Indianapolis, IN

Don’t look now, but the Indianapolis real estate market just had its best month of the year. Here is a look at what happened in September for homes under $500,000 in Indianapolis:

The number of homes sold is down over last year, but only by 9.72% not by the 20 and 30 percent that we have been seeing in previous months. In addition, this is early in the month and this number will inevitably grow as agents close out the lagging deals from last month in the MLS. In addition to the vast improvement in the number of homes sold, the average sales price is basically unchanged over last year. Previously this year, we were seeing double digit decreases in the average sales price. Hence an unchanged average selling price is great news.

I don’t want to get too excited just yet, but Indianapolis real estate could be on the rebound. Several experts predicted it would be Q3 of 2008 that we would see a recovery. Hopefully we have hit bottom, the problem is you never know when you hit bottom until far after you have. Right now is a great time to take advantage of these prices and purchase a home.

If you are interested in purchasing either existing or new homes in Indianapolis, please visit our website to search all homes for sale in the Indianapolis MLS.

Lawrence Township Real Estate activity for the month of September 2008 is as follows:

Active Single Family Homes Listed 194

Active Single Family Homes Currently Active 1034 (5% decline from last month)

Active Single Family Homes Sold 116

Average Sale Price 130,600 (all listings sold)

Average Sale Price * 177,000 (listings sold > $100,000)

Average Days on Market 96

Neighborhoods w/Most Sold Glicks and Geist Valley Estates

Previous months market reports for Lawrence Township Real Estate are available.

The highest listing in Lawrence Township was for $1,525,000 in Admirals Pointe and the lowest was for $10,000 in Brookhaven. You can see the wide range of homes in this township. I added a new category as a result, "Average Sale Price *" which is the average sale price of all the homes that sold for that month that were at least $100,000 in price. Of the 116 homes that sold in September, 42 of them were below $100,000. Click here to learn more.

Here is a quick glance at what happened on the Lawrence Township real estate market in Indianapolis for homes under $500,000 in August 2008:

If you are considering purchasing a home in Lawrence Township or any Indianapolis real estate, please contact Mike Taylor at 317-362-4064. If you are looking at the north side of Lawrence around the Geist area, you might also be interested in Fishers Indiana real estate.

I CAN HELP! Many homeowners are receiving tax bills that don't seem to be in line with the real value of their homes. With many real estate markets changing rapidly, it pays to find out for sure. This is particularly true for buyers from 2005-2006 - commonly referred to as the "BOOM" period. Present market conditions, however, have seen 10-20% drops in some Central Indiana markets. And while local tax authorities may have lowered assessments some - they are at times still not in line with current market conditions. As a homeowner, you can fight your tax assessment on your own. You need to know what you are currently assessed, and then figure out what it OUGHT to be assessed for.

A few tools along the way may include:

• A CMA or Competitive Market Analysis - this is typically a comparison of similar homes for sale in your area along with closed sales ("comps) with an opinion of market value attached. These can be provided by local Realtors and may or may not be free - depending on the Realtor/Agent. If you plan to list your home sometime in the near future - perhaps this would be a free service to win your future business. But don't be surprised if a Realtor asks for some compensation for this service - as their time is valuable as a professional.
• A free on-line directory or valuation portal such as www.Zillow.com- this can give you some idea as to sold properties and listings in your area. This is a FREE service - but typically - the data may not be truly reliable or truly comparable to your home. The last thing you want is to be before the tax appeal board and be embarrassed because you are comparing your home to others in the area which are clearly not market comparable.
• A Licensed Appraisal : Of course as an appraiser - I am biased to suggest a licensed appraisal as the tool of choice in the battle for fair property assessments.

The one benefit of a licensed appraisal is that the appraiser should be comparing market trends, indicating increasing, decreasing value trends, etc. There are typically adjustments for various components of the property - adjusting for your 1 car garage when others have 2 car garage features.

An appraisal is not a free service offered - as we appraisers have to comply with many Federal and State regulations as to the depth of reporting we must deliver in order to provide a credible report. This level of analysis and reporting takes some time and skill to adequately perform.

Being a licensed appraiser also means we have undergone extensive education, training and experience to produce this level of analysis and detail. But many times - the fee would be worth the added savings for a lower assessment going forward!

- One Important Reminder -

Be sure you know the date of valuation the tax appeal board will be looking for. In Marion county Indiana for example, all valuations must be done Typically as of January 31st of that year (as stated in the application for tax appeals). If you go in with data showing current sales from the last 90 days then (June, July, August for example) - you will not likely be heard since they require a "retrospective" value - dating back to when the assessments were set.

Be sure you know what date your local taxing authority or real property appraiser/assessor
has set the "valuation date" at.

Call me for an accurate appraisal of your home's true value so you can adjust your tax bill.

Respectfully,
William Seward
Seward Real Estate Service
(317)8231777
www.seward-realestate.com

There were no major revelations in August for Indianapolis real estate. Here is a glance at the numbers for homes sold in Indianapolis under $500,000:

As you can see, the pattern is pretty much the same as previous months: the number of homes sold is down by about ¼ and the average sales price is also down. One positive factor worth mentioning is that for the past 4 months the average sales price has shown a decrease only in the single digits whereas in the first 4 months of the year, the average sales price was down by as much as 19%. The absorption rate is still relatively high at a 9.18 months supply of Indianapolis homes for sale.

While it is certainly not going to happen overnight, the Indianapolis real estate market does seem to be trending towards a recovery. If you are thinking about purchasing a home in the Indianapolis area, please visit our website where you can search all homes for sale including Indianapolis new homes and Indianapolis condominiums.