From Columbus 2026 Housing Market Stabilization to Olympic Soccer Selection: Real Estate Metrics Show $326K Median with 34-Day Market Time While Lower.com Field Hosts 2028 Games as I-73 Highway Study Advances and Downtown Rent Concessions Jump to 30%

Hey, it's Gagan, yep, still the only Gagan Timsina in the world!

Btw - Columbus’ Housing Landscape is About to Change Forever (You NEED to watch this)

his week's data reveals Columbus housing market achieving equilibrium after years volatility while Olympic selection validates sports infrastructure investment.

In today's newsletter:

• Housing Market Reality Check: Median hit $325,945 with homes taking 34 days to sell and going for 97% of asking price — basically the wild bidding wars are over and actual negotiation is back.

• Olympic Soccer Announcement: Lower.com Field is hosting men's and women's Olympic matches in 2028, which means the world's watching Columbus for the first time ever.

• I-73 Highway Study: ODOT's spending $1.5M to figure out if we can turn U.S. 23 into a full interstate running from Toledo down through Columbus to southern Ohio.

• Downtown Apartment Deals: Landlords went from 15% offering free rent in summer to 30% by year-end because they built way more luxury apartments than people willing to pay $2,000+ monthly.

COLUMBUS HOUSING MARKET FINALLY STABILIZES — BUYERS GET BREATHING ROOM, SELLERS NEED REALITY CHECKS

The absolute insanity is over. Homes are selling around $326K, taking about a month to move, and going for 97% of what sellers ask. That's a completely different game than 2021-2022. [Gagan Timsina]

Here's What Actually Changed:

Median prices landed at $325,945 for 2025. Not crashing, not exploding — just normal appreciation for the first time in years.

About 5,000 homes sat on the market at any given time. That's nowhere near the pre-pandemic glut, but it's also not the "three houses available citywide" nightmare we saw during COVID.

Houses took 34 days to sell on average. Think about that — buyers actually have time to get inspections, compare options, and not make panic decisions over a weekend.

Homes sold for 97% of list price. Translation: the days of offering $50K over asking with no inspection are basically gone.

Monthly closings averaged 2,463. Steady volume, not the feeding frenzy speculation we saw when interest rates were at 3%.

What This Means for You:

If you're buying, you've got leverage now. You can actually negotiate repairs, ask for credits, include inspection contingencies — stuff that got you laughed out of the room two years ago.

If you're selling, price it right from day one. Testing the market high and hoping for a bidding war? That's how you end up sitting for 60+ days and eventually cutting price, which just signals desperation.

The people still doing well are the ones treating this like a strategy game with data, not an emotional lottery. Over-asking offers stayed rare all year, which tells you everything about where buyer psychology sits right now.

The Reality:

We dodged both extremes. No crash like some doom-and-gloomers predicted. No return to 2021 craziness either. Just a functional market where supply and demand actually matter again.

That 5,000-home inventory is the key number. It's not enough to tank prices, but it's enough to give buyers options and force sellers to be competitive. That's the sweet spot Columbus has been missing.

COLUMBUS JUST BECAME AN OLYMPIC HOST CITY — LOWER.COM FIELD GETTING SOCCER MATCHES IN 2028

LA28 organizing committee confirmed it: Columbus is hosting Olympic soccer. Men's and women's matches at Lower.com Field, which they'll temporarily rename Columbus Stadium during the Games. Tickets go on sale in April via the Olympic lottery system. [Gagan Timsina]

What We Know:

This is the first time Columbus has ever hosted Olympic anything. The matches happen in summer 2028 leading up to the finals in Los Angeles on July 28-29.

Lower.com Field gets rebranded as "Columbus Stadium" temporarily because of Olympic sponsor rules. Capacity runs around 20,000, which is perfect for group-stage soccer matches.

The ticket lottery opens in April 2026 through the LA28 website. If you want seats, you'll need to register and hope you get drawn.

Why This Actually Matters:

Columbus has called itself the "spiritual home of U.S. soccer" for decades. Now we've got the receipts to prove it — the Olympics don't pick host cities randomly. They picked us because we've built the infrastructure and proven we can handle world-class events.

This isn't just about a few soccer games. Billions of people worldwide will see "Columbus, Ohio" on their screens during the broadcasts. That's exposure you literally cannot buy with any marketing budget.

The economic impact runs beyond match days too. International visitors need hotels, restaurants, transportation. Corporate sponsors activate around the city. Media crews camp out here for weeks covering team arrivals and training sessions.

The Bigger Picture:

This validates every dollar Columbus invested in Lower.com Field and downtown development over the past decade. You don't get Olympic hosting rights with a mediocre stadium in a struggling downtown.

It positions Columbus alongside cities like Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta as markets operating on a national-to-global stage, not just regional hubs. That matters when companies decide where to expand and when talented professionals choose where to relocate.

And honestly? It's just cool. Your kids will remember watching Olympic soccer matches in their hometown. That's the kind of moment that defines a city's identity for generations.

ODOT STUDYING WHETHER U.S. 23 SHOULD BECOME FULL INTERSTATE — $1.5M ANALYSIS UNDERWAY

The state's spending $1.5 million to figure out if U.S. 23 running through Columbus should get upgraded to Interstate 73, which would eventually connect Michigan all the way down to South Carolina. Decision coming by end of 2026. [WCMH-TV]

Here's the Proposal:

I-73 would run from Michigan's Upper Peninsula down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — basically creating a north-south highway alternative to I-75. The Ohio portion would go Toledo to Chesapeake (southern Ohio), running right through Columbus on what's currently U.S. 23.

Parts of the existing U.S. 23 could get converted to interstate lanes depending on what the study finds. That means potentially using infrastructure already there versus building entirely new roads.

ODOT's analyzing routes, funding options, economic impacts, and environmental concerns. The whole thing wraps by December 2026, then state leaders decide whether to actually pursue it.

Why Southern Ohio Wants This:

Rep. Dave Taylor pushed hard for the study, pointing to the Piketon American Centrifuge Plant that started enriching uranium in 2023 for nuclear reactors. His argument: you can't have critical defense facilities and nuclear operations sitting on two-lane country roads.

The broader pitch claims it would relieve traffic congestion, create tens of thousands of construction jobs, and give coastal areas a hurricane evacuation route. Whether those benefits justify the cost is exactly what the study's supposed to figure out.

Important Reality Check:

This study does NOT mean construction is happening. ODOT made that crystal clear — it's purely informational to give decision-makers actual data instead of guesses.

Meanwhile, ODOT's already moving forward with a $2 billion plan to improve U.S. 23 from Worthington to Waldo by reducing traffic lights, adding interchanges, and building overpasses. That's happening regardless of whether I-73 gets approved.

What It Could Mean for Columbus:

If I-73 happens, Columbus gets another major north-south interstate corridor supplementing I-71, which is already congested during rush hours. That's potentially huge for freight movement and commercial development along the route.

But the devil's in the details — specifically where the route actually goes through Columbus. Following existing U.S. 23 means tearing through established neighborhoods for widening. A parallel route means buying a ton of land and dealing with environmental reviews for years.

The realistic timeline if approved? We're talking a decade-plus before you're actually driving on I-73. Major highway projects move at glacial speed between funding, design, permitting, and construction.

DOWNTOWN APARTMENT LANDLORDS OFFERING MASSIVE RENT DEALS — CONCESSIONS DOUBLED AS LUXURY UNITS SIT EMPTY

Landlords went from 15% offering free rent deals last summer to 30% by year-end. Translation: they built way more luxury apartments than people willing to pay luxury prices, so now they're getting desperate. [Columbus Business First]

The Numbers Tell the Story:

Preston Centre at 155 E. Broad charges $2,037 for a one-bedroom and $5,900 for a three-bedroom. They're offering three months free rent and still only sitting at 55% occupied.

Jaeger Square over in German Village area runs $1,500 for a studio up to $8,051 for the penthouse. They're at 67% occupied and pushing March 25 move-in specials.

Meanwhile, Vera on Broad — which starts at $1,185 for a one-bedroom — is 95% full. Notice a pattern? The cheaper option is crushing it while the luxury buildings struggle.

Why This Is Happening:

Developers went all-in on high-end downtown apartments assuming Columbus was turning into mini-Manhattan overnight. Turns out, there's only so many people willing to drop $2,000-8,000 monthly on rent when they could buy a house in the suburbs for less.

Plus, you've got winter seasonal slowdown hitting. Nobody wants to move in January-February when it's freezing outside. Landlords know this, so they're throwing concessions at people hoping to lock in tenants before spring when competition picks up.

The student factor matters too downtown. A lot of rental activity follows OSU's academic calendar, with most movement happening in summer. Winter is dead season.

What It Means:

If you're looking to rent downtown, you've got serious leverage right now. Landlords are offering one, two, even three months free rent just to get bodies in units. That's basically 8-25% off your annual rent depending on the deal.

But here's the flip side — these luxury rents are approaching what you'd pay in New York or San Francisco. A 594-square-foot one-bedroom in NYC runs about $4,047, so Columbus isn't quite there yet, but we're climbing fast. At some point, you have to ask whether downtown Columbus justifies those prices when you could live in German Village or Short North for way less.

The real winners? Middle-income renters who grabbed Vera on Broad-type buildings at $1,185 before all this luxury stuff got built. Those are the deals that actually make sense for most Columbus households.

THIS WEEK'S WRAP-UP

Homeowners: Your property values are holding steady with that $326K median, and the Olympic announcement just added serious cachet to Columbus as a global-stage city, which helps long-term desirability.

Home buyers: You've got actual negotiating power for the first time in years — use it wisely with inspections and realistic offers, while the Olympic infrastructure proves the city's investing in world-class amenities.

Investors: The housing market stability supports predictable transaction volume, Olympic tourism creates hospitality opportunities, but those 30% downtown rent concessions are screaming "don't overbuild luxury apartments right now."

Bottom line: Columbus just entered a much more balanced, rational real estate market while simultaneously landing on the world stage through Olympic hosting — basically we're maturing as a city economically and culturally at the same time.

[Schedule a call]

See you next week,

• Gagan Timsina