The U.S. housing market has yet to emerge from a slump that started a little more than a year ago, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage began to climb from ultra-low levels.
The amount of time homes are spending on the market in the Indianapolis area is soaring compared with a year ago, but median sales prices are still on the rise.
Homes are spending much more time on the market than they did a year ago, but median prices are still on the rise.
The median sales price in the 16-county central Indiana area for the first quarter of this year was $275,000, up 7.9% from $254,000 in the same period of 2022.
Residential real estate sales in the 16-county area have fallen on a year-over-year basis for the past 13 months and have seen double-digit percentage decreases for eight straight months.
Filings for single-family building permits in central Indiana have fallen on a year-over-year basis for the past 13 months and in 16 of the past 18 months.
The share of homes bought without mortgages in the United States is now at levels not seen since 2014, when the housing market was on the rebound after the foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession.
Sales of existing homes in the area have now fallen on a year-over-year basis for the past 11 months and have seen double-digit percentage decreases for six straight months.
Sales have now fallen on a year-over-year basis for the past 10 months and have seen double-digit percentage decreases for five straight months.
The cold months pretty much always herald a drop in residential real estate sales. It just isn’t a great time to schlep around looking at houses. This season, however, is expected to bring a lower dip than in recent years.
In Marion County—the most active market in central Indiana—closed sales of existing homes in September were down 16.1% on a year-over-year basis.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in September for the eighth month in a row.
Median prices of homes sold in central Indiana ticked down slightly from June to July, but are still significantly higher than they were a year ago.
Applications for newly built houses are continuing to trail last year’s pace in central Indiana, but homebuilders remain busy, according to the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
The active inventory of for-sale homes rose 47% from the previous month in central Indiana. Higher inventories could help bring down prices in coming months.
The brisk jump in rates, along with a sharp increase in home prices, has been pushing potential homebuyers out of the market.
Sales have been on the downturn in typical residential hotbeds Hamilton, Johnson and Marion counties, but have been on the rise in Madison, Hancock and Morgan counties.
A limited inventory of houses available for purchase has been driving up prices across the region, an ongoing trend that began about two years ago.
Central Indiana homes typically exit the market after only five days, according to Zillow, with the average Indy metro house priced at about $255,000 as of February—up 20.5% from last year.
Supply-chain issues, labor shortages and a lack of suitable lots are holding back sales, according to the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
