About 19669247

Look Who’s Buying Homes

Well, it’s not first time home buyers.  That cohort is usually the driver of a strong housing market.  They feed the bottom of the pyramid, buying someone else’s starter home so they can move up.  However, only 33% of all home buyers in the central Indiana market in 2015 were first time home buyers.  That was the lowest that cohort has been since 1987!  Analysts attribute that to heavier student loan debt, not enough breadwinner jobs, and an aversion to use of credit among millennials.

Ok, let’s talk about who the average buyer in central Indiana was this past year.  They were a married couples, 39 years old, and making $77,800 a year.  This was about five years younger than what was seen nationally; and that could probably be accounted for by the fact that our prices are so much more affordable than most other places.

Two out of three buyers were married couples, followed by 15% single females, 9% single males, and 7% unmarried couples.  11% of all homes purchased were done so to include multi-generational living arrangements.

Need a plan to sell your house?  Call me… I work harder to make good things happen!!

Number of Foreclosures Continues to Decline

The number of foreclosure properties available for purchase continued to decline in the fourth quarter.  The number was down 18% from a year ago.  And the number of new listings was down 12%, foreshadowing a further decline in this inventory.

 

The decline is bad news for investors shopping for propertieKs to “fix n’ flip” and for would be homebuyers shopping for a fixer’ upper.  On the other hand it’s good news for sellers as foreclosures depress prices generally.  It’s also great news for homeowners as foreclosures tend to depress the value of nearby homes.

 

We’re still rooting out some good deals and getting creative to win bids.

Sales and Prices increased in 2015

The final 2015 numbers are in, and they show that both sales numbers and sales prices rose in central Indiana.

The number of sales reported by the MLS increased 8.5% over 2014; with 32,190 houses being sold in the region.  That’s a big increase.

The median sales price rose 5.1% over the preceding year, finishing at $147,000.  (The median price is the middle price, with half of all homes selling above or below this number.)  Prices have now risen for the past seven years, and this year’s prices were even higher than the bubble prices of a decade ago.  Now, I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad for the market, but it definitely was good for those who were selling.

New listings did not keep pace with the run up in sales, increasing only 3.2%.  With new sales outpacing new listings, the inventory of houses with For Sale signs decreased 6.6%.  The current menu of 10,390 houses for sale is what you might call a limited supply.  In fact, it’s the lowest supply relative to sellers in over a decade.

So, I have to ask, “Where are the sellers?”  To a certain degree it doesn’t make any sense.  Demand is outpacing supply, prices are rising, and the fear of rising interest rates scaring buyers to the sidelines looms larger following the Fed’s recent rate hike.  So, help me out, tell me, why aren’t more people selling?

If I can be of help, let me know.  “I work harder to make good things happen!”  -Bob