An expert's 2024 predictions for Columbus real estate

Driving the news: We asked Columbus Realtors president Scott Hrabcak for his predictions.

What he's saying:

🔥 Falling interest rates will stoke the fire.

• Mortgage rates are down from October's near 8% peak, which kept many prospective buyers and sellers on the sidelines last year.
• The National Association of Realtors' chief economist predicts rates will stay closer to 6%, likely low enough to heat things up during the typical summer surge.
• "That's a little easier to accept for sellers … and provides an opportunity for new homebuyers to look at properties that otherwise might have been a little out of reach," Hrabcak says.

💸 It will remain a sellers' market.

• New inventory is unlikely to catch up with demand any time soon, though, which means buyers must still come to the table with financing approved and be ready to compromise.
• Hrabcak suggests shopping around for a realtor until you find one who represents your needs and "idea of affordability."

🚗 Columbus' outer ring will expand.

• Delaware and Union counties are experiencing rapid growth thanks to availability of land for homebuilding, and that's unlikely to change in 2024.

• Similar booms in Licking and Pickaway counties are expected to keep our metro area's footprint growing.
• "Many of us wouldn't have considered Marysville or Delaware Columbus suburbs a decade ago, but more people are finding a 30- or 40-minute commute isn't too bad," Hrabcak says — especially if they're Ohio transplants or they're working from home.

The bottom line: "Several publications are looking at Ohio's three Cs — Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland — as being in the top 10 in the nation for activity in 2024," Hrabcak tells Axios. "It's going to be a big year."