Columbus Dispatch: The 10 most expensive homes sold in central Ohio in 2019
CENTRAL OHIO’S MOST EXPENSIVE HOME SALE | PRICES KEEP RISING FOR HIGH-END HOMES
By Steve Stephens
The Columbus Dispatch
Posted at 4:56 AM
Updated at 5:50 AM
The high end for homes in central Ohio is getting higher.
“It used to be a million dollars was the real threshold,” said Alan Hinson of New Albany Realty. “That’s moved all the way to $3 million.”
The top central Ohio sales price in 2019 was $3.7 million, for a home in New Albany.
“There is not an abundance of buyers at this price range in Columbus,” said Jean Lesnick, the realtor who listed the house.
But that number is increasing, said Lesnick, also of New Albany Realty.
Selling the highest-priced home of the year was “a combination of timing and the stars aligning,” Lesnick said.
“This transaction really was a matter of buyers being ready, willing and able, and who knew what they wanted; and the owners of this home being ready to part with their amazing estate property,” she said.
To qualify as one of the top 10 central Ohio sales in 2019, a property needed to sell for nearly $2 million.
“It’s sort of rare air,” said Hinson, who listed another of the year’s top-priced homes, on Crooked Mile Road in Gahanna.
“It’s not always easy — a customer’s expectations, of course, rise with the price,” he said.
“But there are some really unique properties throughout Columbus. And Crooked Mile, that street is one of them. It’s a very special place; there are only four houses on the road, and it’s surrounded by hundreds of acres of conservation land.”
Another unusual home was the oldest on this year’s list, a German Village beauty on East Beck Street built in 1910.
“When you’re selling a historic home like this, you don’t get the kind of things you’d expect in New Albany — there’s no open floor plan,” said William Robbins, the agent who listed the house.
“In Upper Arlington or New Albany, homes in this price range are bigger, and may sell a little more quickly,” said Robbins, with HER Realtors.
The previous owner of the Beck Street house spent three years doing major, high-end renovations to the interior of the home without ever moving in, Robbins said.
“I had to have it staged and had to have a closet installed because you can’t sell a $1.6 million house without a closet,” he said.
The kitchen features rare marble countertops and Amish-made cabinets with walnut-lined interiors.
“The house already had beautiful oak floors,” Robbins said, “but the owner wanted 7-inch reclaimed naked white oak floors. I told him, ‘The irony is now your old floors are going to be reclaimed by someone else.’”
The Beck Street house was listed for $1,699,000. The eventual buyers offered $2 million for it and an adjacent property on Cedar Alley that the previous owner also owned, Robbins said.
“It’s what I call ‘compound ready,’” he said.
Jane Jones, who listed another of the highest-priced houses of the year, said $2 million homes can take a lot of time to sell in Columbus.
“Of course, there are a limited number of buyers in this range,” said Jones, of HER Realtors. “Still, the buyers are out there, and a lot of them seem to be coming in from out of town.
“There are people coming in from the San Francisco area, from Manhattan, people moving in from all over. There’s a lot of job growth in Columbus attracting people.”
And for people from many of those cities, Columbus homes, even the highest priced, look like bargains, Jones said. “But there are also a lot of people in Columbus,” she said, “who have decided to move up to a larger home, too.”
sstephens@dispatch.com
@stevestephens
* Note: Square footage includes finished basements and walkout levels.
[5/10]
5. 242 E. Beck St., Columbus (German Village) Sold for: $2,000,000 Square feet: 2,920 Lot: 0.09 acres This large and charming historic brick home, built in 1910, has been completely remodeled and updated, and it features luxurious finishes and bright and spacious rooms. Amenities include reclaimed oak floors, a double-sided fireplace, a dining room with custom built-in bookshelves, two private courtyards and a guest suite with a private terrace. The sale also included the adjacent parcel at 577 Cedar Alley, with a home in need of complete renovation. Listing agent: William T. Robbins, HER Realtors
