Real Estate Advice for Central Ohio Homeowners

Your Columbus, Ohio home’s value is best estimated by comparing it with similar homes that recently sold, then accounting for its condition, location, features, and the homes buyers can choose from today. An online estimate can give you a starting point. A useful selling range takes a closer look at

If you're getting ready to sell your home in Ohio, you may look at the Residential Property Disclosure Form and wonder exactly how much you need to disclose. Do you need to mention the basement leak you repaired three years ago? What about a roof leak that was fixed? A radon system? An old insurance

If you're thinking about selling your home, you may be hearing two very different stories about the housing market. One says we're still in a seller's market. The other says homes aren't selling as quickly as they used to. Both can be true. Central Ohio is still a seller's market, but it isn't the s

One of the biggest things keeping homeowners from moving is not necessarily the market, interest rates or even finding the next house. It is figuring out how to sell one home and buy another without making a mess of the timing. Do you sell first and hope the right house comes along? Buy first and te

Most people think finding the right home starts with the house. In my experience, it often works better the other way around. I have planned afternoons with buyers where we had four or five homes to tour. By the third showing, we pulled into a neighborhood and the buyers told me they did not even wa

A home inspection report is not a list of everything a seller must fix. It is a record of what the inspector observed, from small maintenance items to concerns that may affect safety, structure, or the way a major system functions. That distinction matters. A long report can make a home sound as tho

No. When selling your home in Ohio, you are not required to pay the buyer's agent. Buyer broker compensation is negotiable, and you have options for how it is handled. However, deciding not to pay it doesn't necessarily mean you'll walk away with more money. Buyers look at the total cost of purchasi

Luxury homes need a different kind of selling strategy. Not louder. Not flashier. More intentional. When I talk with sellers in New Albany, Dublin, Powell, Upper Arlington, and other high-end areas around Columbus, the concern is usually not just price. It is privacy, timing, presentation, and makin

Does an appraisal determine what your home is worth? No. An appraisal is a lender's opinion of value based on recent sales. Market value is what a buyer is willing to pay today. Most of the time the numbers are similar, but an appraisal does not decide what your home is worth in the open market. If

Understanding the Gap Between Your Number and the Market's Almost every seller starts with a number in mind. The market has a number too. Sometimes they're very close. Sometimes there's a gap, and understanding that gap before you put your home on the market can make the entire selling process easie

It's understandable to think you should list your home a little high so there's room to negotiate. If you're willing to accept $600,000, why not start at $625,000 and let the buyer work you down? The problem is that buyers don't always respond that way. They don't necessarily see an overpriced home

Central Ohio entered the spring 2026 market with more homes for sale than the year before, but buyer activity was also strong. Across the 16 suburban zip codes included in this report, April brought 927 pending contracts, 630 closed sales and just 1.2 months of inventory. If you were considering sel

When homeowners start getting ready to sell, one of the first questions is usually where to spend money and where not to. It is easy to assume that bigger projects create more value, but that is not always how buyers respond. In many Central Ohio homes, the improvements that matter most are the ones

One of the easiest ways to waste money before selling is to start fixing things before you know whether buyers will care about them. Some repairs are worth handling before the home ever reaches the market. Others may be better disclosed, priced around or simply left for the next owner. The right ans

Buying a new construction home can be exciting, but it is a very different process from buying a resale home. The builder usually controls the contract, incentives may be tied to a preferred lender, upgrade costs can change the final price quickly and the timeline may stretch over several months. Th

When you're buying a home, it makes sense to focus on what works for your life right now. You need the right number of bedrooms, enough space, a location that works and a payment you're comfortable with. But there is another question worth asking before you buy: Will the things I like about this hou

Heading into 2026, the Columbus and Central Ohio housing market looked very different from the extremes homeowners experienced a few years earlier. National forecasters were generally expecting slower price growth, mortgage rates around the 6% range and a gradual increase in home sales. At the same

When sellers hear the word staging, they sometimes picture bringing in a truckload of trendy furniture and turning their house into something that doesn't feel like their home anymore. That's not really the goal. Good staging is about helping buyers see the house instead of being distracted by every

The house is often one of the largest financial decisions in a divorce, but it can also be one of the most emotional. One person may want to stay. The other may want a clean break. There may be equity to divide, a mortgage to deal with and questions about who can realistically afford the home afterw

You may love your mortgage rate and still be ready for a different house. That is the situation a lot of homeowners find themselves in. The house may no longer fit the way you live, but replacing a low mortgage rate with today's financing can make moving feel financially irresponsible. Before decidi

You bought your home when mortgage rates were around 3%. Maybe you've been there for several years, built up some equity, and watched your home's value increase. But things have changed. Perhaps your family needs another bedroom, you're working from home and need an office, or you've simply reached

When you're thinking about selling your home, one of the first questions is usually pretty simple: How much money will I actually walk away with? Your home's value matters, but the sale price isn't the number that ends up in your bank account. Before you can figure out what you'll net from the sale,

Fall is one of my favorite times to get out around Central Ohio. The weather is finally comfortable again, the leaves start changing and there seems to be something happening every weekend. You could easily find a list with dozens of festivals and Halloween events, but that can become a little overw

Most sellers assume the biggest project will make the biggest difference. New cabinets. New countertops. A remodeled bathroom. But buyers do not walk through a home adding up what everything cost. They react to what they see and experience as they move through the house, and what catches their atten

Once you start thinking about selling, it is easy to look around the house and suddenly see a long list of projects. The dated bathroom. Worn carpet. Older light fixtures. Scuffed paint. Kitchen cabinets that are not the newest style. The temptation is to assume that the biggest project will make th

Most sellers understand that their home needs to be listed online. The harder question is what happens beyond that. Professional photos, a listing description, a sign in the yard, and placement in the MLS are all important. But those pieces do not automatically create a strong marketing plan. A home

If you're selling your home and more than one offer comes in, it's natural to look at the prices first. But the highest offer and the best offer aren't always the same thing. Sometimes the biggest number comes with enough contingencies, appraisal risk or buyer requests that a slightly lower offer is

Your home has been on the market for a couple of weeks. You've had some showings, maybe even some positive feedback, but no offers. Or perhaps you're barely getting any showings at all. Now you're wondering whether it's time to reduce the asking price or give buyers a little more time. It's a reason

If selling your home has even crossed your mind, one of the first questions is probably, What could my house actually sell for? And that number matters for more than deciding on a list price. It may determine whether you can comfortably buy your next home, downsize, move closer to family, relocate,

When your home first hits the market, you're getting something you won't get again: a brand-new listing in front of nearly every active buyer looking for a home like yours. That's why I put so much emphasis on getting the pricing, preparation, photography and marketing right before we go live rather

Two homes can come on the market in the same general area, at a similar price, and have completely different results. One gets steady showings and an offer quickly. The other sits, reduces the price, and starts to feel stale. Usually, the difference is not one dramatic problem. It is how well the pr

Spring is one of the best times to get out and enjoy Central Ohio. The parks turn green, farmers markets reopen, patios fill back up and the event calendar gets busy quickly. If you're looking for things to do around Columbus, Dublin, Powell, Westerville and the surrounding suburbs, late April throu

Buyers begin forming an opinion about a home almost immediately. Before they open a closet, study the kitchen or walk into the backyard, they're already taking in the light, smell, cleanliness, condition and how the home feels when they first step inside. That first impression doesn't decide the ent

Central Ohio entered 2026 with a housing market that was still favorable to sellers, but noticeably different from the faster market of a few years earlier. Home prices remained higher year over year, inventory was increasing and buyers had more time to compare their options. For homeowners thinking

Choosing a real estate agent is one of the first major decisions you make when selling your home, and I don't think the decision should come down to who gives you the highest suggested list price or the lowest commission. The better question is whether the agent has a clear plan for pricing, prepara

If Powell, Ohio is on your list of places to live, there is a lot to like. You'll find an established downtown, newer neighborhoods, custom homes, parks and trails, access to the Columbus Zoo and plenty of options for getting around Central Ohio. But choosing Powell isn't as simple as finding a hous

Pricing a home is one of the most important decisions you make before listing, and it is also one of the easiest places to lose momentum. Sellers naturally want to get as much as possible for their home, but the highest starting price is not always the strategy that produces the best result. I can l

When your home has been on the market longer than expected, it is easy to assume you simply need more time. Sometimes that is true. Different price ranges and property types move at different speeds. But when a listing has had enough exposure and buyers still are not responding, waiting is not reall

When someone dies owning a home, figuring out what happens to the property can become one of the larger pieces of settling the estate. There may be a mortgage, personal belongings, repairs, multiple heirs and questions about who actually has authority to make decisions. Probate does not automaticall

Downsizing sounds simple until you start thinking about everything involved. Where will you go? What will you do with everything you've accumulated? Should you buy first or sell first? What needs to be done to the house before you list it? And how do you sort through years of belongings without turn