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Area home sales continue downward spiral

 IBJ Staff
December 13, 2010
Keywords
F.C. Tucker, Home Sales, Real Estate & Retail, Realtors, Residential Real Estate
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Home-sale agreements in the nine-county central Indiana region dropped 17.5 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report released Monday morning by F.C. Tucker Co.

Pending home sales dropped last month to 1,222, down from 1,481 in November 2009, the Indianapolis-based real estate company said.

The decline marked the seventh straight month that year-over-year home sales have slumped in central Indiana following three straight months of improving sales activity spurred by generous federal tax credits.

Pending sales were down 40 percent in October, 23 percent in September, 23 percent in August, 27 percent in July, 30 percent in June, and 32 percent in May.

Pending home sales account for sales agreements, not sales that have closed.

Year-to-date, sales are off 10.1 percent from the same period in 2009, the report said.

In Marion County, November sales agreements fell 18.2 percent compared with the previous year, from 691 to 565.

Pending sales dropped 21.2 percent in Hamilton County, from 292 to 230, and 6.2 percent in Hendricks County, from 113 to 106. Only one area county, Hancock, saw an increase in sales, from 53 to 56.

One bright spot in the residential market has been average sale prices. Through November, the average sale price of a home sold in central Indiana has been $150,130, up 8.2 percent from the same 11-month period of 2009, the report said.

Active listings have increased 1.6 percent in the area, from 14,912 to 15,151.

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  • Joe is right... though there is a twist.
    G.B. LandriganDecember 13, 2010 6:33 PM
    Joe Shoemaker is absolutely right. On the face of it, "Average Price" (or even "median price) does not refer to a specific property selling for more or less than a previous period. In fact, there really is no way to be certain that "House A" varies in price at all unless that specific home is sold at various times. No two properties are the same.

    I might mention that there is one slight twist to this: Viewing Sales Prices together with Price Per Square Foot prices.

    One might argue that, if the price per square foot average (or median) stays the same but the average (or median) sales price increases, the public is buying more expensive homes. But there are too many ways to interpret such data to say that with conviction. Fortunately, good agents have a sense of the markets in which they specialize to know what is actually happening.

    For another statistical view of November, I will shamelessly add our monthly report (now in its sixth year) to the mix: http://www.landrigan.com/TheLandriganMonthlyNovember2010.pdf .

    G. B. Landrigan
    Landrigan & Company, Realtors
    www.Landrigan.com
    gb@Landrigan.com
    55 Monument Circle #810
    317.687.8888

    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • Average Price is meaningless.
    Joe ShoemakerDecember 13, 2010 12:34 PM
    You write: "One bright spot in the residential market has been average sale prices. Through November, the average sale price of a home sold in central Indiana has been $150,130, up 8.2 percent from the same 11-month period of 2009, the report said."

    The average sales price has NOTHING to do with the value of specific properties. It simply means that fewer lower-priced homes sold than in the same period last year. It does NOT mean - as it is often implied - that individual home values are on the rise.

    Here's a brief explanation. Though this video addresses Median prices, it also applies to Average pricing.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3i5_OhvyU

    Joe Shoemaker \ Principal Broker, REALTOR�®
    MacDuff Realty Group
    http://www.macduffrealty.com
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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