You have been told to wait. Wait for rates to drop. Wait for prices to crash. Wait for the "right" time. Here is what the Columbus numbers actually say in the summer of 2026, and it is not what the wait-and-see crowd wants to hear.
Is now a good time to buy a house in Columbus?
Short version: for the right buyer, yes. The market has shifted in your favor in one specific way most people are missing.
Inventory is up. Central Ohio had about 5,223 single-family homes and condos for sale in a recent May report, an 8.2 percent jump over a year ago. That is roughly a two-month supply. Still a seller's market on paper, but a looser one than buyers have seen in years. More homes on the market means more choice, less bidding-war pressure, and more room to negotiate than you had in 2023 or 2024. That is the leverage nobody is talking about.
But aren't prices still going up?
Yes, and that is the other half of the honest answer. The median sales price in Central Ohio rose to about $350,000, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier. Homes are still selling in about 29 days on average. Closed sales climbed 7.8 percent year over year. This is not a market falling apart. It is a market appreciating while quietly handing buyers more options.
So the people waiting for a crash are waiting on something the data does not support. Prices are rising, not dropping. Every month you wait, the same house tends to cost more and your future down payment buys less.
The real question isn't "will prices drop"
It is "do you want to compete against more buyers or fewer."
Here is the math that matters. Rates and prices move on a national tide you cannot control. Inventory is local, and right now Central Ohio inventory is high relative to recent years. When rates eventually ease, the buyers sitting on the sidelines today come flooding back at the same moment. That surge hits the same homes, and the leverage you have right now disappears.
You are not timing the bottom. Nobody does. You are choosing the size of the crowd you compete with. Today that crowd is thinner than it will be the day the headlines turn.
What this means for your money
A few things worth knowing before you decide:
- A two-month supply still favors sellers, but it gives you negotiating room on the right house, especially one that has sat past that 29-day average. Days on market is your friend. A home listed five weeks is a conversation.
- Ohio property taxes run about 1.36 percent on average and vary a lot by district. The tax bill on a $350,000 home is not a rounding error. Know the number for the specific suburb before you fall in love with the house.
- Appreciation cuts both ways. A 4.3 percent gain on a $350,000 home is roughly $15,000 in a year. That is equity that goes to the owner, not the renter waiting for a better moment.
The honest take
I am not going to tell you to buy a house you cannot afford because a stat looks good. That is not how I work. If your job is shaky or your savings are thin, wait, and let's build a plan to get you ready.
But if you are financially ready and you have been sitting out because someone told you a crash is coming, you are leaving real leverage on the table. More inventory. Fewer competing buyers. Prices that are climbing, not falling. That combination does not last. It tightens the day sentiment shifts.
The best time to buy is when you are ready and the market is giving you room. Right now, in Columbus, it is giving you room.
Thinking about buying in Columbus or the suburbs? Let's talk through your numbers and what is actually on the market for you. If you are a first-time buyer, the OHFA rate programs can stretch your range, and if you are weighing new construction, here is the new construction vs resale math.
Contact Adam Geuy at NextHome Experience. 937-239-2919.