homes get the most listing views on our site and spend the fewest days on the market:

 

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/hottest-real-estate-markets-america-march-2018/

 

Why's everyone moving to Midland? Lots of new oil jobs?

Why's everyone moving to Midland? Lots of new oil jobs?

 

I can't imagine it would be anything else. Is there any other reason to move there?-isn't it just an oil town and nothing else? I have never heard of it mentioned for anything but the oil business and it's tallish downtown(for a smaller city)-surrounded by blocks of parking lots of course-it is in Texas! lol.

 

Strange looking list. Colorado has one, Texas has one, Boston is in. The rest are in areas of California. Not really surprising.

 

But then us????

Strange looking list. Colorado has one, Texas has one, Boston is in. The rest are in areas of California. Not really surprising.

 

But then us????

 

Take a look at the Top 20 list at the link.  Buffalo is #18!

6 of the top 10 are in the Bay Area (counting Sacramento, which no doubt is receiving a lot of people fleeing the Bay for cheaper housing).

Strange looking list. Colorado has one, Texas has one, Boston is in. The rest are in areas of California. Not really surprising.

 

But then us????

 

Take a look at the Top 20 list at the link.  Buffalo is #18!

 

Actually going back and reading the article was depressing. The parts about how prices are shooting up so fast, how so much more of what is available is high end, and how basically it is impossible for people with regular incomes to buy any new housing. Basically no "entry level" or such housing, that middle class(and no I don't think a couple making over $150,000 a year is really middle class...I am talking about the real middle class around median incomes)people simply do not have new homes from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet being built for them. Sad really when at one time that was the main target for new homes. Just more of the have's and the have not's now.

The middle class is getting larger and taking a larger portion of income. Where everyone talks about the middle class, it is the median part of the middle class that is shrinking. People are moving away from the median of say 55k. Some are being pushed lower on the scale while many are being pushed up. Believe it or not, 150k a year is middle class. Upper middle maybe but still middle class. In fact, that area has seen the greatest growth over the last decade.

Strange looking list. Colorado has one, Texas has one, Boston is in. The rest are in areas of California. Not really surprising.

 

But then us????

 

Take a look at the Top 20 list at the link.  Buffalo is #18!

 

Actually going back and reading the article was depressing. The parts about how prices are shooting up so fast, how so much more of what is available is high end, and how basically it is impossible for people with regular incomes to buy any new housing. Basically no "entry level" or such housing, that middle class(and no I don't think a couple making over $150,000 a year is really middle class...I am talking about the real middle class around median incomes)people simply do not have new homes from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet being built for them. Sad really when at one time that was the main target for new homes. Just more of the have's and the have not's now.

 

The houses aren't being built ahead of time, but you can certainly have something built in a subdivision at $150-200k. That's the difference today. It's not 2004 where speculative building of hundreds of $120-250k houses a month with few leads is the norm.

Starter home development has not come back yet. Banks need a hefty guarantee from the builder to make the financing work

Reminder that this thread for the discussion of the Columbus/Central Ohio housing market, not the discussion of the Cincinnati housing market.

 

Reminder that this thread for the discussion of the Columbus/Central Ohio housing market, not the discussion of the Cincinnati housing market.

 

$250k seems really high for a starter home. I'd think the $100-200k range better captures both what single and dual-income families would expect to pay for their first house.

 

On the other hand, I also know a number of young married couples who want to skip the whole "starter home" thing altogether and straight-up buy a $300-350k new build somewhere and (theoretically) be done with looking for housing for a very long time, if ever.

$250k seems really high for a starter home. I'd think the $100-200k range better captures both what single and dual-income families would expect to pay for their first house.

 

On the other hand, I also know a number of young married couples who want to skip the whole "starter home" thing altogether and straight-up buy a $300-350k new build somewhere and (theoretically) be done with looking for housing for a very long time, if ever.

 

Yeah the "starter home" thing doesn't necessarily make economic sense.  What *does* make sense is just buying a small home and raising your family there and piling the kids in.  My dad was one of six kids and was raised in a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house. 

 

 

 

 

Columbus does have those but the cheap ones are in uncool areas and the high school probably won't have lacrosse or a top In the Know team.

Columbus does have those but the cheap ones are in uncool areas and the high school probably won't have lacrosse or a top In the Know team.

 

The "Uncool Cresent" that you mentioned before.  Which you should totally trademark.

$250k seems really high for a starter home. I'd think the $100-200k range better captures both what single and dual-income families would expect to pay for their first house.

 

On the other hand, I also know a number of young married couples who want to skip the whole "starter home" thing altogether and straight-up buy a $300-350k new build somewhere and (theoretically) be done with looking for housing for a very long time, if ever.

 

To find a home in that price range, in an area that is not Linden or the Hilltop is nearly impossible in Columbus.  For comparisons sake I looked at a bungalow that was in Grandview $400k+ and the same house in Rocky River(similar suburb on Cleveland's West Side) $285k; both were practically identical as far as updates are concerned.  I personally want to live in Columbus for the taxes but even those are getting way out of wack depending on where you're looking.  Homes that were selling as "starters" in the $185-225k range 5-10 years ago are now $250-300k+ in Columbus.

Columbus does have those but the cheap ones are in uncool areas and the high school probably won't have lacrosse or a top In the Know team.

 

What people with 3-4 kids don't think about is that the amount of time when all of those kids are in the house at the same time is very brief.  If your oldest kid is 11 and your youngest is 1, there will only about 5~ years when there is a crush in that house.  So people go and pay much higher property tax for 20 years to better accommodate their kids for just 5-6 years, mostly in the hopes of appreciation.  The fact is that the difference in the mortgage between a $150,000 and $350,000 house applied to a rental or to stocks instead of an owner-occupied home is going to earn much more than any single-family home might appreciate in Ohio. 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbus does have those but the cheap ones are in uncool areas and the high school probably won't have lacrosse or a top In the Know team.

 

The "Uncool Cresent" that you mentioned before.  Which you should totally trademark.

 

Can I do that? I feel like we'd have a Three Creeks Area Quadrangle Powered by Papa John's pretty quickly if that were the case.

Can I do that? I feel like we'd have a Three Creeks Area Quadrangle Powered by Papa John's pretty quickly if that were the case.

 

You can simply rent an apartment if you want to get your kids into a "good" school district.  You don't need to own a house in the district.  Buy the starter home and then rent it out to pay the rent in a complex in the desired school district, if having a theater program with a hydraulic stage lift is critically important to you. 

 

 

Can I do that? I feel like we'd have a Three Creeks Area Quadrangle Powered by Papa John's pretty quickly if that were the case.

 

You can simply rent an apartment if you want to get your kids into a "good" school district.  You don't need to own a house in the district.  Buy the starter home and then rent it out to pay the rent in a complex in the desired school district, if having a theater program with a hydraulic stage lift is critically important to you.

 

Do people actually do that?

Columbus does have those but the cheap ones are in uncool areas and the high school probably won't have lacrosse or a top In the Know team.

 

What people with 3-4 kids don't think about is that the amount of time when all of those kids are in the house at the same time is very brief.  If your oldest kid is 11 and your youngest is 1, there will only about 5~ years when there is a crush in that house.  So people go and pay much higher property tax for 20 years to better accommodate their kids for just 5-6 years, mostly in the hopes of appreciation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then 15 years of two rooms full of empty baskets and jars.

Can I do that? I feel like we'd have a Three Creeks Area Quadrangle Powered by Papa John's pretty quickly if that were the case.

 

You can simply rent an apartment if you want to get your kids into a "good" school district.  You don't need to own a house in the district.  Buy the starter home and then rent it out to pay the rent in a complex in the desired school district, if having a theater program with a hydraulic stage lift is critically important to you.

 

Do people actually do that?

 

No.  They throw their money at a suburban house that devours income that could have otherwise been directed at investments. 

 

Then after the last kid graduates from college they're still paying property tax and heating and cooling a 2,500 sq foot house for the next five years.  They decide to "downsize" and end up building a new 2,100 sq foot house. 

 

 

 

 

$250k seems really high for a starter home. I'd think the $100-200k range better captures both what single and dual-income families would expect to pay for their first house.

 

On the other hand, I also know a number of young married couples who want to skip the whole "starter home" thing altogether and straight-up buy a $300-350k new build somewhere and (theoretically) be done with looking for housing for a very long time, if ever.

 

Yeah the "starter home" thing doesn't necessarily make economic sense.  What *does* make sense is just buying a small home and raising your family there and piling the kids in.  My dad was one of six kids and was raised in a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house. 

 

 

 

 

 

This. I think there is a market for the starter house, and yes they may not just be starter homes but long term homes. But yes to using the existing housing stock.

 

Maybe add an extra room or an extra bath. That is what my parents did. They had three kids, had the house built in 1960, three bedrooms one bath, added the additions in 1968, and payed off the house and stayed debt free, and in retirement were able to go on various cruises and visit different continents. They still live in that house and take care of it, and they will be 90 and 85 in a few months(God willing). And they were definitely middle class, not upper middle class or above the median middle class. As in "uncool crescent" middle class.

 

Not to be the old curmudgeon and all, but many people have become spoiled and expect, and in fact, think they need at least 2500 square feet minimum with all bedrooms suites with their own bathrooms, walk in closets, great rooms, children's playrooms, full decked out basements, etc.

 

US homes are by far the largest in the world. Canada and Australia follow, but even they are not that close. It is ridiculous how much space Americans think they need. And don't get me started on the need for the massive yards. Kids do not play baseball and sports and stuff like that in backyards anymore as they are more than likely attached at the hip to their various electronic communication devices. Most large grassy back yards are used rarely if at all, and then only a section is used. Huge front yards are never really used at all-just for show. Such damn waste with these huge houses on half acre lots. Just that much more to maintain, to care for, to repair, etc. and what exactly is the payback? And the taxpayers pay for the wasteful sprawl. Better for tax purposes to get 5 $200,000 houses on 1/10th acre lots than one $500,000 house on a half acre lot.

 

I despise these suburbs with "minimum lot sizes' and such.

 

/end older guy rant

I'll pile on with some older guy ranting of my own. I mean, look, I get it, it sucks that I can't afford to buy the place I used to live in when I was living in SN circa 2007 anymore (when I was paying $300/person for a 2BR), but on the same token, I'm not sure that it's such a big deal that I can't have a "starter home" in any of the hottest neighborhoods in Columbus. And keep in mind when Sears kit homes were being sold for $2100 in 1908 (approx $55k in 2017 dollars), the average household income was about $750 PER YEAR (approx $20k in 2017). So those kit homes were still quite an investment. That is to say, these weren't starter homes. It's hard for us to imagine just how much higher the average standard of living has risen. Our great-grandparents lived in a world in which most people would be living in what we would call poverty, not worrying about whether or not it was fair that they couldn't buy their first home in the most in-demand neighborhoods in the state. The concept of a starter home being of preferred size, shape, style, neighborhood and cost doesn't really have a precedent to it, or at least much of one. I know few of our parents bought their first house in the exact neighborhood and/or street that they wanted to. Like, I'm sorry that people of a certain age missed their chances to buy into SN and German Village when prices were lower. Why not get that "starter home" in Hilltop now and get in early? Or is it really that bad that someone who wants to get in on the property ladder and invest in real estate should have to own their first home in Blacklick and not on 3rd Ave in Harrison West?

 

EDIT: punctuation

I completely agree with looking at homes in less desirable neighborhoods, but those neighborhoods are not exactly sitting empty and there are only so many vacant lots. This region is adding 30,000 people a year, and the housing stock(the kind of housing stock that is not just for the upper middle class or wealthy)is just not keeping up.

 

Also part of my point is that "starter homes" don't necessarily have to be just something to start with and then you must "move on up" to something larger. Especially with smaller families, these homes can be just regular homes for anyone, not something deemed as "lowly" or undesirable for anyone except for those "just starting out". As a society we kind of just really have a f***d up mindset about housing IMO.

 

EDIT: Language

 

 

Also part of my point is that "starter homes" don't necessarily have to be just something to start with and then you must "move on up" to something larger. Especially with smaller families, these homes can be just regular homes for anyone, not something deemed as "lowly" or undesirable for anyone except for those "just starting out". As a society we kind of just really have a f***d up mindset about housing IMO.

 

 

The sales force controlled the dialogue for the longest time.

Also, again, what's wrong with buying a home in Grove City, or the older parts of Hilliard, or near Morse/Indianola, or Reynoldsburg, or Berwick, or so on and so forth, OTHER than people just don't think it's cool enough. I'm not ready to declare an affordability crisis in Central Ohio solely because developers aren't building either miraculously cheap units in hot neighborhoods or sprawling out into Richland County all to make people avoid the awful fate of having to buy a house in a perfectly good, safe area that isn't "desirable" enough because it's post-war suburbia 15m away from SN by car.

 

Edit: I chose those locations because a house can be found for <$200k in those areas.

Furthermore, unless people in the more desirable/more easily accessible neighborhoods all of a sudden become OK with suburban style cheap material apartment buildings going up next to them, I don't think there's much that developers/the city can do to make the city more affordable for the most poor, unless of course you start using coastal-style interventions to artificially insert affordable housing into non-affordable neighborhoods, which of course comes with its own discussion of whether those help and, if so, whom.

Also, again, what's wrong with buying a home in Grove City, or the older parts of Hilliard, or near Morse/Indianola, or Reynoldsburg, or Berwick, or so on and so forth, OTHER than people just don't think it's cool enough. I'm not ready to declare an affordability crisis in Central Ohio solely because developers aren't building either miraculously cheap units in hot neighborhoods or sprawling out into Richland County all to make people avoid the awful fate of having to buy a house in a perfectly good, safe area that isn't "desirable" enough because it's post-war suburbia 15m away from SN by car.

 

Edit: I chose those locations because a house can be found for <$200k in those areas.

 

The problem is those areas will fill up. Grove City is growing fast and is probably now only second to Dublin in population. Yes people should be considering those areas, but many of the areas of the "uncool crescent"(I do love that phrase lol) have patchwork development that would have lower costs and would be the place for "more affordable" infill housing whether it be 1.500 -2,000 square foot so called "starter homes" or apartment or whatever.

 

Well heeled professionals and monied millenials are coming into the region, but so are service workers, warehouse workers, tradespeople, etc. and they are going to need places to live too, and a decent amount of them do not give a sh-t about being 'uncool'.

 

EDIT: Language

^^I understand that, but what's your solution? Which level of government is supposed to impose maximum lot sizes and minimum unit numbers on municipalities who otherwise don't have them? Which layer of government is going to force developers to build affordable housing that they make a loss on and in what areas? Who gets to decide that? I'm not saying you're wrong, but more that the reason this is a problem everywhere that is growing quickly is because there isn't really a mechanism to control this without imposing solutions that seem to make the problem worse other than just sprawl out of control. So, yes, Grove City will eventually have no room. Or Blacklick. Or any other suburban community or cheap place to live. Who is going to force them to start doing teardowns to make up for their lot sizes being too large? Won't happen because homeowners will bitch up a storm. So then what? Where are these apartments for the working class (who, true, don't care about whether or not the area is cool are not) going to be built? Again, I get what you're saying about the need for cheap housing for service workers, but where exactly ought it be built, by whom, and with what guarantee that they will be filled by the "right" people?

And (sorry, just thought of it) what precedent is there for working class housing being new other than the old "company town" model? Won't building more luxurious housing for more well-heeled people put downward pressure on other areas that aren't building it?

You can't go over $1 million in the Columbus metro or the house will take eons to sell. So the speculative building would have to be focused between $500-900k.

With $6.5 Billion in Multifamily Development since 2000, Columbus Lags Behind Competitive Markets

By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Posted: April 19, 2018 - 8:00 am

 

Based solely on the sight of construction cranes and orange barrels, it’s apparent that Columbus is in the midst of an apartment-building boom.  A new report from ApartmentList.com puts some raw numbers behind what exactly that means for our city, and how it compares to other markets across the U.S.

 

According to the study, the Columbus Metro Area (the city, its suburbs and surrounding counties) has seen $6.5 billion invested in multi-family construction projects between 2000 and 2016.  The rate at which this type of development has been occurring in Columbus has also been accelerating, with the percentage of residential development investment dollars spent on multifamily projects growing from 13.6 percent to 30.6 percent over the course of the past 16 years.

 

MORE: https://www.columbusunderground.com/with-6-5-billion-in-multifamily-development-since-2000-columbus-lags-behind-competitive-markets-we1

https://www.columbusunderground.com/with-6-5-billion-in-multifamily-development-since-2000-columbus-lags-behind-competitive-markets-we1

 

A little more about that CU report on the ApartmentList.com numbers.  I'd take issue with the CU headline about Columbus "lagging behind competitive markets".  The markets that Columbus Metro area is lagging are the following:  Phoenix ($13 Billion), Chicago ($19.8 Billion), Denver ($12 Billion), Minneapolis ($8.6 Billion), Portland ($8.2 Billion), Charlotte ($9.5 Billion), and Austin ($12.8 Billion).

 

Phoenix, Chicago, Denver & Minneapolis have much larger metros and aren't peer cities to Columbus.  Portland, Charlotte & Austin are peer cities to Columbus, but are also located in higher growth states and/or regions. 

 

The article did note that the level of multifamily development in Columbus does lead the State of Ohio, and much of the Midwest, outpacing Cincinnati ($3 Billion), Cleveland ($990 Million), Detroit ($3.5 Billion), Pittsburgh ($2 Billion), Indianapolis ($4.9 Billion) and Louisville ($2.2 Billion).

 

The full ApartmentList.com article:  https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/increasing-importance-multifamily-construction/

Is that new construction? If so, I can see why the Cleveland number is so small. A large portion of its multi-family developments are the result of converting existing buildings (office buildings, warehouses, factories, etc) into housing.

^That's a good question. Older cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati wouldn't fare as well in a ranking that's looking purely at new construction versus redevelopment. The number for Cincinnati seems a lot closer to the amount I'd estimate for just new construction which leads me to believe it is.

 

Not that that's a sign that Columbus isn't doing amazing work. The amount of new development, and the general quality of that development, in Columbus is awesome. Every time I go there I'm impressed with how much things have improved, even in areas that didn't feel like they needed improvement. Columbus seems to present opportunities for fast growth in a way other cities could learn from.

Is that new construction? If so, I can see why the Cleveland number is so small. A large portion of its multi-family developments are the result of converting existing buildings (office buildings, warehouses, factories, etc) into housing.

 

No, its ALL investment, new or rehabbed. It's comparing the value of multi-family investment. Columbus really is that far ahead of the rest of Ohio.

Can we please keep on topic about the COLUMBUS and CENTRAL OHIO housing market?

 

We don't want Columbo closing the thread or pruning...even though he did have to make the direct city vs city comparisons to other cities instead of just posting the article and started the whole thing leading to subsequent posts discussing: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Nashville.

 

lol  ;)

 

 

* God knows how impossible it is to just talk about Columbus without getting derailed discussing and comparing other cities (yeah I did it too).  Any discussion of Columbus automatically just shifts to other cities. Good thing we won't get Amazon because all the discussion would end up being about other cities (more deserving cities if course)

Can we please keep on topic about the COLUMBUS and CENTRAL OHIO housing market?

 

We don't want Columbo pruning...

 

Too late for that ;)

 

But you do raise a valid point.  This thread is for the discussion of the Columbus and Central Ohio housing market.  But lots of articles and information about the Columbus/Central Ohio housing market will include references to other housing markets as a means of comparison and context.

 

Now, there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.  But this can lead to the thread getting derailed with the discussion of other cities housing markets instead of the discussion of the Columbus/Central Ohio housing markets.  So how about we try this:

 

-- If you want to discuss the Columbus/Central Ohio housing market, this is the thread for it.

 

-- If you want to discuss the Columbus/Central Ohio housing market and there is some relevant point involving another market relating to the Columbus market, that might be fine.  But it needs to be focused on the Columbus market.

 

-- If you want to discuss other cities housing markets, go find the relevant thread for that.  This isn't the thread for it.

 

This is just going to be something that we all will need to keep an eye on.

So, about the Columbus & Central Ohio housing market.  Here's a recent Business First article looking at some of the latest numbers:

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/03/29/6-numbers-to-know-in-columbus-housing.html

 

"The Columbus housing market has been roaring this year, and plenty of data are pouring in to illustrate the market's accelerated pace — and sometimes strain.  Here are a few numbers to keep in mind as 2018 moves into its second quarter."

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/04/23/low-inventory-continues-to-push-up-home-prices.html

 

Just keeps going.

Interesting article from the New York Post,

 

New Yorkers are flocking to this Midwest sanctuary

 

https://nypost.com/2018/04/25/ex-new-yorkers-are-flocking-to-this-midwest-sanctuary/

 

A couple quotes,

 

Driving around the German Village, Short North and Old Towne East neighborhoods, they noticed the city’s positive energy — and the refreshing degree of homeownership. “We started thinking, ‘There’s a momentum here,’ ” says Catherine, now 33. “And we could make something for ourselves that we wouldn’t be able to do in NYC. That was the turning point, and we moved six months later.”

 

For their own home, the couple paid $204,000 for a 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom, 2½-bathroom duplex in German Village, which is Park Slope-esque — walkable and filled with independent businesses.

 

“I think downtown Columbus is strikingly attractive. I love some of the loft buildings I’ve seen, and there is ample light, as compared to NYC,” she adds. Citing a February Food and Wine article about chefs decamping to Columbus, she adds, “So many New Yorkers are leaving for these civilized destinations!”

Interesting article from the New York Post,

 

New Yorkers are flocking to this Midwest sanctuary

 

https://nypost.com/2018/04/25/ex-new-yorkers-are-flocking-to-this-midwest-sanctuary/

 

A couple quotes,

 

Driving around the German Village, Short North and Old Towne East neighborhoods, they noticed the citys positive energy and the refreshing degree of homeownership. We started thinking, Theres a momentum here, says Catherine, now 33. And we could make something for ourselves that we wouldnt be able to do in NYC. That was the turning point, and we moved six months later.

 

For their own home, the couple paid $204,000 for a 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom, 2½-bathroom duplex in German Village, which is Park Slope-esque walkable and filled with independent businesses.

 

I think downtown Columbus is strikingly attractive. I love some of the loft buildings Ive seen, and there is ample light, as compared to NYC, she adds. Citing a February Food and Wine article about chefs decamping to Columbus, she adds, So many New Yorkers are leaving for these civilized destinations!

 

It's a pretty good article.  I've actually had the privilege of meeting Edwaard Jiang while attending a private BalletMet event and dinner.  I know the topic has been popular on the Cleveland threads, however living in Columbus I have notice a huge amount of NY, NJ, VA, Conn, etc.....plates on almost every street I walk/drive down, even out to my brothers subdivision in Hilliard.  Ohio in general I think is becoming appealing to some of these folks.  Great news and publicity for our cities and state!!! :)