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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSales of existing homes held steady in central Indiana in February despite escalating prices and rising mortgage rates.
Completed sales of single-family homes in the 16-county area ticked down from 2,283 in February 2021 to 2,270 last month—a year-over-year decrease of only 0.6%, according to the latest data from the MIBOR Realtor Association.
On a year-to-date basis, closed sales are up 2.4%, to 4,468, compared with 4,366 in the first two months of 2021.
Sales have been on the downturn in typical residential hotbeds Hamilton, Hendricks and Boone counties, but have been on the rise in Madison, Hancock and Morgan.
The median price for homes sold in the area last month was up 13.6%, to $253,245, compared with $223,000 in February 2021.
Area homeowners in February, on average, got 100.1% of their asking prices, up from 98.9% in February 2021.
The average number of days that homes spent on the market fell from 32 to 24 compared with a year ago.
The active inventory in February dropped 6.3% on a year-over-year basis, to 1,506 houses. The inventory fell 12.6% from the previous month.
New listings were up 8% in February on a year-over-year basis, to 2,458, but were down 2.3% from the previous month.
Shelley Specchio, MIBOR CEO. “With inventory at a record low before the start of the spring selling season, we can expect the market to be challenging for buyers for these next few months.
Marion County
In Marion County—the most active market in central Indiana—closed sales in February rose 2,9% on a year-over-year basis, to 923.
The median sales price in the county rose 24.7%, to $227,000. New listings increased 4.4%, to 980. The active inventory of available single-family homes sank 26.7%, to 557.
Other area counties
In Hamilton County, where inventory remains extremely tight, sales plummeted 20.2%, to 340, in February.
The median sales price in the county rose 17.1%, to $400,000. The inventory of houses fell 59.5%, to just 102. Homes spent 14 days on the market, on average, and fetched 102.7% of their asking price.
In Hendricks County, sales fell 10.5%, to 171, and the median sales price increased 15.4%, to $300,000.
In Johnson County, sales dropped 18.1%, to 145, and the median sales price rose 17.2%, to $277,750.
Sales rose 30.7% in Madison County last month, to 149. The median sales price increased 8.9%, to $151,500.
Hancock County sales were up 29.5%, to 101, and the median price rose 19.1%, to $289,000.
Sales in Boone County dropped 9.1% last month, to 70, while the median price of a home ticked up 0.6%, to $350,988.
Morgan County sales escalated 12.7%, to 71, and the median sales price increased 5%, to $210,000.
Shelby County saw 42 closed home sales last month, up from 26 in February 2021. The median price dipped 11%, to $182,500.
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If Hines are selling at or above asking price in just 2-3 weeks, it seems clear that people are underpricing the list price. Especially since more people are paying cash, waiving inspection contingencies, etc. Who benefits? Real estate agents who are making commissions on elevated prices with less work to get the job done. You don’t need to show a home 5-10 times to get nice offers Jen the price is set too low. They would argue that their interests are aligned with the owner’s. But for every $10,000 they underprice a home, it costs them only $700 (split among 1-2 other agents/agencies) but it costs you $9,700. So your collective interests aren’t really aligned very well, are they? Put another way, a $300,000 sales price garners $21,000 of commissions to be split among the agents for 2-3 weeks of work. Do they really care if they could have earned an extra $700 but had to work for 2-3 months to get the sale?
Dear IBJ editors – please allow commenters to edit their comments. Readers, pardon my sloppiness while posting from my cell phone: 1st sentence: “If *homes* are selling…”. 5th sentence: “… to get *nice* offers, then the price is set too low”.
7th sentence: “…but it costs you *$9,300*”.
Every county needs more affordable housing units. Get it together people. Workers make cities viable.
I get constant calls from cash home buyer companies . How many homes are going to investor funded buyers ? Who are these investors ? Are they foreign oligarchs amassing their wealth in American real estate. Does anybody care about who is buying up property in our country ?
95% are locals just trying to take advantage of people in a pinch.
Wholesalers are a stain on society.
Out of state investors should be taxed at double those who are local investors
I like the idea James. If we can cap taxes for owner occupied residential at 1% and rentals at 2%, why not a 6% cap on out-of-state ownership of residential? When they can’t make money, they can sell to locals who will either occupy it or be more likely to responsibly rent and manage it. And if they don’t, at least they’re easier to locate and deal with.