“When will real estate prices come down?”

This is probably one of the most frequent questions I’m asked.

Or a similar one like this: “When will the real estate bubble burst?”

Short answer: Don’t hold your breath.

No one knows for sure what the future holds. Consider the last two years as a stark example!

But given all the current population growth trends and and business development in the area, the answer is no time soon.

The real estate market behaves like any market. Prices are based on the economic laws of supply and demand.

Put simply, Central Ohio does not have near enough housing supply for the current (and projected) demand.

And the housing supply problems have no easy fix.

And demand for housing keeps going up, spurred on by low interest rates and regional job growth (among many other factors).

Add to these ongoing trends the announcement of the Intel chip manufacturing facility, and you see how the housing prices will just keep going up and up and up.

If the new Intel microchip plant stays on course, this one addition to the regional economic fabric could predictably trigger the arrival of lots of similar companies.

So, if you are waiting for housing prices to come down before you buy, you may be waiting a long time.

David Baker, MBA, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, SFR

Broker/Owner, Baker Realty Group