In Clark County the average sales price for homes during the first half of 2019 was $136,138 compared to an average of $120,434 during the same period in 2018. In Champaign County that average was $139,438 compared to $136,933 the previous year, according to home sales statistics released by WRIST.
However, a housing market study recently conducted in the county found that the medium home sale price in 2019 was $115,500.
A complete report for the housing market in both counties, using data collected from 2011 to 2018, showed a decrease in the number of homes sold in Champaign County between 2015 and 2018. However, the average sales price for homes there have continued to increase since 2013.
MORE: Wittenberg to end two majors as it seeks to reduce overall costs
The number of Champaign county single family homes sold last year between the months of January and November were 732, according to transaction records from the Champaign County Auditor’s Office. The number of homes sold during the first half of 2019 was 175 compared to 174 in 2018, according to WRIST.
In Clark County, home sales have increased slightly since 2017 and average sale prices have continued to increase since that year after fluctuating earlier in the decade. The number of homes sold in 2019 was 1,411 compared to 1,364 the previous year.
The average sales price for homes in 2018 in Clark County increased from $116,055 to $126,252 and from $128,222 to $141,627 in Champaign County compared to 2017.
A steady increase in home sales for both counties can be attributed to several factors including the types of homes on the market as well as a shortage in housing inventory, said Brock Bowen, the president of the Springfield Board of Realtors.
“We are seeing less foreclosures and a need for more construction,” he said, noting that it’s a trend that will likely continue for this year.
The News-Sun has reported in the past that limited housing stock can lead to a chain reaction of homeowners not wanting to sell, because they can’t find somewhere else to move, further contributing to a housing inventory shortage.
Bowen said sellers will usually not list their homes on the market until they find another one they want to buy. However, the house they want to buy may not be on the market due to another potential seller’s hesitation, which can slow down the market, he added.
With homes spending less time on the market, it can present fewer options for potential sellers who are looking to stay in the area.
The average time that a home stayed on the market in both Clark and Champaign counties last year was 83 days, according to WRIST. That is a sharp decrease compared to an average of approximately 148 days in 2012, said Bowen.
Homes sat on the market, on average, for 93 days in Clark County during the first half of 2019. In Champaign County that number was 98 days. That is decrease compared to the same period in 2018 that saw homes on the market for an average of 111 and 99 days respectively.
Bowen’s predecessor Susan Foreman told the News-Sun last summer that a large number of homes sold in the first half of 2019 occurred in Clark County, looking at WRIST data, and added that overall home sales in the area have been on an uptick as there are more buyers than homes for sale.
“If the price is right and it’s in good shape, depending on the area, it will be under contract in less than 24 hours,” she said at the time. “And there will be multiple contracts on that home.”
In Clark County, 314 residential units were sold between early August and mid-October, according to data collected by WRIST. The average sales price for those homes was $137,219, showing steady growth from what was reported for the first half of that year.
The county also saw a spike in sales in the summer with 360 homes sold between May and July and the average sales price for homes during that period was $143,719, according to WRIST. In comparison, the average sales price between the months of August and October of 2018 was $131,361,and 330 homes were sold during that period.
MORE: Springfield Chamber hopes to ramp up workforce development for 2020
“It was very much a sellers market over the summer. We still have somewhat of a sellers market now as inventory is still low. But, the buyers are driving the price,” Foreman told the News-Sun in October.
Bowen said it’s a trend that has carried into the new year as more homes in Clark and Champaign counties were sold during January compared to the same month in 2019.
He said 224 homes were sold in those counties during that month compared to the 188 sold during the same time last year.
One factor contributing to a sellers market observed over the past couple of years is an influx of new jobs coming into Clark and Champaign counties. Several companies in the area either announced or started expansion projects over the last two years and have stated that more than 600 jobs would be created as a result.
However, both counties have a shortage in not only available housing stock on the market but in newer residential homes. Half of the housing stock in Springfield was built before 1949 and in Champaign County an estimated 33% of existing homes were built before 1950.
The Greater Ohio Policy Center conducted a comprehensive housing market analysis for the city of Springfield last year and has recently wrapped up a similar study in Champaign County. The organization, according to their website, “is focused on improving the communities of Ohio through growth strategies and research.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck told the News-Sun last year, that he believed the report, which made six major recommendations, didn’t necessarily show any surprises, and more so helped the city to know they are on track with developments currently in progress.”
Those recommendations included playing into preexisting assets, continued focus on downtown revitalization efforts and rehabbing existing housing stock.
Foreman told the News-Sun at the time that the study helped to point out a lot of positive things the city is working on, like the downtown luxury townhome project and Ryan Homes single homes development.
About 34 town homes are slated be built on the corner of Center and West Columbia streets in the near future. In addition to that a project by the the Turner Foundation hopes to turn the upper floors of what is known as the McAdams Building, at 31 E. High St., into residential living space.
The renovations to the old building are expected to cost around $10 million to $12 million depending on the number of apartments created and what amenities they will include. The current plan is to turn that site into approximately 36 apartments. Construction is slated to began between the late winter or early summer of this year, the News-Sun reported.
A little over 230 homes will be built as part of the 53-acre housing development known as Bridgewater. The bulk of the homes will be located just south of the Tuttle Road Walmart along with an additional 15-acre tract to the east of the Walmart.
Construction of several model homes are currently underway in the subdivision with plans to build 60 homes during the first phase.
MORE: Strong home sales in Clark, Champaign highlight local housing shortage
In Champaign County, it was noted that 75% percent of homes there were built before 1990, said Maria Walliser-Wejebe, a research associate with the Greater Ohio Policy Center. Additionally, there has been a total of 324 permits filed in the county since 2010 for the construction of single family homes.
Walliser-Wejebe said about 80% percent of new home construction since 2010 has occurred outside municipal boundaries in the county.
“It can be within a township or another unincorporated territory,” she said.
Walliser-Wejebe added that the majority of new housing constructed since 2010 were custom built units, according to conversations with local realtors and real estate experts.
The housing study in Champaign County also looked at common housing challenges in the city of Urbana as well as the villages of Mechanicsburg, North Lewisburg and St. Paris, said Marcia Bailey, the economic development director for Champaign County.
The study noted a low vacancy rate for residential properties in the county and also looked at housing challenges such as limited land available for new housing subdivisions.
The full results of the study as well as 22 recommendations made following six themes will be released next month. Bailey said the goal is to also form a housing consortium —which could include realtors, government officials and other community leaders— in the near future that will look to address some of those issues.
A public meeting discussing the study will be held at the Champaign County Community Center Auditorium on March 2 and it’s slated to start at 6 p.m.
The Springfield News-Sun has provided extensive coverage of housing and employment issues in Clark and Champaign counties, including recent stories on wages, job opportunities as well as housing studies conducted in the area.
By the numbers
3,958: Number of housing transactions in Clark and Champaign Counties in 2019
3,908: Number of housing transactions in Clark and Champaign Counties in 2018
$136,138: Average home sale in Clark County during the first half of 2019
$139,438: Average home sale in Champaign County during first half of 2019
About the Author