Some of central Ohio's key housing voices say the traditional starter home is a thing of the past.
So if you have, say, $150,000 to spend, what can you actually buy?
Home prices in Columbus have been on a steady rise over the years, with the median sales price at $350,000
as of last month, up from $213,500 in August 2019. Suffice it to say, market conditions have made many would-be-first-time buyers feel like a starter home is out of reach.Still, some local housing experts say starter homes haven't vanished entirely. Finding one at a truly entry-level price, however, may mean looking in less popular neighborhoods or taking on a house that needs some serious work.
A Zillow search for houses listed for $150,000 or less in Franklin County yielded
224 results on Sept. 18. The vast majority were concentrated in four pockets – Linden, Hilltop, the South Side and parts of the Southeast Sides. There were no for-sale houses listed below $150,000 in Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Hilliard, Dublin or Worthington.
And while $150,000 can buy a move-in-ready house in some corners of the county, the options tend to get considerably rougher as prices drop below that mark. Many of the cheapest listings are marketed as "an investment opportunity" or properties in need of serious rehabilitation.
So, in an era when the conventional starter home is becoming harder to find, what does $150,000 or less actually buy you in central Ohio? Here's a look at what's on the market and where.
Linden
The Linden area, located on Columbus' Northeast Side, currently offers dozens of starter-home-style properties under $150,000.
One example on the higher end of that spectrum is 2431 Lexington Ave., located in North Linden. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home is roughly 1,000 square feet and was built in 1942.
Most of the neighborhood's listings in that price range are similar – one-story homes around 1,000 square feet built in the mid-1900s, several with unfinished but full basements.
There are also a handful of listings under $100,000, though most were marketed as investment opportunities or only available via auction.
Hilltop
Situated on Columbus' Southwest Side, the Hilltop neighborhood also has many houses under $150,000, though several are in need of extensive refurbishment or advertised specifically toward investors.
That said, there are some that fit that standard starter home criteria, like 212 S. Harris Ave. On the market for $145,000, the 1,100-square-foot house with three bedrooms and one bathroom was built in 1920 but recently updated.
There's also a few properties priced under $100,000 that appear move-in ready, like 555 Clark Ave. in South Hilltop. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom house was built in 1948 and sits at just about 1,000 square feet. It's listed for $85,000.
South Side
There are some lower-priced homes scattered around the city's Far South neighborhood, but the majority of Columbus' South Side homes under $150,000 are concentrated in the Deshler Park and Driving Park areas.
Several such properties, however, are listed as foreclosures.
Those that appear move-in ready include homes like 1107 Smith Road, listed for $150,000 with three bedrooms, one bathroom and 1,200 square feet.
Like the other neighborhoods on this list, many of the properties listed under $150,000 are in need of major repairs.
Southeast Side: Eastmoor, Whitehall, Blacklick Estates
Homes around the $150,000 mark are harder to come by on Columbus' Southeast Side than in the other areas on this list, though there are listings scattered across Eastmoor, Whitehall and Blacklick Estates.
In Eastmoor, for example, 1091 S. Ashburton Road is a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, 960-square-foot house built in 1952 and listed for $130,000.
Or, in Whitehall, there's 991 Dimson Drive East, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house at 1,050 square feet from 1954 that's listed for $140,000. A handful of similarly sized and priced homes are also available in Blacklick Estates.
Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Starter homes under $150K in Franklin County are scarce but real
