Columbus Board of REALTORS: in contracts UP 54.6%

In contracts UP

Today the Columbus Board of REALTORS said in contracts UP... well that is not really a quote.  The in contracts UP 54.6% is a paraphrase... the newsletter the Columbus Board of REALTORS® sent to members actually said:

"(July 20, 2011) The housing market in central Ohio took a turn for the better last month when 2,552 homes were successfully put in contract. This marks a 54.6 percent increase over homes put in contract during the same month one year ago according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. " 

The Columbus Board of REALTORS ® Sales Stastics Page (a consumer page) on the site.

The in contract numbers are one of the things I avoid looking at when I do market reports for Central Ohio... in this graph the red line is "in contracts."

Why don't I add them (in contract sales) to the graphs?  Actually I did last year sometimes during  the home buyer tax credit period... 

I think in contract numbers are less accurate than closed numbers.

I am confused about whether the number is "in contract" for the month or a cumulative "in contract."  Sounds like the board is talking in contract for the month of June 2011.  Reported as in contract from June 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011.

I think the red line on the TrendGraphix green bar graph is garish.  Too much going on.

My chart will not match CBR numbers...it is single family only.   I could look at all residential sales combined (single family, townhouses, condominiums , some multifamily.) Yet what I see look at the whole Columbus Board of REALTORS (single family sales is in contract down "15.2%."  Perhaps Trendgraphix is looking at in contract (or pended as they call it) differently.  Another possiblity pulling it too quick and there is some reconciliation of the numbers as transactions are reported into the next month.  Trendgraphix provides information about the 7th of the month, usually. 

Closed sales - down

The newsletter from the CBR went on to say that home sales in June were down...  Home sales are closed sales.  The newsletter explained the 2010 home buyer tax credit which ended in April 2010 but the closings of those "in contracts"  were still happening until the end of September 2010.

The CBR newsletter to members titled "Housing Contracts Bloom in June"  said : "Home closings, however, continue to lag the previous year. The 1,989 homes closed during the month of June were 16.6 percent lower than closings during June of 2011."

June 2011 Delaware County, Ohio real estate market*

June 2011 Franklin County, Ohio real estate market*

The whole Columbus Board of REALTORS mls (multiple listing service) covers:

All of "Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties."

as well as

"Parts of Champagne, Clark, Hocking, Licking, Fairfield, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingham,
Perry and Ross Counties."

I focus on parts of Franklin and Delaware Counties.

The President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS® suggested these school districts to home buyers based on new listing:  "School districts seeing the highest number of listings added to the market include Columbus, Olentangy, South-Western, Westerville, Hilliard and Dublin." 

Dublin schools homes for sale*

Olentangy schools homes for sale*

Westerville schools homes for sale*

Wish I would have done  a June 2011 market report for Columbus schools...  I have not yet.

A good inventory of homes to see....  priced well

I think another area you should consider... Worthington schools homes for sale*

* All the market reports here are for single family homes only, the Columbus Board of REALTORS newsletter refers to residential sales, it is more than single family residences. Does it make a difference?  The average sale price for a home in Franklin County was $166,193 according to the Columbus Area Housing Market Update (on the CBR site.)   The Franklin County ingle family average sale price according to stats from the Columbus Board of REALTORS and Trendgraphix is $176,000.

I'm off to read what the Columbus Dispatch and Business First Columbus interpret from the press release they received from the Columbus Board of REALTORS.

The graphs were published July 2011 based on data available from the Columbus Board of REALTORS® at the end of June 2011. Trendgraphix reports are based on data supplied by the Columbus Board of Realtors. According to Trendgraphix neither CBR nor the mls (multiple listing service ) guarantee or are in anyway responsible for the accuracy of the data. "Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed." Since I am relying on their info you have no guarantee from me either. A slight correction is sometimes visible in the data the following month, that's why I avoid paying a lot of attention to in contracts.  The in contracts look like they are low in comparison to the official results.