Columbus home shoppers take note: You are looking for a home in the nation’s “most popular” housing market, according to a new ranking by Realtor.com.
The listing service based its lineup largely on the number of views per listed property in each market, adjusted for market size.
Central Ohio homes attracted 2.4 times the number of views on average than homes across the U.S., according to the report.
More:Five numbers to know about Columbus real estate in 2023
Columbus was followed mostly by midsized markets, all of them east of the Mississippi River: Knoxville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Detroit; Pittsburgh; Portland, Maine; Tampa, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Hartford, Connecticut; and Asheville, North Carolina.
“None of these top markets are traditional big cities such as New York and Los Angeles,” noted Realtor.com economist Jiayu Xu in a posting about the study.
“Instead, many are midsize markets with relatively high affordability. While people move for different reasons, housing affordability is a key consideration for today’s homebuyers,” Xu added. “In addition, warmer weather is also a major draw as five out of 10 markets are located in the warm South.”
The study also factored in where shoppers for homes came from. Not surprisingly, the great majority (67.3%) of people who view homes in Columbus come from the Midwest, followed by 15.4% from the South, 13.7% from the Northeast and 3.6% from the West.
More:Hot or not: With more sales, listings, has Columbus housing market finally rebounded?
Even though listings in some cities, such as Hartford, Connecticut, and Portland, Maine, attracted more views than Columbus listings, Realtor.com ranked Columbus higher because a greater share of its views came from outside its region.
Among out-of-state shoppers, New Yorkers showed the most interest in Columbus homes, followed by shoppers in Virginia and California, according to the report.
While Columbus-area housing prices continue to set record highs, Realtor.com noted that Columbus has frequently landed near the top of the service’s “hottest real-estate markets” because of its relatively low median home price, which is now about $310,000.
“Driven by its affordability, it’s particularly attractive to families and young professionals,” the report said of Columbus.
Columbus was the nation’s 15th “hottest” housing market in June and the 8th highest “emerging housing market” for 2024, according to Realtor.com.
Donald Payne, a broker with Vision Realty in Columbus, said the market is driven in part by investments from major companies such as Google and Amazon, along with the draw of Ohio State University.
“It’s a very robust market,” he said in the Realtor.com report.
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker
