Area home sales barely rise amid fewer choices, rising prices

Existing-home sales in central Indiana ticked up only slightly in December as inventories continued to shrink and prices remained on the rise.

In the 15-county area, closed home sales rose 0.3 percent, from 2,765 in December 2016 to 2,773 last month, according to data released Tuesday by the MIBOR Realtor Association. Area home sales have risen on a year-over-year basis in 23 of the last 26 months.

The total number of active home listings in the region were down a whopping 18.2 percent at the end of December, from 8,580 a year ago to just 7,018 at the end of last month. New listings were up 1.6 percent, to 1,850.

The average area home sale price during the year-over-year period increased 5.2 percent, to $204,660. The median price rose 7.5 percent, to $165,500.

Pending sales in the area were up 4.8 percent in December, to 1,933.

A total of 36,894 homes were sold in the area in 2017, up 4.1 percent from 2016, MIBOR reported. That percentage is misleading, however, because MIBOR did not begin including Bartholomew and Jennings counties in its central Indiana statistics until mid-2016.

Statewide, 6,585 homes were sold in December, a 1.3 percent decrease compared with the same month of 2016, the Indiana Association of Realtors said.

The average price of a home in the state rose 4.9 percent, to $175,735. The statewide inventory of homes dropped 10.9 percent, to 24,484 units. And new listings increased 4.2 percent, to 4,885.

County breakdown

In Marion County—typically the most active market in central Indiana—closed sales in December were 1,072, exactly the same number as December 2016.

The average sales price in the county rose 6.1 percent, to $165,687. New listings were down 3.7 percent, to 796.

The inventory of single-family detached houses was down 23 percent, to 2,422. The townhouse-condo inventory fell 20.3 percent, to 306 units.

In Hamilton County, sales were down 4.1 percent, to 511. The average sales price rose 1.8 percent, to $312,920.

In Hendricks County, sales rose 2.9 percent, to 247, while the average sales price increased 10.6 percent, to $208,827.

In Johnson County, sales fell 2.1 percent, to 228, while the average sales price rose 0.6 percent, to $194,244.

Madison County sales were up 3.2 percent, to 128, and the average sales price rose 13.8 percent, to $113,163.

Boone County saw a 41 percent increase in sales, to 124, and the average price rose 8.8 percent, to $305,025.

Sales in Hancock County were flat, at 105 houses, and the average price jumped 12.5 percent, to $191,537.

Morgan County sales dropped 19 percent, to 77. The average price fell 13.7 percent, to $158,698.

Shelby County sales dipped 12.5 percent, to 42, and the average price dropped 14.3 percent, to $112,577.