Central Ohio home prices climbed 7.1% in the third quarter compared with last year, well above the national average of 4.8%.
The median price of a Columbus-area home during the three months was $207,600, up from $193,900 a year earlier, according to quarterly figures released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the median sales price rose to $266,900 while in the Midwest, it climbed to $206,800 in the third quarter.
The most expensive housing market in the quarter was the San Jose, Calif., area, where a median-priced home sold for $1,300,000. With a median price of $989,000, San Francisco was the second-most-expensive market in the nation, followed by Anaheim, Calif., at $830,000; and Honolulu, at $818,600.
With a median price of $97,600, the Youngstown area was the least-expensive metro in the nation, and the only one below $100,000. Youngstown was followed by Decatur, Ill., $102,800; Cumberland, Md., $110,300; and Wichita Falls, Texas, $115,600.
Median prices elsewhere in Ohio: Canton, $139,000; Cincinnati, $179,100; Cleveland, $159,800; Dayton, $154,000; and Toledo, $130,100.
A shortage of homes pushed prices up while dampening sales 2.6 percent during the quarter.
"Though inventory is more than adequate on the upper-end market, the insufficient supply of low to mid-priced homes in metro markets with strong job growth continues to drive up prices and push prospective buyers out of the market," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a news release.
"A strong economy and consistent job growth should be driving up home sales; however, would-be homebuyers are struggling to find a home they can afford."
To buy a single-family home at the national median price, a buyer with a 5% down payment would require an income of $64,480. A 10% down payment would require an income of $61,086 and a 20 percent down payment would require a $54,299 income.
Yun called for builders to ramp up construction to help meet demand.
"The market desperately needs homebuilders to begin constructing more moderately priced single-family home and condominiums to help satisfy demand and mitigate rapid price growth," he said.
