Buying

Housing- a County by County look

Central Indiana housing numbers for March and Quarter 1 (“Q1”) are in, and there’s just one word to describe them— “UP!” Sales were up 8% for the twelve months just ended, prices up 6% and heck, even listings were up 2%. However, inventory remains tight, with just a 3.8 months supply available for shoppers. That’s for all of central Indiana. But when you look at what’s going on inside each county you get a different result. So, here’s a Q1 look at each county…

BOONE– Sales were only up 2% but listings were up 19%. You’d think prices would’ve lost ground, but no, they increased 16%. Go figure.

BROWN– New listings up a whopping 98% and sales up an amazing 53%. With that many houses flooding the market, why should prices be up 51%?

DECATUR– Sales down 10% and new listings down 14%. Yet prices jumped up 13%. None of this is making any sense!

HAMILTON– Sales up 6% and new listings up 4%. Prices gained 2%. I’m actually surprised these prices didn’t jump more.

HANCOCK- Sales up 7% but new listings down 5%. Prices gained 8%. Surprised it wasn’t more.

HENDRICKS– Sales up 8%, new listings down 3%. Prices down 1%. You’d thought prices would’ve risen.

JOHNSON– Sales up just 2%, while new listings were down 6%. Prices rose 6%. Makes sense.

MADISON– Sales red hot at 20%. New listings not keeping pace, up 11%. Prices up 14%. Again, makes sense.

MARION– Sales up 6% and listings flat. Prices up 6%. Again, makes sense.

MONTGOMERY- Sales up 14% and listings a tad stronger at +16%. Yet prices fell 15%! Crazy.

MORGAN– Sales up slightly at 2%. Listings down 4%. Prices up 5%. Makes sense.

PUTNAM– Sales up 9% and new listings surging at +23%. Prices fell 13% as might be reasonably expected with the surge in supply outstripping the pace of sales.

SHELBY– Sales down 10% and new listings even slower at -17%. Yet prices rose 13%. Makes no sense.

So, with 13 counties reporting— results for 7 made sense and 6 did not. I’m confident that if I took enough time I could figure out why each county behaved the way it did. And I guess that’s why I do research on each house I list for sale or that a client wants to write an offer on. Now, if you’d like that level of service when you buy or sell, then call me. Remember…

“I work harder to make good things happen!

For the most up-to-date info on houses for sale

I get calls all of the time from people asking about XYZ property. It doesn’t register. So I do a quick search— but nothing comes up. So we talk a bit more and I tell them I’ll do some research and get back with them with what I find. This happens all of the time- like every day.

What happens next is pretty much routine. I start down a list of websites which includes Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, etc. Sooner or later I find the XYZ property, and after cross-referencing it with other public records I discover that the property has already sold or is winding its’ way through the foreclosure process. Those that are lingering in the foreclosure pipeline are not available to purchase- no mater who you call or how many times you call. You can fuggetaboutem. Someday down the road (months or even years from now) they’ll be brought to market- that is, if they’re not purchased for cash off the courthouse steps.

And the ones that have already sold? Well, they’ve sold and are no longer available.

So, if you want to buy a house, and want to have the first crack at new houses as they come onto the market, then go to my website www.indyschoicerealestate.com and click on the Available Properties tab. From there you can select whichever tab/property type appeals to you; OR you can select All Properties and then make use of the EZ Button OR you can select the House Finder Service (and after telling us what you want we’ll do all the work to find the perfect property for you!) Going this route, you’ll have access to all the latest in information that could possibly be available.

So, why do those other sites have old information and advertise houses that have already been sold? Well, they’re aggregators, meaning once a week or every couple of days they sweep up info from other sites and then label it their own. But, because they do not operate in real time, their posts are sometimes stale. Others just leave properties on marked Active even though they’ve been sold so that possible buyers will call them and they can sell them a different house. So, back to the paragraph above, if you want the most accurate, current info available then head on over to my website! www.indyschoicerealestate.com

And P.S. if you have questions, just ask. I’ll be happy to make your search successful and more convenient!

“I work harder to make good things happen!!”
-Bob

FSBO’s

FSBO’s (pronounced “Fiss-bo”) is another name for houses that are For Sale By Owner.

Trawl through Craigslist or drive around looking at For Sale signs and you’re going to come across some of these. Last year, only 7% of all homes sold in Central Indiana were actually sold without the guidance or assistance of a Realtor or directly from a builder. (That’s 1 out of every 14 houses sold.)

So what’s the story? Why do some people want to sell their own house? Invariably it boils down to money. Homeowners get an itch to sell and then they start looking at the costs. They figure that by selling themselves they can save thousands of dollars. And to be sure, some do. However, for the most part, people have good intentions but after dealing for several weeks with unqualified buyer prospects, tire kickers, nosy neighbors, and discovering that zero cost advertising yields zero good prospects they start talking to a Realtor (and right quik like there is a new sign in the front yard).

Now, do people buying directly from an owner get a good deal? Well, that’s a BIG “it depends.” First off, while the common thinking is that the price will be lower because the seller doesn’t have to pay a commission, that very often is not the case. Let’s face it, the seller is still trying to maximize his profit. And there’s a fair number of FSBO sellers who go that route because they think they know what their house is worth (and they believe the Realtors they talked with did not). You can pretty much guess that those Realtors weren’t telling them this particular house should sell for more than what the seller was thinking. So, a fair number of FSBO’s are priced higher than what the Realtors thought the market would bear!

But more important than price is a whole host of other issues- things like liens on title, survey encroachments, financing, negotiating inspections, appraisal issues, etc., etc., etc. If these kinds of problems go unnoticed or unresolved they can turn into nightmares- for one or both parties. And there’s more… like, is the seller ethical? Is the buyer? Is the transaction conducted according to applicable law? Is the buyer very knowledgeable so that he or she is capable of protecting their interests? Are there no hiccups or surprises? That’s a whole lot of maybe’s.

Do all Realtor guided deals go flawlessly? Hardly. What I suggest to people is my job is kind of like being Captain of a ship or airplane. There’s a pre-flight plan and the good pilot draws up the best plan he can. But, as the saying goes, “If you want to hear God laugh, just draw up a plan!” So, my job is to use my knowledge and skill to fly that plane through whatever turbulence develops, through whatever mechanical problems unexpectedly pop up, and generally do my best to get ‘er off the ground smoothly, make the best time possible under the circumstances, and then bring her in smooth as silk.

P.S. Now,If you’d like to see how your next real estate transaction might be smooth as silk just give me a call. I’ll be happy to help.

“I work harder to make good things happen!!”
-Bob