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Who is Central Ohio’s best builder?  Or was..  according to Business First Columbus “Centex tops M/I, Dominion in satisfaction study”    in  the J.D. Power and Associates’ annual ranking of “homebuilder customer satisfaction.”

…homebuilder customer satisfaction.   

“Centex ranked a 128 out of 160 on J.D. Power’s scale, which gauges scores based on consumers’ responses to nine factors including warranties, sales staff, prices and location.”

2. MI
3. Dominion

The results on the “New-Home Quality Study” makes no sense to me…Business First Columbus said

“For J.D. Power’s first-ever New-Home Quality Study, a gauge of customers’ experience with construction, Centex scored an 866 out of 900 with Central Ohio customers, followed by Dominion with an 839 and Maronda with an 816. M/I Homes placed third to last in the quality study with a 784.”

The third rating “New-Home Design Study”  I understand better…

1. Centex
2. MI
3. Beazer
4. Dominion

MI and Dominion are locally owned.

Centex is wrapping up business and leaving Central Ohio. 
Real Living HER’s New Construction Portal
Featured Central Ohio Builders
Inman News about Real Living’s New Homes Portal

An email I got from “investment specialists” said:  

” Unprecedented market conditions in the Central Ohio real estate market have created unbelievable opportunities for street smart real estate investors.  Several prominent investors are already calling it the ‘Perfect Storm’.  Here’s why:
*  Housing inventories have doubled over the last 12 months
*  Central Ohio house prices are dropping like flies
*  Stocks are getting too risky

Housing inventories have doubled? Housing inventories have doubled in 12 months?  Really?

20,354 August 2006
21,150 August 2007

Click on the green bar graph and it will enlarge.  This is all counties in the Central Ohio MLS.  All single family and condominiums.

Not quite 4% more inventory in August 2007 over a year earlier… Well maybe if I go back a couple of months I can see the “double inventory”

20,219 July 2006
21,287  July 2007

19,675 June 2006
21,034 June 2007
 
Inventory is down from the end of July 2007…

Home prices are dropping like flies?

$180,000 was the average sales price of a Central Ohio home in August 2007  vs. $183,00  a year ago… Down but I would hardly call that plummeting… Central Ohio homes sold within 96% of list price in August 2007 vs. 97% of list price.  Average list price of Central Ohio homes was down $1,000 from a year ago.

Remember the graph shows homes ALL over Central Ohio… out in the boonies as well as in Franklin and Delaware Counties.

I have to go back to March 2004 to find inventory at half what it is today… yes inventory doubled in … 42 months?  Imagine that. 

Average sale price $170,000 (vs. $180,000 today)

Average price per square foot $95.00 (vs. 103 today)

Median price $135,00 (vs. $151,000 today)

These stats are from the Columbus Board of Realtors MLS and represent single family and condominium properties. The graphs are from TrendGraphix.

The email was selling a class with a real estate investment guru.