Existing home sales in area slide as inventory shrinks, prices rise

Existing-home sales in central Indiana fell 3 percent in May, marking only the second monthly decline in the past 19 months.

In the 13-county area, closed home sales fell from 3,623 in May 2016 to 3,514 last month, according to data released Tuesday by the MIBOR Realtor Association.

The decrease came amid a continuing increase in housing prices and a major ongoing decline in housing inventory.

Except for February, when they dipped 1.6 percent, closed sales in the area had risen every month on a year-over-year basis since October 2015.

The total number of active home listings in May dropped 18.4 percent, from 10,604 a year ago to 8,654 at the end of last month. New listings were down 1.3 percent, to 4,263.

The average area home sale price during the year-over-year period rose 7.2 percent, to $203,675. The median price rose 6.7 percent, to $168,544.

Pending sales in the area were up 5.3 percent in May, to 3,323.

Statewide, there was a 0.6 percent increase in closed sales in May compared with the same month of 2016, the Indiana Association of Realtors said, and the average price of a home rose 5.1 percent, to $178,298.

The statewide inventory of homes dropped 13.9 percent, to 29,135 units. New listings fell 0.4 percent, to 11,471.

County breakdown

In Marion County—typically the most active market in central Indiana—closed sales rose 0.5 percent in May, to 1,506.

The average sales price in the county rose 5.4 percent, to $161,272. The inventory of single-family homes for sale fell 23.9 percent, to 3,378. New listings were up 1.4 percent, to 1,758.

In Hamilton County, sales were down 0.9 percent, to 750, while the average sales price rose 8.8 percent, to $307,783.

In Hendricks County, sales fell 4.4 percent, to 302, while the average sales price jumped 4.4 percent, to $202,715.

In Johnson County, sales dropped 11.1 percent, to 265, while the average sales price rose 12.1 percent, to $217,736.

Boone County saw an 8 percent drop in sales, to 115, as the average price rose 8.1 percent, to $293,169.

Sales in Hancock County rose 4.7 percent, to 133, and the average price rose 0.7 percent, to $194,789.

Madison County sales fell 11.6 percent, to 137, and the sales price rose 0.7 percent, to $108,287.