Around Columbus and Franklin County, tax incentives and abatements are granted to properties either for new development or to encourage improvements to existing buildings. Most of these incentives are given to properties in urban neighborhoods that have suffered from a lack of investment. However, in recent years, studies have shown that the distribution of them is both uneven and highly controversial, often going to rich developers in already well-established neighborhoods rather than those that need them the most. The link of the Columbus property tax abatement map provides both descriptions of the types of tax incentives used locally, as well as a map that shows what properties get what incentives and how much they amount to.
In addition to abatements and incentives, TIFs, or Tax Increment Financing, uses targeted tax collection in specific areas to make improvements within said districts. Unlike tax abatements/incentives, TIFs can be found almost anywhere, and are regularly used in both suburban and urban neighborhoods, and are not always tied to improving declined areas.
The local housing market update May 2021 is finally out, and the trends continue to show a strong sellers market. Prices continued to accelerate upward and supply continued to lag way behind, pushing home sales to occur even faster than they have been in recent months.
Note: LSD= Local School District, CSD= City School District. In both cases, school district boundaries differ from city boundaries.
Top 15 Most Expensive Locations By Median Sales Price in May 2021 1. New Albany: $810,000 2. German Village: $630,000 3. New Albany Plain LSD: $570,000 4. Dublin: $528,750 5. Bexley: $497,500 6. Upper Arlington CSD: $495,000 7. Worthington: $461,420 8. Powell: $460,000 9. Dublin CSD: $450,000 10. Olentangy LSD: $445,000 11. Buckeye Valley LSD: $406,790 12. Granville CSD: $402,500 13. Short North: $400,450 14. Grandview Heights: $394,000 15. Jonathan Alder LSD: $390,000
New Albany proper posted an astronomical median price in May, reaching unprecedented numbers for a Columbus suburb.
Top 15 Least Expensive Locations by Median Sales Price in May 2021 1. Whitehall: $138,000 2. Valleyview: $157,500 3. Groveport Madison LSD: $175,825 4. Lancaster CSD: $176,000 5. Circleville CSD: $182,000 6. Newark CSD: $184,250 7. Jefferson LSD: $207,500 8. Columbus CSD: $220,000 9. London CSD: $225,000 10. Hamilton LSD: $237,000 11. Columbus: $240,000 12. Reynoldsburg CSD: $245,500 13. South-Western CSD: $249,900 14. Canal Winchester CSD: $260,000 15. Teays Valley LSD: $268,894
In general, the further out the place from Columbus, the cheaper the location, but there are some exceptions. Whitehall and Columbus proper remain relatively affordable compared to most locations in the metro.
Overall Market Median Sales Price in May 2021: $227,088 The overall market is defined by Columbus Metro Area counties.
Top 15 Locations with the Highest Median Sales Price % Growth Between May 2020 and May 2021 1. German Village: +59.5% 2. Worthington: +54.6% 3. Obetz: +52.2% 4. New Albany Plain LSD: +40.7% 5. Hamilton LSD: +39.4% 6. Dublin CSD: +32.0% 7. Delaware CSD: +32.0% 8. Dublin: +31.4% 9. Pickerington: +30.3% 10. New Albany: +29.7% 11. Newark CSD: +29.4% 12. Worthington CSD: +29.1% 13. Westerville CSd: +28.6% 14. Pataskala: +27.0% 15. Jonathan Alder LSD: +25.8%
Top 15 Locations with the Lowest Median Sales Price % Growth Between May 2020 and May 2021 1. Lancaster CSD: -7.3% 2. Jefferson LSD: -5.5% 3. Downtown Columbus: -4.2% 4. Hilliard: -0.5% 5. Teays Valley LSD: +3.5% 6. Powell: +5.1% 7. Big Walnut LSD: +6.2% 8. Grandview Heights: +6.8% 9. Granville CSD: +7.6% 10. Short North: +7.6% 11. Canal Winchester CSD: +8.3% 12. Minerva Park: +8.4% 13. London CSD: +10.3% 14. Circleville CSD: +11.3% 15. Buckeye Valley LSD: +11.4%
There were fewer locations down year-over-year in May than in previous months, though urban areas generally saw lower increases.
Overall Market Median Sales Price % Change May 2021 vs. May 2020: +18.6%
Top 10 Locations with the Most New Listings in May 2021 1. Columbus: 1,467 2. Columbus CSD: 972 3. South-Western CSD: 217 4. Hilliard CSD: 171 5. Westerville CSD: 168 6. Olentangy LSD: 166 7. Dublin CSD: 166 8. Worthington CSD: 118 9. Pickerington LSD: 115 10. Upper Arlington CSD: 101
Top 10 Locations with the Fewest New Listings in May 2021 1. Valleyview: 2 2. Lithopolis: 5 3. Minerva Park: 5 4. Jefferson LSD: 6 5. Obetz: 8 6. Sunbury: 8 7. Grandview Heights: 10 8. Johnstown-Monroe LSD: 11 9. Whitehall: 12 10. Circleville CSD: 14
Urban areas and major suburbs saw increases in supply versus previous months, but because sales were also stronger, it didn’t help with actual supply or prices.
Total New Listings in the Columbus Metro in May 2021: +3,468 Overall Metro New Listings % Change May 2021 vs May 2020: +14.3%
Top 10 Fastest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in May 2021 1. Jonathan Alder LSD: 3 2. Valleyview: 3 3. Canal Winchester CSD: 4 4. Groveport Madison LSD: 4 5. Lithopolis: 4 6. German Village: 5 7. Worthington: 5 8. Worthington CSD: 5 9. Beechwold/Clintonville: 6 10. Blacklick: 6 11. Gahanna: 6 12. Marysville CSD: 6 13. Pickerington LSD: 6 14. Powell: 6 15. Westerville CSD: 6 16. Whitehall: 6
Top 10 Slowest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in May 2021 1. Short North: 51 2. Downtown Columbus: 39 3. Johnstown-Monroe LSD: 28 4. Bexley: 25 5. Lancaster CSD: 25 6. Jefferson LSD: 23 7. Obetz: 22 8. Buckeye Valley LSD: 21 9. Dublin: 19 10. Olentangy LSD: 18
Top 10 Locations with the Greatest % Decline of # of Days on the Market Before Sale May 2021 vs May 2020 1. Powell: -91.2% 2. Jonathan Alder LSD: -90.6% 3. Minerva Park: -85.7% 4. Circleville CSD: -84.2% 5. Whitehall: -82.9% 6. London CSD: -80.0% 7. Sunbury: -78.9% 8. Newark CSD: -78.0% 9. Upper Arlington CSD: -76.5% 10. Granville CSD: -75.8%
Top 10 Locations with the Lowest % Decline of # of Days on the Market Before Sale May 2021 vs May 2020 1. Short North: +264.3% 2. Valleyview: +50.0% 3. Bexley: +13.6% 4. Downtown Columbus: +11.4% 5. Lancaster CSD: -3.8% 6. Teays Valley LSD: -11.1% 7. Dublin: -26.9% 8. Reynoldsburg CSD: -29.4% 9. Westerville: -33.3% 10. Pataskala: -38.5%
% Change for the # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale Across the Metro Overall: 14
The market’s sales pace only increased further in May, with the entire metro’s supply of homes selling in an average of just 2 weeks. Many locations were selling at far faster rates, however.
A handy link is the Columbus Realtors website, which most of this data is derived from.
