Though the pandemic has caused a slight lull in the market beginning in March, homes are still selling in the area and a tight housing inventory has kept the market stable, said Brock Bowen, president of the Springfield Board of Realtors.
MORE: STEM Academy in Springfield sponsors virtual farm tour
Between March 1 and April 30, there have been a total of 269 homes sold in both Clark and Champaign counties for a total sales volume of $36,145,000, according to data collected by the Western Regional Information Systems & Technology (WRIST), an Ohio-based company that monitors real estate trends.
The average price that those homes sold for was $134,300.
However, that is not a large decrease when compared to data collected during the same period last year. Between those months in 2019, a total of 313 residential homes were sold at a sales volume of $43,057,000 and the average home sale was estimated at $137,500.
But even with the impact of the virus, Bowen said that homes are still selling for higher when comparing home sales from January to the end of April for this year to those months in 2019. A total of 499 homes have been sold this year as of April 30. The average sale was $131,200.
Which is slightly up from an average sales price of $130,300 during that same period last year, which saw 517 homes sold.
“With the beginning of the year still being strong, we are still seeing a slight average increase compared to last year. There are still buyers looking for homes. The market is still moving,” Bowen said.
In addition, the average number of days that a home is on the market has increased slightly during the months of March and April compared to the previous year. The average time a home was on the market during those months in 2019 was 93 days, compared to 98 days for this year.
The pandemic has had an immediate economic impact in the area as layoffs have occurred and there has been a surge of people applying for unemployment benefits across the state and nationwide.
However, as phases of the economy start to reopen in Ohio, the hope is that the local housing market will start to pick back up in the coming weeks and months. Bowen predicts that there will be a spike in homes being listed.
Bowen said during the beginning of the pandemic, some people withdrew their homes from the market. Now some sellers are looking to resume the sales process as they feel more comfortable with safety precautions and guidelines established by the state.
MORE: Suspect in Springfield homicide given $1M bond
“I think everybody understands now that we are not going back to normal yet,” Bowen said. “But they are more comfortable knowing that the curve has been extremely flattened and they are taking the safety precautions that have been recommended by the state of Ohio and the federal government. They can safely continue with the sale of their homes or purchasing a home and get back to that part of it.”
Buyers and sellers are also taking added precautions to avoid the spread of COVID-19 when visiting or showing homes, he said. That includes, limiting the number of people present during a visit, wiping down or disinfecting rooms and following social distancing guidelines.
COVID-19 is the illness caused by the novel coronavirus that is spreading throughout the world.
Some sellers are even requiring that face coverings be worn as well as gloves during visits. Some realtors have transitioned to conducting virtual tours instead of doing them in person, Bowen added.
In-person tours have also been reduced and those that are conducting them have been tasked with wiping down surfaces as well as drastically increasing sanitizing efforts. Some realtors have started carrying personal protective equipment with them. Their profession was deemed essential following a state stay-at-home order first implemented in March, which was recently extended to the end of May.
“I would say its not business as usual for realtors, but they are trying their best to keep the process moving forward for buyers and sellers, even if it is at a slower pace,” he said. “There is nothing really normal about this.”
MORE: Greenon administrator one of 3 finalists for Graham superintendent
In addition to existing home sales, several construction projects in Clark County aimed at adding more housing stock in the area have resumed during the pandemic.
Work has even started on the second phase of one project. The development known as Bridgewater aims to add 231 homes on a total of 53 acres of land during a four-phase project.
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.
So far, four model homes have been completed in the subdivision and the first phase allows for the completion of 71 homes. In addition, work is starting on roadways and utility infrastructure for the second phase, according to Springfield City Manger Bryan Heck.
Virtual tours are being conducted at the model homes for potential buyers and construction of the actual homes will start after they are sold. Ryan Homes is the builder on the project and DDC Management is the developer.
Work has also continued for the creation of 34 town homes near the corner of Center and West Columbia Streets in downtown Springfield.
The first structure of that project contains six of those units and four have been sold, with another being maintained as a model unit, said Tom Franzen, the director of economic development for the city of Springfield.
By the numbers
Number of homes sold in Clark and Champaign Counties between March 1 and April 30
313 homes in 2019
Average sales price was $137,500
269 homes in 2020
Average sales price was $134,300
About the Author