Central Indiana home sales up for third straight month

Central Indiana home transactions were on the rise for the third straight month in February, a positive sign for the residential real estate industry after a disappointing year in 2014.

Pending sales of existing homes in the nine-county area were up 2.7 percent, to 2,036, in February compared with the same month of 2014, real estate agency F.C. Tucker Co. announced Wednesday morning.

Area sales agreements are up 8.3 percent through the first two months of the year after falling 2.6 percent overall in 2014, breaking a string of three straight annual increases.

“We’re excited to see the first quarter moving in a positive direction,” F.C. Tucker President Jim Litten said in a written statement. “As we head toward the spring selling months, we’re optimistic that modest sales gains will continue across most of central Indiana.”

Deals jumped 7.3 percent in February in Marion County, to 893, compared with 832 in the same month of 2014.

Pending sales were up by one home in Hamilton County, to 417.

Madison County saw 17.3-percent jump, to 122 homes, and Shelby County reported a 33.3-percent increase, to 48.

Deals rose 3.3 percent in Johnson County, to 190, and 6.8 percent in Morgan County, to 63.

Sales agreement fell 16.8 percent in Hendricks County, to 154; dropped 12.9 percent in Hancock County, to 81; and sank 8.1 percent in Boone County, to 68.

The inventory of existing homes on the market rose 0.7 percent last month, to 9,294.

Sales prices through the first two months of the year are up 5.2 percent over the same period of 2014, to an average of $166,283.

Year-to-date sales prices were up 5.4 percent in Hamilton County, to an area-leading average of $268,935. Marion County prices rose 7.9 percent, to $128,752.

Six homes priced at $1 million or more were sold in the area last month. Nearly half of the sales (951) took place in the price range of $100,000 to $199,000.