A survey confirms what many transplants to Ohio already know: Homes are inexpensive in Ohio. The survey, by Coldwell Banker Real Estate, shows that homes in all seven cities examined—Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo—are far less expensive than the national average. The annual study compares the price of a four-bedroom, 2,200-square ft. home in a “middle-management” neighborhood, which sold for an average of $354,372 in the 322 markets surveyed. In Columbus, the home costs $231,225, slightly less than in Ohio’s costliest city, Cincinnati, where the home costs $234,167. Ohio’s bargain city is Dayton, where the home costs $166,600. The most expensive city in the nation for housing is La Jolla, CA, where the same home costs $1.7 million. The least expensive: Minot, ND, where the home sets buyers back $130,000.
A new survey shows that it’s cheaper to insure a home in Ohio than in most other states. A study by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that Ohio’s average annual homeowners premium was 47th in the nation in 2001. Ohio’s average was $359 compared with the US average of $536. The Ohio Insurance Institute said homeowners premiums are stabilizing in Ohio this year compared with past years. The 10 largest writers of homeowners policies had raised premiums an average of 2.9 percent through May, after two years of increases averaging 14 percent.
Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 4, 2004