Indy housing market stumbles to glum milestone

The Indianapolis-area housing market has stumbled past a glum milestone—one full year of decreased sales of existing homes.

Home-sale agreements in August declined 9.5 percent in the nine-county area compared with August 2013, real estate agency F.C. Tucker Co. reported Monday morning. That marked the 12th consecutive month deals had decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Pending sales of existing homes dropped from 2,630 in August 2013 to 2,380 in August 2014. Sales for the first eight months of the year are down 8.8 percent from the first eight months of 2013.

The average value of those homes has moved in the opposite direction. The average year-to-date sale price in August for the metropolitan area was $176,836, a 6.7-percent jump from $165,757 in August 2013.

Meanwhile, the available inventory of homes essentially held its ground, with active listing growing 1.7 percent, from 11,965 in August 2013 to 12,169 last month.

The number of pending sales slipped in six of the area’s nine counties in August, compared with the same month last year. Marion County, by far the most active market, saw a 12-percent drop in sale agreements, from 1,095 in August 2013 to 964 last month.

The average year-to-date sale price in the county has grown 6.4 percent, from $128,646 in 2013 to $136,905 this year.

The area’s second most active market, Hamilton County, took an 11.1-percent blow to pending sales, sliding from 558 in August 2013 to 496 last year. The average year-to-date sale price grew from $251,177 to $268,408.

Other big declines in pended sales came in Morgan County, dropping 28.3 percent, from 99 to 71, and in Boone County, where agreements sank 19.8 percent, from 101 to 81.

Among the three gainers, Johnson County led the pack with a 4.3-percent jump, to 219 homes.

Four homes priced between $1 million and $2 million sold in central Indiana in August. Sixty-five fell in the range of $500,000 to $999,999. About 45 percent of the pended sales in the area (1,061) took place in the $100,000 to $199,999 price range.