Market News

What Home Buyers are Buying

This past year central Indiana home buyers overwhelmingly chose existing homes over new homes (by an 89-11 margin).  Almost half did so with the expectation or desire to choose and customize design features, and many felt that they were getting more bang for their buck with an existing house.  82% of the homes bought were detached single family residences.  It actually surprised me that 18% bought condos or townhomes.  Really surprising.  But 12% were senior related properties, and that might largely explain most of the 18%.

The average home was 1940 square feet and was built in 1996.  So, while buyers didn’t opt for new homes, they definitely liked those with a newer feel to them.

KThe typical buyer stayed close to home, with the median move from old to new being just 10 miles down the road.  The average buyer says they’ll live in their new home for 10 years, which is certainly less than forever (rarely happens despite what people say) but definitely more than a 5 year hold that one might see in a highly inflationary market or one dominated by military personnel or 20 somethings.

Thinking about buying or selling— call me to get the full scoop!  Talk soon, Bob

 

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

Sales in January Continue to Grow

Sales in January continued at a very strong pace, up 8% over last January and pacing the year-over-year totals up 8% as well.  (Those are strong, healthy numbers, btw.)  On the other end however, new listings continued to lag far behind, down 9% from last January.  This unlikely combination of forces (surging sales and lagging listings) just doesn’t make much sense.  I mean, if sales are growing AND prices are rising (up 8% over a year ago) then one would think more homeowners would be putting For Sale signs in their front yards.  But not!  The inventory of houses available to buyeKrs is at 3.8 months; which is darn low.  All of that is good news for homeowners wanting to sell their houses.

If you’d like to see what houses are selling for in your neck of the woods, just ask!  Talk soon, Bob

 

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

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!!