Existing-home sales sink for eighth straight month
Home-sale agreements dropped nearly 20 percent in the nine-county Indianapolis area in April. Home prices continued to rise as inventories shrank.
Home-sale agreements dropped nearly 20 percent in the nine-county Indianapolis area in April. Home prices continued to rise as inventories shrank.
The sharpest sales increase occurred among homes priced at $1 million or above. Sales fell in nearly every other price group.
Home prices rose, however, as inventory dwindled. The average area home price in March was $161,191, an increase of 6.1 percent compared with the same month of 2013.
Pricier houses are vanishing from the market faster than less-expensive homes due to a temporary bottleneck caused by rising demand and a slow recovery by builders.
Pending home sales in the nine-county area slid 22.8 percent in February compared with the year-ago period. That was only a slight improvement from the 31-percent fall recorded in January.
Home-sale agreements plummeted 31 percent in January, likely due to the record snowfalls and cold temperatures.
The Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership will use the funds to help qualified residents purchase homes and revitalize their neighborhoods.
Home-sale agreements in central Indiana plummeted 18.6 percent in December, as the market continued a downward trend.
Despite the monthly decline, year-to-date permit filings are up 18 percent over 2012. This year’s number through 11 months has already exceeded 2012’s full-year total.
Although area sales of existing homes are up 15.4 percent through the first 11 months of the year, the trend has reversed in recent months. Year-over-year sales have fallen in four of the last five months.
Although area sales are up 16 percent through the first 10 months of the year, the trend has slammed into reverse in recent months amid higher mortgage rates and tighter inventories.
For 34 years, Ward has been selling homes in the Indianapolis area, often to the city’s elite, racking up 12-hour days during her busiest times.
Home-sale agreements in central Indiana fell for the second time in three months in September amid higher mortgage rates and tighter inventories.
Stonegate Mortgage—potentially the first company in Indianapolis to go public since ExactTarget in 2012—plans to entice investors with a nationwide expansion, a diversified income stream, and the prospect that federal reforms will benefit such loan aggregators.
Changing tastes, economic uncertainty could crimp sale prices for boomers wanting to move into smaller quarters.
August sales reflect contracts signed in June and July, when mortgage rates were rising steadily. A Realtors group cautioned that buyer traffic dropped off significantly in August. That points to fewer sales in the fall.
The 3-percent bump last month was cause for relief after pending agreements in July broke a two-year streak of gains.
Out-of-state builders scooped up lots during the housing downturn, and now are watching their gambles pay off as they become major local players.
The pace of home-buying has fallen due to higher mortgage rates, rising prices and lower inventories.