COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — In the swiftest-moving January for the American housing market, Columbus saw houses stay on the market for an average of 43 days, a 9% drop in days from previous years.

The report from Realtor.com, which analyzes the national housing market, said house sales in Columbus were at a median listing price of $300,000. Per square foot, the median listing price had gone up by 12.2%.

The number of active listings year-on-year were down by 13.5%. This is typical of a national trend toward fewer new listings, the report said, which is challenging for people who want to move.

New listings are down by 4.4%, reflecting the tight market in Columbus that led last year to climbing prices. That shows no signs of getting easier for buyers, the report indicated.

In an earlier interview, Sue Van Woerkham, President of Columbus Realtors, said that money is still cheap to borrow, “So, it’s a good time to buy before those interest rates start to go (up).”

Rates may rise by 4% by the end of 2022, she said.

According to Patti Brown-Wright of Real Estate Technology Partners people are also now paying over the asking price with cash for homes, and without an appraisal — because banks aren’t in the sale process demanding one.

The highest-priced market in the Realtor.com study was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara in California at $1,298,000 median price for a house. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward wasn’t far behind at $949,000. One of the cheapest markets to live in was Cleveland-Elyria with a median price of $177,000. Rochester, New York ($200,000), Detroit ($210,000) and Pittsburgh ($210,000) were still reasonably priced places to live.