Columbus Home Prices (Westerville, Upper Arlington, Gahanna: sales, crime rates, houses)

[bethchris]

Considering a move from the D.C. area in 1-2 years. Love Columbus. As I look on sites such as realtor.com in areas such as Worthington, Bexley, Dublin, I see nice looking homes for under $250K. Am I being deceived? Home prices here in D.C. are so high that those prices are like a godsend to us. Just wondering, though, if those prices are really "true." We are late 20's/early 30's and would be looking for a safe neighborhood. Schools not a factor as no kids, but safety is. Would like to buy a 3-4 bedroom home w/ a decent yard. Would most likely be working in Columbus, so wouldn't want a horrible commute. In fact, when you are naming neighborhoods could you also give me a rough idea of how long the commute would be to the city in rush hour traffic? Thanks so much.

[CirclevilleGuy]

Originally Posted by bethchris

Considering a move from the D.C. area in 1-2 years. Love Columbus. As I look on sites such as realtor.com in areas such as Worthington, Bexley, Dublin, I see nice looking homes for under $250K. Am I being deceived? Home prices here in D.C. are so high that those prices are like a godsend to us. Just wondering, though, if those prices are really "true." We are late 20's/early 30's and would be looking for a safe neighborhood. Schools not a factor as no kids, but safety is. Would like to buy a 3-4 bedroom home w/ a decent yard. Would most likely be working in Columbus, so wouldn't want a horrible commute. In fact, when you are naming neighborhoods could you also give me a rough idea of how long the commute would be to the city in rush hour traffic? Thanks so much.

The prices are definately true , one of the advantages of being in the midwest is the fact that the cost of living is much lower than it is on the east or west coasts.

You can get the statistics and crime rates of various areas by doing a google search of any area that may be of interest to you. The commute can definately vary depending on where you are in respect to where you drive to. I live about 20 miles south of Columbus and don't have any problem getting to most of the city within 45 minutes. For instance , if your work place is in Hilliard, you could pick West Jefferson with under a 30 minute drive time ,and might be more conductive to your time as compared to somewhere like Canal Winchester or Pickerington.

[Gee]

Homes sales for last year to date show Dublin's average sale price to be $314745 with an average sq ft of 2421 3bd 2.5 baths. Homes with 4 bd starting at just below the $200000 mark.Worthington's average sale price $198771 with an average sq ft of 1631 3bd 1.5 baths. Homes with 4 bd starting at just below the $175000 mark. Bexley's average sale price was $328684 with an average sq ft of 2312 3bd 1.5 baths. Homes with 4 bd starting at the $170000 mark. Out of 180 properties sold in Bexley slightly over half were above $200000.

[sdmlions]

Originally Posted by bethchris

Considering a move from the D.C. area in 1-2 years. Love Columbus. As I look on sites such as realtor.com in areas such as Worthington, Bexley, Dublin, I see nice looking homes for under $250K. Am I being deceived? Home prices here in D.C. are so high that those prices are like a godsend to us. Just wondering, though, if those prices are really "true." We are late 20's/early 30's and would be looking for a safe neighborhood. Schools not a factor as no kids, but safety is. Would like to buy a 3-4 bedroom home w/ a decent yard. Would most likely be working in Columbus, so wouldn't want a horrible commute. In fact, when you are naming neighborhoods could you also give me a rough idea of how long the commute would be to the city in rush hour traffic? Thanks so much.

Hilliard on the west side would be a great place for you to look at. Houses are very cheap out there and there is still plenty of space there. It is one of the safer areas in C'Bus. Dublin is very nice, but a little more upscale, and further out from the Downtown and campus area if you were working there. But some larger companies have headquarters in that area, so you could find something out that way. Upper Arlington is much closer but is also the most upscale area of town. Compared to DC home prices are still affordable, and you might find a 3 bd/2 bth for the mid 300s, i reckon. My personal favorite area is Worthington, especially close to Old Town Worthington and High St. You can't go wrong there, as it is a fairly easy commute into town.
Approx commute times:
Hilliard: 20-40 mins
Dublin: up to an hour to downtown C'Bus
UA: 15-30 mins
Worthington: 20-45 mins
Traffic in Columbus can be great one day, then horrendous the next, hence the wide range of commute times. Columbus drivers cannot drive in the rain! Good Luck!

[asearchforreason]

Originally Posted by sdmlions

Dublin: up to an hour to downtown C'Bus

No, I live in Dublin and commute to Ohio State's campus. That trip is about 25 minutes. Continuing to downtown would extend the trip to 30 - 35 minutes.

[bgfalcons86]

Just received a flyer from a Realtor in the mail today. These are recent home prices (within the last year), but I'm not sure of the exact timeframe. I rounded up to nearest $1000. Note that some communities aren't listed (Whitehall, Obetz, Pickerington) and only a couple of neighborhoods/areas of Columbus proper are listed.

Community / Avg. Price / Avg. Square Ft.
New Albany / $712,000 / 3843
Powell / $339,000 / 2744
Dublin / $329,000 / 2545
Upper Arlington / $327,000 / 2054
Bexley / $302,000 / 2195
Downtown Cols / $290,000 / 1546
Lewis Center / $288,000 / 2492
Grandview / $251,000 / 1611
Worthington / $245,000 / 1799
Hilliard / $216,000 / 1990
Westerville / $204,000 / 1950
Gahanna / $200,000 / 1923
Clintonville / $191,000 / 1429
Canal Winchester / $176,000 / 1869
Marysville / $173,000 / 1833
Grove City / $157,000 / 1686
Reynoldsburg / $148,000 / 1674

[OhioNerd]

I see nice looking homes for under $250K. Am I being deceived? .... Just wondering, though, if those prices are really "true."
I just lost a bid on a nice ranch about 20 min West of the outerbelt.
Nice big ranch with all the nice stuff in the kitchen and baths, plus big rooms and lot's of closet. 40x90 foot pole barn with cement floor, water & dedicated 200amp electrical service, all on 8 acres, with about 2.5 of them across a road so that it would be perfect for investment/development into a spec house or rental. My bid was basically 195. The winning bid was 205.
I just BOUGHT an almost 2000sq foot home at Buckeye Lake, off the water but less than 50 feet away; and the home is a real jewel. 175k with taxes around 1.5 grand.
So yes... The prices really are great.
200K gives you a major jump in quality.



...looking for a safe neighborhood.
Schools not a factor as no kids, but safety is.
Honestly? You'll need to be in the suburbs, and that means OUTSIDE the outerbelt. I'm refering to the "ring" that Rt.270 forms around Columbus.
And, for what it's worth, that get's you OUT of the Columbus Public School system. You might not care NOW, but you may later. And of course, you want to protect your resale value.



Would like to buy a 3-4 bedroom home w/ a decent yard.
I just ran an MLS search with the following criteria:
$200-300k
Single Family
3-5 Bedrooms
2+ baths
At least 1400sqft
At least 1/2 acre
OUTSIDE the beltway.
There were 262 homes available.

When I changed the search parameters to only include those with at least an acre of land, there were still 213 homes available.

So I'm guessing that you'll have at least a decent chance of finding something you'll like.



Would most likely be working in Columbus, so wouldn't want a horrible commute. In fact, when you are naming neighborhoods could you also give me a rough idea of how long the commute would be to the city in rush hour traffic?
That's problematic. The drivers around here are for the most part; complete idiots. They seem oblivious to the fact that there are other people on the roads. Rather than practice even POOR lane discipline they spread out to fill a highway like gas molecules in an enclosed space and they seem to have NO idea what the "Left Lane" is for.

Having said that, if you are coming here from one of the big East Coast cities; you'll be amazed at how trivial the traffic is. Picture a rush-hour commute where the traffic still moves at 50+ mph much of the time.

For the best commute, you want to approach the city from the west. However, the area that you will probably most want to live in is either North (Polaris area) or East.

Just a suggestion...?
Buy or build something in Pataskala.
Close enough to be an easy commute, far enough that land is still dramatically cheaper.

If you like the water, then you'll want either Choktaw Lake, 20 minutes West of the beltway; or Buckeye Lake; 20 minutes East. Choktaw is a small, gated community. Very private. Buckeye is a big lake, unlimited horsepower; gregarious.
How about really sweet waterfront properties at Buckeye... under 1/2 million?
I mean NICE stuff.

[asearchforreason]

...looking for a safe neighborhood.
Schools not a factor as no kids, but safety is.
Honestly? You'll need to be in the suburbs, and that means OUTSIDE the outerbelt. I'm refering to the "ring" that Rt.270 forms around Columbus.
And, for what it's worth, that get's you OUT of the Columbus Public School system. You might not care NOW, but you may later. And of course, you want to protect your resale value.

Well, there are definitely safe places inside the outerbelt. It's a bit of an over statement to say you have to be outside of the outerbelt to be safe. To be sure, there are some places you should avoid, as there are with any major city.

[OhioNerd]

Originally Posted by asearchforreason

It's a bit of an over statement to say you have to be outside of the outerbelt to be safe.

While your criticism is TECHNICALLY correct, for purely PRACTICAL considerations; I am forced to stand by my answer.

[streetcreed]

It is absurd to even state that one must live outside the outerbelt.
Bethchris I have lived inside of Columbus' outerbelt my entire life. I travel a lot and see many other cities.

It is a pure fact that some of the areas with the highest resale values are inside the outer belt.

Columbus city limits has many nice neighborhoods.
If your looking for schools there are certain schools in the district which are good schools. Some others are known for not testing well or being poorer.

Also, there are some of the cities most developed suburbs inside the outer belt, also more expensive.

I would suggest that since it sounds as you have visited the city to take all of the posts into consideration and realize that they merely are a person's opinion.

It is a fact though that right now some of the fastest increasing property values are inside the city of Columbus, especially in areas around downtown.

To actually help you further with your original question, to find a home under 250,000 that is nice, large, and in a nice area or suburb closer to downtown it will cost you more than 250,000. Worthington neighborhoods reach into the 300,000 or near the 400,000 for a nicer home in the city limits, Cliintonville or Beechwold areas of Columbus have homes under 250,000, but not a larger 4 bedroom, that would be over 300.000. Alll 3 are less expensive though than some other nice older areas.

Upper Arlington is going to be a stretch for even 300,000. Also, Grandview Heights has homes around 250,000 but not with 4 bedrooms and renovated. You would look higher for a larger or renovated home. Bexley is the same situation.

Now if you look into Westerville, Gahanna, Pickerington, Grove City, Reynoldsburg, Hilliard, Canal Winchester suburbs you will find something closer to 250,000. Also in some other Columbus neighborhoods.

I hope that helps, it is true that you can find cheaper homes here than other areas of the US, but for sought after developed neighborhoods with better schools and closer to the city you are going to pay for the location, location, location.