In the Washington Court House City School District, more homes sold in the first eight months of 2026, but each one took longer to sell. Closed sales through August rose 19.8% from the same period in 2025, from 96 to 115. Over that same stretch the year-to-date median sale price fell 7.9%, to $198,900. In August alone, sellers received 92.9% of their original list price, down from 96.7% in August 2025.

That gap between the original asking price and the final price is where a Washington Court House sale gets uncomfortable. On a $225,000 listing, the difference between 96.7% and 92.9% comes to about $8,500. This is happening a short drive from a $4.4 billion battery plant that started mass production this summer. Buyers comparing towns tend to assume a project that size pushes every nearby price up. In Washington Court House the demand is showing up in two other ways: more transactions, and a separate new-construction price tier sitting well above the resale median.

The plant is running, and it is still hiring

L-H Battery Company, the joint venture between LG Energy Solution and Honda near Jeffersonville, announced lithium-ion cell production in early July 2026 after nearly four years of construction. WOSU reported that the first cells are going into grid-scale and stationary energy storage for homes, commercial and industrial sites, and utility grids. The plant was originally planned to make EV batteries, and the shift to storage followed Honda's March decision to stop development of three North American EV models. The company said it is staying flexible and could produce hybrid-vehicle cells in the future.

The workforce numbers stayed the same through the product change. The plant employed more than 1,000 people as of July and expects about 2,200 at full capacity. The Record-Herald reported that it was still hiring operators and technicians. In late August, the paper summarized a Dayton Development Coalition study crediting the plant with gains in Fayette County manufacturing jobs, wages, and residential construction.

That last finding is the important one here. The study points to construction, which means new houses, and new houses are priced on their own scale.

Two price tiers in one town

D.R. Horton is building the first phase of Bishop Estates, off U.S. Route 35 and Dayton Avenue near Jupiter Street. The developer, JLB1 Properties, plans 149 lots across about 30 acres in three phases, and D.R. Horton bought roughly 50 lots for phase one. The builder advertises the community from $341,990, with homes starting around 1,500 square feet. As of early October, ten available homes were listed between $344,490 and $367,900, ranging from 1,500 to 2,155 square feet.

Here are the two tiers side by side:

The per-square-foot figure for Bishop Estates is simple math: the $341,990 starting price divided by the roughly 1,500-square-foot starting size. Even so, the gap is large. The starting price of the newest homes in Washington Court House is about $115,000 above the district's August median and about $143,000 above the year-to-date median.

A median only moves when the homes in the middle of the market change hands at different prices. Brand-new homes priced in the mid-$300s can be a strong sign of demand without lifting what a 1960s ranch near downtown brings. The two products appeal to buyers with different budgets and different priorities.

How more sales and a softer median fit together

If the plant were simply adding buyers to a fixed supply of homes, prices would rise and listings would sell faster. Through August 2026, the district data shows both supply and sales growing, with supply growing faster:

• New listings rose 28.5% year to date, from 144 to 185.
• Closed sales rose 19.8% year to date, from 96 to 115.
• Inventory at the end of August was 50 homes, up from 39 a year earlier.
• Days on market in August doubled, from 17 to 34.
• Months of supply dipped slightly, from 3.3 to 3.1, because the sales pace kept up with the added listings.

So buyers are showing up. More sellers are also listing, and some are pricing for a rise that hasn't arrived. Look at the two list-price measures. Sellers received 98.2% of their last list price in August but only 92.9% of their original one. That pattern suggests many listings sold after a price reduction, not on the first ask.

County-wide numbers look different. Fayette County's year-to-date median through August 2026 was $234,700, up 2.9%. The median list price of new county listings in August was $272,400, up 14.7% from a year earlier. The county data alone can't say which homes account for that higher asking price. What it does show is that the town's resale market and the county-wide headline number are moving differently.

The sample sizes are small, so these figures are worth reading carefully. August's district number comes from 19 closings, and the report itself warns that small samples can make percent changes look extreme. The district figures also follow school district boundaries, not Washington Court House city limits. Treat them as signals, not settled trends.

More homes are coming

The new-construction tier is about to grow, which keeps competitive pressure on resale listings in the middle of the market. Here is what is planned, based on April 2026 reporting and city records:

1. Forest Farm, across from the YMCA on State Route 41. JLB1 Properties is engineering an 85-acre planned unit development with around 287 single-family homes. In April, the Record-Herald reported Pulte Homes as the anticipated builder, with first lots expected in late spring or early summer 2027. At the July 7, 2026 planning commission meeting, the applicant's representative described phase one and two as including a retention pond, a toddler playground, a gazebo, a shelter house, and eight-foot asphalt walking and biking paths. He said he was not at liberty to name the builder. Commissioners asked that every amenity appear on the preliminary plat and raised concerns about density.
2. Blackstone and Gregg Streets. Spire Development plans several apartment buildings on an 18.54-acre parcel. JLB1 will extend Blackstone Street to Gregg Street to serve the site.
3. Paint Creek Crossing. Spire Development and County Corp plan 54 family apartments behind Village Court on U.S. 35. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency approved a $1.75 million housing development loan for the project in November 2025.
4. Trotters Point. JLB1 plans seven two-bedroom patio homes on 2.36 acres at Paddock Loop, off Red Mile Boulevard near the Route 35 bypass, sharing roads and amenities with the existing condo association.
5. Delaware Crossings. The planning commission approved this subdivision's final plat for CAC of Fayette County at the same July 7 meeting.

Some of the short-term worker demand is being handled outside the for-sale market altogether. JLB1 is planning an RV park on Prairie Road for transient workers on large industrial projects in Jefferson Township, with a 90-day residency limit. County zoning has approved changing the land from farmland to regional commerce. Construction crews staying a season don't buy houses, and now they have a place to stay that isn't a rental home.

The April reporting describes these projects as responses to a local housing shortage. Only the RV park is tied directly to industrial work in the coverage. Reading the rest of the pipeline as plant-driven is an interpretation, but it fits the economic study's finding on residential construction.

What each tier means for a buyer comparing towns

For a buyer weighing Washington Court House against other central Ohio towns, the takeaway is that the town has two markets. A budget near $200,000 to $230,000 goes into the resale tier, where 2026 data shows more choice, longer time on market, and sellers who have been accepting less than their original asking price. Those are the conditions in which inspections, repair requests, and closing-cost credits tend to get a real hearing.

A budget in the mid-$300s buys a newly built home of roughly 1,500 to 2,155 square feet at Bishop Estates. With Forest Farm's first lots expected in 2027, more new homes are coming in that range.

For a seller, the new-build prices nearby are not a comparable for an older resale home. Bishop Estates sells at roughly $228 per square foot at its entry level, while the district's August resale average was $146.08. A resale listing priced as if it were in the new tier is likely to end up among the price cuts behind that 92.9% figure.

Quick answers

Is the L-H Battery plant still making EV batteries? Not at first. As of July 2026, its first cells are going to grid-scale and stationary energy storage. The company has said hybrid-vehicle cells could come later.

Did Washington Court House home prices drop in 2026? The school district's year-to-date median through August 2026 was $198,900, down 7.9%. The August median alone was $227,000, up 0.9% from August 2025. The samples are small, and the boundary is the school district, not the city.

When will the Forest Farm homes across from the YMCA be available? April 2026 reporting expected first lots in late spring or early summer 2027. As of the July 7, 2026 pre-application, the preliminary plat was still to come and the builder had not been named publicly.

If you own a home in Washington Court House and want to know where it falls between the $198,900 resale median and the $341,990 new-build starting price, Keli M Fisher can price it against the resale homes it actually competes with. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to start with a number based on this year's market.