North Linden Columbus Ohio 2018 to 2019 Analysis

[Robert Ellis]

North Linden is an area that has seen a lot of interest in Columbus Ohio. I myself hadn't done a flip here until 2019. Since the year is over, it's a great time to look at these areas. In this post I'm going to look at North Linden Single family homes.

Where is North Linden? It's on the North side of Columbus directly adjacent to Glen Echo. It's bounded by E N Broadway on the North, Cleveland Avenue on the East, E Hudson On the South, and I-71 on the west. Here is a quick map of the area:

Let's get into some data, shall we? In 2018, 221 homes sold in this area with an average price of $69,650.77. Homes spent an average of 31.25 days on the market. Personally, I like to watch inventory over the 75k mark because I think it's a very healthy way to track this market. Looking at these homes, of those 220, 85 sold over 75k. Ironically, homes in this price point spent an average days on market of 17.87 days (shorter than the overall area). My guess is because the majority of these homes are remodeled. The highest sale price was $170,000 in 2018 (766 E Longview Avenue). Here's a quick map of the areas:

Now let's look at 2019. I also am going to break it down by quarter so that we can see some velocity and see where the market might be going this year. First, let's look at total homes sold. A very consistent 238 homes were sold in this same area in 2019. The average of these homes were $84,470.55. These homes spent an average of 35.2 days on the market.

Based on this data, that means the average home appreciated 21.10% year over year. Of course the lower the price point that you bought the more it would have appreciated. Now let's look at the inventory over 75k again.

120 homes sold above 75k. These homes averaged 22.03 days on the market. The highest sale price in 2019 was $185,000 (1674 Melrose Avenue). Let's break this price point down a little bit more by quarter and just see what the market is doing.

Q1 2019:

12 Homes Closed over 75k. Average of these 12 homes was $109,366. Days on market was 32.08. Highest sale price was $150,000 and the average price per sq ft of these 12 homes was $103.67.

Q2 2019:

41 homes closed over 75k. Average of these 41 homes was $122,501.22. Days on market was 26.76. Highest sale price was $172,050 and the average price per sq ft of these 12 homes was $108.61.

Q3 2019:

40 homes closed over 75k. Average of these 40 homes was $120,320. Days on market was 11.6. Highest sale price was $185,000 and the average price per sq ft of these 40 homes was $109.56.

Q4 2019:

27 homes closed over 75k. Average of these 27 homes was $107,455.56. Days on market was 27.07. Highest sale price was $169,900 and the average price per sq ft of these 27 homes was $107.12.

Q1 2020 Year to Date (not complete quarter):

6 homes closed over 75k. Average of these 3 homes was $101,625. Days on market was 20. Highest sale price was $150,000 and the average price per sq ft of these 6 homes was $115.85.

Currently there are 9 homes for sale over 75k that are "active". Based on historical figures, that would be 1-2 months of supply which is a seller's market in North Linden.

So what does this all mean?

As always I personally don't like to make interpretations and assumptions. But based on two years of historical figures, it seems like North Linden is a steadily increasing market. The year over year numbers show appreciation and consistent sales. Keep an eye out for this area for sure. 

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Lisa Maldonado:

Hi Rob - we are looking at North Linden for our first investment property.  Out of state, but would put our 20 yr old son in as the renter, with the goal of appreciation over the next 2-3 years.  Concentrating on <$100k cash, and willing to do some cosmetic stuff.  Issue I'm seeing is some significant crime reports in the area.  Looking West of Cleveland Ave, South of Morse Rd.  1-3 miles from Northern Lights.  Any thoughts 

I am in North Linden. If its 80-100k, for your son and for appreciation, I would suggest Kenmore Park, super nice area within North Linden. Basically bounded by Cleveland, Weber, Oakland Park and Medina.  You may be able to find <$100k cash but you have to be willing to move FAST if/when something comes up. I mean within that first day.  If you can wiggle up towards 100k you will have a lot more opportunities. 

Another nice area is Maize-Morse, but prices are higher there.  The parts of 43224 I don't really like are directly behind Northern Lights, the McGuffey/Howey/Grasmere area north of Weber, and the Beulah area just north of Moon. Mostly because they are kind of difficult to drive in and/or a bit seedy.  However, those are all still reasonable areas, and you are more likely to find <100k cash there.   They are completely fine places for rentals. 

You can also look at North Linden 43211 west of McGuffey between Weber and Hudson. Ironically the howey/grasmere/etc roads get nicer once you cross Weber. 

Crime is largely either low-level property crime (I left my car doors unlocked and someone stole change) or "business disputes" of various street-level issues.  You really don't want to be wandering around the alleys behind Cleveland, Weber, or Hudson at night, but if you are streetsmart and respectful, problems are rare.