Prices, inventory, and demand — distilled every month into one clear verdict: buyer’s market or seller’s. The investor’s read, before you make an offer.
The median asking price in Columbus is about $302,000 as of Sep 2026, down 1.6% from a year ago. The typical listing is 3% smaller than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is up 17.6%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the drop. That is the asking price on listed homes, so sold-price and home-value sites show different numbers (why).
Only on the right house. Neither side has the upper hand in Columbus right now. The signals split. Compared with 2017–2019 at this time of year, the typical listing has been up 28% fewer days, but 26% of sellers have cut their price, against 21% then. The market will not hand you a discount. You have to find it in one specific listing.
Asking price per square foot in Columbus is up 17.6% over the last year. Over five years the pace has been 6.8% a year. Underwrite closer to that than to the last twelve months.
The median asking price is 21.4% below its Jun 2023 peak. Per square foot, asking prices are at their high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Columbus prices have risen in 90 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.
This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.
Ranked among the 16 Indiana markets we track:
For every 100 homes still for sale, 46 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 45. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. About 1 in 4 sellers has already dropped their price. Each one has learned their first price was too high. Start your offer below their new price.
The typical Columbus listing has been on the market 43 days. That is 20% shorter than a year ago. There are 227 homes for sale in Columbus. That is 5.7 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 331. Supply is growing against last year.
In Columbus, 31 out of every 100 households rent. Most own their home. The renter share is growing. Five years ago it was 30 in 100. Columbus added about 1,400 renter households in five years. Renter households average 2.2 people. Two and three bedrooms fit the typical renter.
Households grew 10% in five years. The housing stock grew 7%. Demand is outrunning supply. Just 5.8% of homes sit empty. A well-priced rental fills fast here.
The median Columbus household earns $79,775 a year. Incomes here have grown 4.7% a year since 2019. Home prices have outrun incomes. Locals are being priced out. A typical home costs 3.8 times the median income. Locals can afford to buy here. Your exit buyer can be a local family. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $1,994 a month.
To see what one Columbus address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.
Read cash flow versus appreciation and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.
The median asking price in Columbus is about $302,000 as of Sep 2026, down 1.6% from a year ago. The typical listing is 3% smaller than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is up 17.6%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the drop. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Columbus figures cover the 3 ZIP codes with a Columbus mailing address, which can reach past city limits.
Neither side has the upper hand in Columbus right now. We compare Columbus with 2017–2019 at this time of year: the typical listing has been up 28% fewer days; 26% of sellers have cut their price, against 21% then; there are 6% more homes for sale.
The median asking price is 21.4% below its Jun 2023 peak. Per square foot, asking prices are at their high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.
Across 9 full years, Columbus asking prices ran lowest in January, about 4.1% below the year's average. They peaked in May. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 16% above the yearly average.
Assume +6.3% a year. Columbus has grown about 6.8% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 17.6% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Bartholomew County is $1,415 a month for 2 bedrooms and $1,697 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.
Columbus has three ZIP codes. Each links to its live market dashboard.
Closest matches on asking price, price per square foot, time on market, buyer demand, and price cuts.
.png)
