The central Indiana residential real estate market continued to cool in August as closed sales of single-family homes declined from the same month a year ago amid higher interest rates.
Closed sales in the 16-county area drooped from 3,883 in August 2021 to 3,461 last month—a year-over-year decrease of 10.9%, according to the latest data from the MIBOR Realtor Association. Sales increased 1.0% from the previous month.
On a year-to-date basis, closed sales are down by 3.7%, to 24,500, compared with 25,442 in the first eight months of 2021.
The median price for homes sold in the area last month was $285,000, down 3.1% from $294,000 in July. Still, the August median price was 12.6% higher than a year ago. Area homeowners in August, on average, got 99.3% of their asking prices, down from 100.7% the previous month and 101% a year earlier.
The average number of days houses spent on the market was 23, up from 17 days in July and 16 days from July 2021.
The active inventory in August was up 57.6% on a year-over-year basis, to 4,010 houses. The inventory rose 3.9% from the previous month.
New listings decreased 12% in August on a year-over-year basis, to 3,761, and were down 8.4% from the previous month.
Interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have risen from 2.88% in early September 2021 to 5.89% on Sept. 8, according to Freddie Mac. Rates for 15-year mortgages have climbed from 2.19% to 5.16% over the same period.
Marion County
In Marion County—the most active market in central Indiana—closed sales in August were down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis, to 1,303.
The median sales price in the county rose 12.8%, to $242,500, from August 2021. New listings fell 8.3%, to 1,519. The active inventory of available single-family homes jumped 34.5% from a year ago, to 1,545.
Other area counties
In Hamilton County, year-over-year sales dropped 18.1%, to 567, compared to the same month a year earlier.
The median sales price in the county rose 14.5%, to $420,000. The inventory of houses jumped 80% from a year ago, to 540. Homes spent 19 days on the market, on average, and fetched 100.5% of their asking price.
In Hendricks County, sales fell 14.9%, to 280 from the same month a year ago, and the median sales price increased 18.5%, to $334,755.
In Johnson County, sales dropped 11.4%, to 265 from August 2021, and the median sales price rose 4.9%, to $299,000.
Sales fell 12.9% in Madison County last month, from 217 in August 2021 to 189. The median sales price increased 16.3%, to $196,500.
Hancock County sales were down 2.7%, to 179, and the median price rose 14%, to $329,000.
Sales in Boone County ticked up 5.3% last month, from 133 in August 2021 to 140, while the median price of a home rose 2.9%, to $370.263.
Morgan County sales rose 7.3%, from to 109 in the same month last year to 117, and the median sales price climbed 28.9%, to $290,000.
Shelby County saw 66 closed home sales last month, up from 57 in August 2021. The median price rose 48.8%%, to $245,475.
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These over inflated prices had to come down at some point! The bad part is all the poor families who will be stuck with a house they can’t afford.