Category Archives: Columbus Resources

Columbus Housing Market October 2013

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Columbus Housing Market October 2013

The latest numbers for the Columbus housing market from Columbus Realtors.

LSD=Local school district
CSD=City school district

Top 15 Most Expensive Locations by Median Sales Price in October 2013
1. New Albany: $445,900
2. Upper Arlington CSD: $358,000
3. Downtown: $330,000
4. Powell: $305,000
5. Dublin: $302,125
6. Jefferson LSD: $292,500
7. Olentangy LSD: $288,500
8. Granville CSD: $272,000
9. New Albany Plain LSD: $262,500
10. Worthington: $249,900
11. Buckeye Valley LSD: $246,250
12. Big Walnut LSD: $238,500
13. Beechwold/Clintonville: $230,000
14. Bexley: $225,875
15. German Village: $217,500

Top 15 Least Expensive Locations by Median Sales Price in October 2013
1. Whitehall: $42,500
2. Lancaster CSD: $75,250
3. Hamilton LSD: $83,450
4. Columbus CSD: $84,200
5. Newark CSD: $87,450
6. Groveport Madison LSD: $90,150
7. London CSD: $94,500
8. South-Western CSD: $95,000
9. Columbus: $104,500
10. Circleville CSD: $110,250
11. Blacklick: $134,251
12. Obetz: $134,950
13. Canal Winchester CSD: $135,000
14. Grove City: $135,000
15. Reynoldsburg CSD: $136,200

Overall Metro Median Sales Price in October 2013: $149,302
Median Sales Price Change October 2012-October 2013: -$3,183

Top 15 Locations with the Highest Median Sales Price % Growth Between October 2012-October 2013
1. Hamilton LSD: +85.4%
2. Jefferson LSD: +69.8%
3. Downtown: +63.8%
4. Reynoldsburg CSD: +54.4%
5. Obetz: +51.8%
6. Jonathan Alder LSD: +50.4%
7. Sunbury: +36.5%
8. Beechwold/Clintonville: +28.6%
9. Westerville CSD: +20.2%
10. Minerva Park: +19.4%
11. Marysville CSD: +19.4%
12. Lithopolis: +19.0%
13. Northridge LSD: +17.4%
14. Circleville CSD: +16.7%
15. Granville CSD: +15.6%

Top 15 Locations with the Lowest Median Sales Price % Growth Between October 2012-October 2013
1. German Village: -16.3%
2. Lancaster CSD: -16.3%
4. Buckeye Valley LSD: -14.9%
5. New Albany Plain LSD: -14.6%
6. Canal Winchester CSD: -14.6%
7. Grandview Heights: -14.2%
8. Hilliard: -12.8%
9. South-Western CSD: -11.4%
10. London CSD: -11.3%
11. Dublin CSD: -10.8%
12. Dublin: -10.3%
13. Whitehall: -7.6%
14. Gahanna Jefferson CSD: -5.6%
15. Johnstown Monroe LSD: -3.7%

Overall Metro Median Price % Change October 2012-October 2013: -2.1%

Top 10 Locations with the Most New Listings in October 2013
1. Columbus: 1,107
2. Columbus CSD: 691
3. Westerville CSD: 177
4. South-Western CSD: 169
5. Hilliard CSD: 158
6. Olentangy LSD: 157
7. Dublin CSD: 123
8. Groveport Madison LSD: 91
9. Worthington CSD: 79
10. Dublin: 73

Top 10 Locations with the Fewest New Listings in October 2013
1. Valleyview: 0
2. Lithopolis: 0
3. Minerva Park: 2
4. Jefferson LSD: 5
5. Obetz: 5
6. Sunbury: 5
7. Northridge LSD: 9
8. Jonathan Alder LSD: 9
9. German Village: 9
10. Grandview Heights: 10

Overall Metro New Listings in October 2013: 2,693
New Listings % Change October 2012-October 2013: +5.9%

Top 10 Fastest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in October 2013
1. Johnstown Monroe LSD: 30
2. Powell: 31
3. Buckeye Valley LSD: 32
4. Grandview Heights: 39
5. Minerva Park: 42
6. Beechwold/Clintonville: 45
7. Northridge LSD: 45
8. Olentangy LSD: 46
9. Westerville: 46
10. Jonathan Alder LSD: 47

Top 10 Slowest-Selling Locations by # of Days Homes Remain on the Market Before Sale in March 2013
1. Circleville CSD: 118
2. London CSD: 107
3. Lancaster CSD: 106
4. Obetz: 105
5. Hamilton LSD: 96
6. New Albany CSD: 91
7. Granville CSD: 84
8. Jefferson LSD: 82
9. Big Walnut LSD: 81
10. Hilliard: 78
11. Reynoldsburg: CSD: 78

Overall Metro Average # of Days on Market Before Sale: 74.7

Top 10 Locations with the Best Change in # of Days on the Market Before Sale October 2012-October 2013
1. Lithopolis: +522.2%
2. Minerva Park: -77.25
3. Johnstown Monroe LSD: -74.6%
4. Buckeye Valley LSD: -71.7%
5. Jonathan Alder LSD: -69.1%
6. Grandview Heights: -64.2%
7. Powell: -62.7%
8. German Village: -61.2%
9. Northridge LSD: -54.5%
10. Pickerington LSD: -47.0%

Top 10 Locations with the Worst Change in the # of Days on the Market Before Sale October 2012-October 2013
1. Hamilton LSD: +190.9%
2. Obetz: +150.0%
3. Lancaster CSD: +86.0%
4. Sunbury: +50.0%
5. Circleville CSD: +45.7%
6. London CSD: +27.4%
7. New Albany: +14.6%
8. Worthington: +13.7%
9. Granville CSD: +9.1%
10. New Albany CSD: +8.3%

Overall Metro # of Days on Market Before Sale % Change October 2012-October 2013: -24.9%



Is Columbus Walkable?

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Is Columbus Walkable

“Walkability” is the new buzzword when it comes to urban neighborhoods and what new generations want. Based on the WalkScore criteria, and with scores from 0-100 (100 being the most walkable), here are Columbus’ most walkable neighborhoods.

Top 25 Most Walkable Neighborhoods and Total Score
1. Downtown: 86
2. Dennison Place (Short North): 85
3. Italian Village (Short North): 85
4. Weinland Park (Just northeast of Short North): 85
5. Indiana Forest (Northeast Campus Area): 84
6. Necko (South Campus): 81
7. Victorian Village (Short North): 81
8. Old North Columbus: 80
9. Glen Echo (North Columbus): 80
10. North Campus: 80
11. German Village: 79
12. Tri-Village (5th Avenue West): 79
13. Brewery District: 78
14. OSU: 77
15. Iuka Ravine (North Columbus): 76
16. Clintonville: 75
17: King-Lincoln (Near East Side): 74
18. Schumacher Place (Near South Side): 73
19. Busch (Northwest Columbus): 72
20. Indianola Terrace (North Columbus): 71
21. Merion Village: 69
22. Governours Square (Bethel and Henderson): 68
23: Harrison West (Hilltop): 67
24. Old Beechwold (North Columbus): 67
25. Olde Towne East: 67

Together, the top 25 neighborhoods contain a little over 100,000 people.

Overall Columbus Neighborhood Walkability Score Breakdown
90-100 (Walker’s Paradise-daily errands do not require a car): 0
70-89 (Very Walkable- most errands can be done on foot): 20
50-69 (Somewhat Walkable- some errands cand be done on foot): 72
0-49 (Car Dependent- most or all errands require a car): 120
Average Columbus Score: 47

So less than half of Columbus’ neighborhoods are walkable, and only a small amount are very walkable, where most tasks do not require a car. The overall score shows that Columbus is still largely a car-dependent city.

Walkability, however, is just part of the picture. There are also scores for biking and mass transit access, both of which are also measured on the 0-100 scale.

Top 25 Bikeable Neighborhoods
1. North Campus: 89
2. Harrison West: 88
3. Northmoor (North Columbus): 80
4. Old North Columbus: 80
5. Clintonville: 77
6. OSU: 75
7. Brewery District: 74
8. Dennison Place: 74
9. Glen Echo: 74
10. Victorian Village: 74
11. Indiana Forest: 72
12. Iuka Ravine: 72
13. Necko: 71
14. Italian Village: 70
15. Merion Village: 68
16. Tri-Village: 68
17. Weinland Park: 67
18. Downtown: 66
19. Indianola Terrace (North Columbus): 66
20. North Hilltop: 66
21. Whetstone: 66
22. German Village: 64
23. Mount Vernon (Near East Side): 64
24. Riverview (North Columbus): 63
25. Schumacher Place: 63

The majority of Columbus’ most bikeable neighborhoods are also the most walkable.

Bikeable Neighborhood Score Breakdown
90-100: 0
70-89: 14
50-69: 45
0-49: 153
Average Columbus Bikeable Score: 45

Similar to its walkability, the majority of Columbus’ neighborhoods are not particularly bikeable. This has a lot to do with the further out and newer suburban areas of the city being built almost exclusively for cars. Only in the last 10 years has the city become more interested in promoting bike use. The city is adding several hundred miles of bike lanes and bike infrastructure, and it recently launched its own bike-share system.

Finally, we have the transit scores, which are based on access to mass transit options.

Top 25 Most Transit-Friendly Neighborhoods
1. Downtown: 64
2. Brewery District: 57
3. Italian Village: 57
4. German Village: 55
5. Victorian Village: 55
6. Dennison Place: 54
7. Weinland Park: 54
8. Necko: 52
9. Olde Towne East: 52
10. Schumacher Place: 52
11. Indiana Forest: 50
12. Harrison West: 49
13. King-Lincoln: 49
14. North Campus: 49
15. OSU: 49
16. Franklin Park (Near East Side): 49
17. Beechwood: 47
18. Iuka Ravine: 47
19. Milo-Grogan: 47
20. South of Main (Near East Side): 47
21. Livingston Park North (Near South Side): 46
22. Mount Vernon: 46
23. Old North Columbus: 46
24. Woodland Park (Near East Side): 46
25. Franklinton: 45

Transit Score Neighborhood Breakdown
90-100: 0
70-89: 0
50-69: 11
0-49: 201
Average Columbus Transit Score: 29

Clearly, based on these numbers, the city’s transit system needs a ton of improvement. COTA, or the city’s bus system, is really the only form of mass transit available, and beyond a few areas near Downtown, seems to struggle to provide access. The city is currently studying BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) with a first line proposed from Downtown and up along Cleveland Avenue to the North Side, with future lines coming after that. This will help, but there is still much to be done. Some type of rail system should also be part of near future development, as the city remains one of the largest in the US without any type of passenger rail.

So what is the overall picture of the city? First, that too much of the city is built for car use only. The boom in urban development has been significant, but the vast majority of it is occurring in areas that have the highest scores. Correlation or coincidence? Densification of neighborhoods further from the core is entirely possible, and these areas can and should be built with walkability and transit in mind. The city is taking steps for improvement, but it is, at least in my opinion, one of the weakest points of Columbus.



Columbus Housing Market August 2013

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Columbus housing market August 2013

The Columbus housing market August 2013 data from Columbus Realtors shows that the area continued hot, with record August sales and potentially a record year still in the making. For the region, sales were up 11% for August and are were up almost 23% for the first 8 months of the year.

I looked at the 21 major areas of Franklin County (11 urban, 10 suburban). Here is what the August market looked like.

Top 10 August Sales Totals
1. Columbus: 1,027
2. Upper Arlington: 82
3. Dublin: 78
4. Clintonville: 75
5. Grove City: 72
6. Hilliard: 66
7. Westerville: 61
8. Gahanna: 52
9. Worthington: 37
10. Reynoldsburg: 35

Top 10 August Sales Increases Over August 2012
1. Minerva Park: +400.0%
2. Downtown: +66.7%
3. Gahanna: +48.6%
4. Upper Arlington: +34.4%
5. German Village: +25.0%
6. Clintonville: +21.0%
7. Grove City: +20.0%
8. Westerville: +15.1%
9. Columbus: +12.6%
10. Whitehall: +12.5%

Top 10 Total YTD Sales Through August
1. Columbus: 7,149
2. Dublin: 561
3. Upper Arlington: 533
4. Clintonville: 505
5. Grove City: 437
6. Westerville: 436
7. Hilliard: 409
8. Gahanna: 369
9. Reynoldsburg: 346
10. Pickerington: 236

Top 10 YTD Sales Increases Through over August 2012
1. Minerva Park: +52.9%
2. Whitehall: +37.4%
3. Hilliard: +37.2%
4. German Village: +34.5%
5. Bexley: +33.3%
6. Gahanna: +32.3%
7. Downtown: +31.7%
8. Clintonville: +31.2%
9. Pataskala: +31.1%
10. Reynoldsburg: +31.1%

Average Sales August 2013
Urban: 121.3
Suburban: 44.9
Urban without Columbus: 30.7

Average % Change August 2013 vs. August 2012
Urban: +49.5%
Suburban: -0.3%
Urban without Columbus: +53.2%

Average Sales YTD Through July
Urban: 826.2
Suburban: 330.0
Urban without Columbus: 193.9

Average % Change YTD vs. YTD 2012 (Through August)
Urban: +21.2%
Suburban: +24.0%
Urban without Columbus: +20.6%

Top 10 Average Sales Price August 2013
1. New Albany: $563,743
2. Upper Arlington: $391,739
3. Bexley: $379,746
4. Dublin: $316,481
5. Downtown: $280,630
6. German Village: $280,037
7. Worthington: $263,934
8. Grandview Heights: $240,743
9. Hilliard: $225,476
10. Canal Winchester: $197,671

Top 10 Average Sales Price % Increases vs. August 2012
1. Canal Winchester: +32.8%
2. Bexley: +27.4%
3. Pataskala: +19.0%
4. Worthington: +18.0%
5. Upper Arlington: +14.4%
6. Reynoldsburg: +11.1%
7. Columbus: +10.4%
8. New Albany: +8.8%
9. Gahanna: +5.4%
10. Hilliard: +3.5%

Top 10 Average Sales Price YTD
1. New Albany: $546,941
2. Upper Arlington: $360,574
3. Bexley: $352,910
4. Dublin: $330,887
5. German Village: $306,121
6. Downtown: $283,942
7. Worthington: $247,084
8. Grandview Heights: $222,795
9. Hilliard: $219,123
10. Gahanna: $200,988

Top 10 Average YTD Sales Price % Change vs. YTD 2012
1. Whitehall: +16.7%
2. Downtown: +15.5%
3. Upper Arlington: +12.6%
4. Gahanna: +12.3%
5. Minerva Park: +12.2%
6. Reynoldsburg: +9.6%
7. New Albany: +8.7%
8. Canal Winchester: +7.3%
9. Bexley: +6.2%
10. Worthington: +5.1%

Average Price August 2013
Urban: $223,076
Suburban: $230,864
Urban without Columbus: $231,445

Average Price % Change vs. August 2012
Urban: +1.4%
Suburban: +6.9%
Urban without Columbus: +0.5%

Average Price YTD
Urban: $215,558
Suburban: $224,012
Urban without Columbus: $224,254

Average Price % Change YTD vs. YTD 2012
Urban: +4.9%
Suburban: +4.9%
Urban without Columbus: +4.9%

Top 10 Fastest Selling Markets August 2013 (based on # of Days listings sell)
1. Gahanna: 32
2. Obetz: 32
3. Whitehall: 36
4. Bexley: 37
5. Upper Arlington: 37
6. Clintonville: 41
7. Worthington: 41
8. Grandview Heights: 42
9. Hilliard: 43
10. Westerville: 48

Top 10 Fastest Selling Markets YTD
1. Worthington: 38
2. Upper Arlington: 45
3. Grandview Heights: 46
4. Clintonville: 54
5. Hilliard: 55
6. Westerville: 55
7. Gahanna: 58
8. Bexley: 59
9. Dublin: 60
10. Grove City: 63

Average # of Days before Sale, August 2013
Urban: 49.4
Suburban: 66.8
Urban without Columbus: 48.6

Average # of Days before Sale, YTD
Urban: 62.7
Suburban: 62.4
Urban without Columbus: 62.4

Top 10 Lowest Housing Supplies (based on # of months to sell all listings), August 2013
1. Worthington: 2.1
2. Bexley: 2.3
3. Clintonville: 2.5
4. Grandview Heights: 2.5
5. Hilliard: 2.5
6. Westerville: 2.7
7. Upper Arlington: 2.8
8. Gahanna: 3.1
9. Dublin: 3.3
10. Pickerington: 3.9

Average # of Months to Sell All Listings
Urban: 3.6
Suburban: 4.1
Urban without Columbus: 3.5

Average % Change of Single-Family Home Sales, August 2013 vs. August 2012
Urban: +32.0%
Suburban: -1.8%
Urban without Columbus: +34.0%

Average % Change of Condo Sales, August 2013 vs. August 2012
Urban: +65.5%
Suburban: +51.0%
Urban without Columbus: +70.3%

Average % Change of Single-Family Home Sales YTD vs. YTD 2012
Urban: +12.9%
Suburban: +23.8%
Urban without Columbus: +11.5%

Average % Change of Condo Sales YTD vs. YTD 2012
Urban: +44.3%
Suburban: +29.5%
Urban without Columbus: +45.8%



Downtown Columbus Parking

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Downtown Columbus parking Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus parking is a problem… in that there is far too much of it. It’s long been common knowledge that Downtown had an abundance of parking lots and garages, but I’ve never seen it actually mapped or counted before. The following Google map shows what’s long been known in a bit more graphic detail.

http://goo.gl/maps/hWkCf”>Downtown Parking

Red pins are surface parking lots and blue pins are parking garages. I only tried to count surface lots with 10 spaces or more, and they could be city, business or other types of lots. Lots currently being developed were not counted, nor were underground garages.

The final tally? 310 surface lots and 27 garages! Remember that the next time someone says they can’t find somewhere to park Downtown.

Columbus Murders by Census Tract 2008-2012

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A few days ago, I posted maps for murders by zip code. Because zip codes encompass such large areas, they aren’t as accurate in showing where murders are taking place within them. To help show this more, I broke the maps down into Columbus murders by census tract. While the tracts can include large areas also, they are much smaller than zip codes and allow us to see more at the neighborhood level.

So here they are.




The same forces spreading murder further out into the suburbs in the zip codes seems to be at play in tracts as well.
Here are the totals for the entire period.

The High Street corridor from Merion Village up through Worthington has very low or non-existent murder rates. This is also true for most of Whitehall, surprisingly, Bexley, most of the Northwest Side and much of the North Side, apart from the Tamarack Circle area.

Columbus Crime Statistics provide additional maps and data for local crime back to 1985.