One of the most common questions I get from my YouTube viewers is simple: should you buy a home in Ohio right now — or wait?
It's a fair question. I analyzed the latest Ohio housing data — and for the first time in years, it's moving in buyers' direction. Home sellers are finally waking up and cutting their prices — across Ohio, 18% have cut their asking price, a 7-year high. Home price growth has slowed from 6.8% in 2024 to 3.5% today.
The numbers tell the story at the local level too. In the upscale Columbus suburb of Dublin, the typical home price has climbed 53% since 2019 — from $361,000 to $554,000. For years Dublin sellers commanded multiple offers with few price cuts. That's changing. Price cuts in Dublin have hit a 7-year high — 22% vs. 7% in 2023. And home price growth has slowed from 15% in 2021 to under 1% today.
In this post I'll answer:
Three things are happening at once. They've been building for years.
Ohio home values rose over 50% from 2019 to their recent peak. Annual price growth hit double digits in 2021 and 2022 across major Ohio markets. Today that growth has slowed dramatically — statewide it's 3.5% year over year according to Zillow, and in some markets it's barely above flat.
Sellers got used to a different market. Recency bias is powerful. A seller who watched their neighbor get $50,000 over asking in 2021 still thinks that's the market. It's not. Multiple price cuts later, they're figuring that out.
To understand where we are today you have to understand where we came from.
After the Great Financial Crisis, Ohio — like most of the country — was flooded with homes for sale. In Central Ohio alone, active listings peaked at over 22,000 in 2007. The foreclosure wave kept inventory elevated for years. Buyers had options. Sellers had to compete.
Then something shifted. As the market healed through the 2010s, inventory started a slow, steady decline. By 2019, Central Ohio was down to just over 5,000 active listings. Then COVID hit.
Money got cheap, demand exploded, and Ohio didn't have the supply to handle it. FOMO created a feeding frenzy. Central Ohio inventory cratered to just 2,018 active listings in March 2021 — a 91% drop from the post-crisis peak. Statewide, Realtor.com data shows Ohio hit a low of 8,352 active listings in March 2022.
Since then, homeowners locked into low rates have slowly come off the sidelines. Life happens. People need to move. That steady increase in new listings has pushed statewide inventory back up to 20,316 active listings as of June 2026.
But here's the important part: we're still 27% below pre-pandemic inventory levels. In 2019, Ohio had nearly 28,000 active listings statewide. We're nowhere near that yet. Don't expect sellers to be desperate — most aren't. What's shifted is that overpriced homes are finally getting punished by a market that has more options than it did two years ago.
A market can only absorb so much before buyers tap out.
Look at what's happened to the monthly payment on a typical home in Franklin County. According to Zillow, the typical single-family home there is now $332,000 — up from $265,000 in 2021.
| 2021 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical Franklin County home value (Zillow) | $264,932 | $332,044 |
| 30-year fixed rate (Freddie Mac) | 2.65% | 6.55% |
| Monthly principal & interest | ~$1,065 | ~$2,115 |
| Property taxes (annual) | $3,708 | $4,244 |
| Insurance (annual) | $1,231 | $1,990 |
| Total monthly payment | ~$1,725 | ~$2,986 |
That's nearly $1,300 more per month — almost $15,000 more per year — to own the same home. Higher rates combined with rising property taxes and an insurance market that has jumped 62% since 2021 have pushed a significant number of buyers to the sidelines. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know property taxes have become a major issue across Ohio. Watch: Ohio Homeowners Are About to Lose Everything → And as home values have climbed, it simply costs more to insure them.
The result shows up in the contract data. Franklin County pending home sales have dropped meaningfully from their 2021 peak. Demand still exists — but it's not what it was. Fewer qualified buyers plus more seller competition equals price cuts.
Price cuts don't mean the market is crashing. Prices statewide are still up 3.5% year over year according to Zillow — and that holds true across Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton counties. What price cuts actually signal is something more specific and more useful: sellers are moveable.
A seller who has cut their price once — or twice — has already had a reality check. They listed high, the market said no, and they adjusted. That seller is far more likely to negotiate on price, concessions, closing costs, and repairs than a seller who just listed and is still holding firm.
That's a meaningful shift. For most of the last five years, negotiating in Ohio was nearly impossible. Sellers held all the cards. That's changing.
But don't misread this as a guarantee. Homes priced correctly from day one — move-in ready, desirable neighborhood, strong floor plan — are still moving fast. Sometimes the same day. Sometimes over asking.
As a local REALTOR®, I help a lot of buyers. I'm seeing real negotiating power return to the table in ways I haven't seen in years. But it's not uniform.
House A: Priced slightly above market. Move-in ready. Desirable area. 75 days on market. Three price cuts. Sold 10% under original list price plus seller concessions.
House B: Same area, same condition. Priced at market from day one. Sold at asking within two weeks.
Price cuts are a signal, not a guarantee. They tell you the seller has gotten realistic. But don't confuse more price cuts with a housing crash in the making. Demand is still on the struggle bus — but Ohio is now outpacing most U.S. metros for migration. According to Bank of America, six of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the country in Q1 2026 were in the Midwest — with Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland all seeing net population inflows. That continued demand is a floor under prices even as sellers get more flexible.
Price cuts tell you a seller has become more realistic. That's your opening — and it's more than Ohio buyers have had in years.
See the live Ohio housing data →There are two things you're looking for here, and they require two different tools. The first is understanding the trend — is your target county moving in a buyer-friendly direction or not? For that, use the Ohio housing data dashboard. It shows price cut rates, days on market, and price trends by county in one place. The second is finding specific listings that have already been reduced. For that, you have two options: call a REALTOR® and ask them to set up an automated search for homes with recent price reductions in your area, or go directly to Zillow and use the "Price Reduced" filter. Both take about two minutes.
Start with the Ohio housing data dashboard. Before you do anything else, check how your target county is trending — whether price cuts are rising or falling and what prices are doing. County data gives you direction. But hyperlocal matters more. Two neighborhoods in the same county can tell completely different stories, so once you know your county is trending toward buyer territory, you need to drill down to the street level.
From there, Zillow makes it easy. There's a filter specifically for homes with price reductions. Free, takes 30 seconds, and it narrows your search to sellers who've already shown flexibility.
If you're working with a REALTOR®, ask them to set up an automated list of homes with recent price reductions in your target area. Any agent worth their commission can do this in minutes — and it means you'll know the moment a seller blinks.
But here's what most buyers miss: a home without a price cut can still be very negotiable.
Earlier this year I helped a buyer who was searching for about a month. We looked at over a dozen properties — some with price cuts, some without. The one we landed on had only one price reduction — a few thousand dollars on a $400,000 list price. On the surface it looked like the seller was holding firm.
They weren't. After talking to the listing agent and doing some digging, I figured out the seller had a lot more flexibility than the price cut history suggested. The home had been sitting for over 200 days. We put together an offer well below list and got it — the final purchase price was $325,000 on a home originally listed at $400,000. That's a $75,000 discount from the original ask. Not because of the price cut. Because of the days on market and because we asked.
Days on market matters just as much as price cuts. A home sitting for 60, 90, 120+ days — with or without a formal reduction — often has a seller who's ready to deal. You just have to ask.
Whether you should buy a home in Ohio depends on your market, budget, and timeline. Sellers are more flexible than they've been in seven years. Prices are still rising but slowing. For prepared buyers, this may be the best window in years.
Timing the housing market is basically impossible. Buying a home is a long-term commitment — and treating it that way is what separates buyers who thrive from buyers who end up house poor.
A few practical things worth thinking through before you pull the trigger:
1. Educate yourself about your local market and the home buying process. Spend real time doing the work. Understanding what's actually happening in your specific county and neighborhood — not just what you read in a national headline — is the difference between a good decision and a reactive one. The latest Ohio housing market analysis is a good place to start.
2. Consider the entire cost of owning a home. Not just the mortgage payment. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, monthly upkeep, and repairs add up fast — and most buyers don't figure that out until it's too late. The payment table above tells part of the story. Make sure you've run the full number before you commit.
3. Buy for the right reasons. Not because of Instagram. Not because your friends are doing it. Not because a REALTOR® is pressuring you. Sometimes the best decision is to wait. Make sure you're buying because you want to, you're ready, and it fits comfortably within your budget. Nobody wants to be house poor.
Buying a home isn't an exact science. But there are ways to do it strategically. Download the free Buy or Wait guide — 5 honest questions that cut through the noise so you can make the call based on your actual situation. Or if you're ready to talk, reach out directly — or dig deeper into the numbers on my YouTube channel.
Not statewide — yet. We haven't seen overall price declines, but price growth is slowing. The rate at which Ohio home prices are increasing has pulled back significantly from recent peaks. That said, some ZIP codes are already showing actual year-over-year price declines. Use the Ohio housing data page to check your specific ZIP.
It depends on your market, budget, and timeline. Sellers are more flexible than they've been in seven years. For prepared buyers, this may be the best window since 2019. Check out my buy or wait guide to help think through your specific situation.
Three reasons: years of overpricing, rising supply and more competition among home sellers, and an affordability ceiling that has pushed buyers to the sidelines.
Use Zillow's price reduction filter. Ask your REALTOR® for an automated list. And don't overlook homes with high days on market — they're often just as negotiable.
Unlikely. Ohio is seeing strong migration inflows — Columbus ranked top 5 fastest-growing metros in Q1 2026 per Bank of America. Demand is a floor under prices.
In Franklin County, the typical monthly payment has gone from $1,725 to $2,986 — driven by higher home values, rates, property taxes, and insurance. Understanding your budget before you search is critical. Speak with a mortgage professional in your area to learn what you qualify for and what loan makes the most sense for your situation.
Buying or selling in Ohio? Let's talk.