One of the most common questions I’ve been hearing from homeowners and homebuyers is, “Is there an inventory shortage of homes in Northwest Ohio?”
The short answer is yes. Across the board, there is a severe shortage of properties for sale. This includes entry-level homes, luxury homes, condos, and apartments. This inventory shortage is present nationwide, but in Northwest Ohio, we have just over 4,000 homes for sale right now when we’re used to having 6,000 or 8,000.
“The entire Northwest Ohio MLS has a 3.0 MSI.”
Showings have spiked and continue to remain strong. In fact, the housing market recovery index continues to gain power. Quicken Loans is saying that the pandemic has not stopped our consistent price growth over the last five years, either. Since fewer homes are coming onto the market each month, prices are going up higher than expected. This is great news if you own a home, but tough news if you’re buying.
Even with the increase in prices, home loan applications are up with new hiring and low interest rates. These are the lowest rates we’ve ever seen and they’re projected to stay low because of the Federal Reserve’s 0% interest rate policy.
Now let’s look at some market-specific data. MSI stands for “Months’ supply of inventory” and is a measure of how many homes are for sale. The higher this number is, the worse the market it is for sellers, and the better it is for buyers. We had an MSI of 15 or 20 during the foreclosure crisis. Today, the entire Northwest Ohio real estate market has a 3.0 MSI.
Some of the hottest marketplaces in our area in terms of MSI are:
- Maumee- 2.0 MSI
- Oregon- 3.0 MSI
- Heather Downs- 2.7 MSI
- Perrysburg- 3.25 MSI
- Otto Hills- 5.0 MSI
Houses are selling fast in our market with multiple offers if they’re priced, prepared, and marketed right. If you have any questions about selling your home or our real estate market in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
