Central Ohio’s once red-hot housing market is finally catching its breath. As more homes hit the market and buyer interest holds steady, bidding pressure is easing just enough to give house hunters more room to breathe and forcing sellers to get sharper about price and presentation.
That shift took center stage on a recent Good Day Extra segment, where local Realtors walked viewers through what to expect this spring and offered practical game plans for both sides of the deal. According to WTTE, the advice was tied to Columbus REALTORS’ outreach and framed around what a more balanced market really looks like in real time.
Market snapshot: inventory is building
Columbus REALTORS’ year-in-review shows that inventory and sales trended upward through 2025, a clear move away from the pandemic-era squeeze. The association reported the market ended the year with about 4,440 homes for sale, a 14.2% year-over-year increase, while closed sales rose roughly 3.0% to 29,626 and the median sold price edged to $327,500. Columbus REALTORS® described those shifts as pointing toward a “healthier direction” heading into 2026.
City-level picture: more choices for buyers
On the city level, data from Realtor.com shows Columbus with a median listing price near $279,900, roughly 2,775 properties for sale, and an average of about 63 days on market. Taken together, those numbers suggest a less frenzied pace and longer decision windows than buyers saw in the most intense recent seasons, with a bit more room to negotiate rather than rush. Realtor.com.
Advice for buyers
On the Good Day Extra segment, local agents urged buyers to show up ready to move. That means getting preapproved, tightening up credit where possible, and setting a realistic budget before the perfect listing pops up. The guidance flows from the association’s “Behind Every Move” campaign, which pulls together checklists, local market tools, and planning tips for shoppers, according to Behind Every Move. With more homes to choose from but solid competition for well-priced properties, agents say preparation is still a major edge.
Advice for sellers
Sellers, meanwhile, are being told that this is not the moment to coast. Realtors on the segment stressed the importance of pricing competitively and investing in basics such as staging, minor repairs, and strong listing photos to stand out as inventory expands. “Pricing has stabilized compared to earlier in the year, giving both buyers and sellers a clearer picture of where the market stands,” Columbus REALTORS said in its year-in-review. The guidance underscores how smart preparation can pay off when buyers suddenly have more options. Columbus REALTORS®.
Why it matters this spring
Borrowing costs are also giving the market a small but meaningful tailwind. Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed-rate average at 5.98% as of Feb. 26, 2026, the first time in roughly three and a half years that the average dipped into the 5% range. That bit of rate relief, combined with rising inventory, could coax more prepared buyers off the sidelines and open the door to actual negotiation on homes that not long ago might have sparked instant bidding wars. Freddie Mac.
