Larry Schottenstein, President Revealty

The average price of a home sold in central Ohio last month was $170,808 up 2.1 percent from a year ago. Year to date, the average price of a home sold is just one percent lower than the previous year according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. "But in some neighborhoods the price adjustments have been much lower now making those  homes much more affordable. This coupled with lower interest rates has created a great buying opportunity. But buyers are still holding back because of economic worries and many feel the market will continue to worsen so they are waiting for the bottom",  says Larry Schottenstein.

"As record levels of inventory have forced priced down over the last year, any sign of a home price increase is welcome", says Brad Bennet, President of the Columbus Board of Realtors. The number of homes added to the market in November dropped almost 18 percent from the month prior. However, homes that went into contract or sold were only 13 percent lower than October.

Right now we have around ten homes on the market for every one buyer -- a buyer's market," comments Bennett. "A balanced market is about 6.5 or 7 homes for every buyer. So, a slowing in the number of listings added to the market is good news."