Carmel, IN

From time to time, I comb the Carmel Real Estate Market in search of deals. I have two GREAT ones and another good one today. If you have an area of town you'd like me to research other than Carmel, let me know.

To start with, let me tell you how I find the deals. It does take some work.

My search starts with distressed properties in Carmel (53) and then I look at ones that are over $150,000 (36) and then only on the market less than 90 days (22). So I start with those 22 and then look at their assessed tax value, their history (when did they sell last, how much, how long on the market), and their location (do they back up to a traffic, etc). Once I have narrowed those to the few (6), I go in and look at the neighborhood activity and compare their pricing. It takes several hours to actually come up with the two or three that I think are the best deals.

So here they are:

1. 5275 S Woodfield Drive
2. 1267 Smokey Row
3. 10725 Downing Street

Woodfield Drive, which is bank owned, is located in the neighborhood of Woodfield at Gray and 146th. It is currently priced at 85% of the average square foot price of solds in the neighborhood. It is assessed at 85% of the value in the tax record and sold in 2006 for $85,000 more than it is currently listed for today. I guess 85 is the lucky number in this case! It is a 4,100 sq ft home with an additional 2,000 basement for $445,500.

Smokey Row, which is also bank owned, is located in Cool Creek North. It is listed at 79% of the average square foot price of solds at $88.00. It is priced at 79% of the assessed tax rate and it has not been on the market since 1991. It is a 2,700 sq ft home with an additional 1,200 basement for $234,900.

Finally, my last pick is on Downing Street. While it is not as agressively priced, I love this neighborhood because of its convenience to the 465 Interstate. It is at 106th and Gray. This one is a short sale; so be sure you have time to spare if this is the one that appeals. It is listed at 85 % of the average square foot price of solds, but it is listed right at the assessed value. It is a 2,400 sq ft home with no basement for $178,000. There isn't a ton in Carmel for this price, so could be the right house for a lot of people.

Let me know if you have questions about these properties or other that you see. I have some great tools to search for homes, including by just using your phone! As a seasoned Carmel Realtor, I invest a lot of time in finding the best deals, negotiating the best price and giving you the best service!

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Cindy "in Indy" Marchant - Carmel Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Carmel IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

Carmel Real Estate abounds with luxury homes; but it can also be very affordable. One of my favorite neighborhoods that IS affordable is Lexington Farms. It is one of my favorites not only for its pricing, but also for its location and proximity to Central Park and the Monon Center.

As you enter the neighborhood, you will be greeted by rows of blooming pear trees and a white picket fence. There are also nine ponds in the neighborhood giving neighbors scenic views as they walk through the area.

The neighborhood has a variety of ranch and two story homes with square footage ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 and most have beautiful lots. They also are pretty well divided between three bedroom and four bedroom homes. They are just a few with basements and/or three car garages.

The neighborhood has its own pool, playground, tennis court, basketball court and clubhouse for residents. The clubhouse was the old farmhouse for the land. The Homeowner fees are $135 a quarter or $540 a year. And it is worth mentioning again, the Monon Trail is located just east of the subdivision, within walking distance.

The neighborhood was built in the early 1990s by Davis Homes. Their pricing average is about $100 a sq foot with most homes in the $175,000 to $185,000 price point. The absorption rate for this neighborhood is less than one month! What a great neighborhood. There were 12 homes that have sold in the last year, so very little movement in the neighborhood of 290 homes. There are currently three actives and two pended homes. Of the 12 that sold last year, there was one that would be classified as a distressed property.

While there are many areas in Carmel that have beautiful luxury homes, it is nice to find a neighborhood like Lexington Farms that has great amenities and location AND price! Be sure to check out the Indianapolis Star article on Lexington Farms.

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Cindy "in Indy" Marchant - Carmel Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Carmel IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

The Village of WestClay

The Village of WestClay is a new concept with an emphasis on what made communities so wonderful a hundred years ago. The Village of West Clay is what's called a "Traditional Neighborhood Development". What the heck is a Traditional Neighborhood Development, you ask? It's essentially building a small town or village within the confines of a city...In other words; it's a residential neighborhood that also includes various amenities like grocery stores, drugs stores, and other places in which to shop. There are generally style requirements in which these businesses have to abide by when building a new structure.

As you drive or walk through the Village of WestClay, you'll feel like the clock has been turned back to the 1800's. The architectural styles vary, but all are representative of homes built many many years ago; and while the homes look like something out of a history book on the outside, they have every modern amenity incorporated inside the home. The floor plans represent those that are most desirable to home owners today.

There are approximately 19 parks and playgrounds, three clubhouses, one main meeting house, pools, fitness centers, and tennis courts located throughout the Village of WestClay. In addition to the typical neighborhood amenities, there are cafes, a Pilates studio, a law firm, restaurants, a dentist, a spa, and the list goes on...

Does this new lifestyle concept sound interesting to you? Feel free to visit the WestClay website at http://www.westclay.com/ or please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the Village of WestClay or if you'd like me to send you the current active listings in the area. I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoyed your history lesson for the day! J

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Visit my site at www.chandasellsindy.com
Call me at 317-572-7770 or email me at chandasellsindy@sbcglobal.net

Purchasing a new home in Carmel will probably be the most major expense you will make during your lifetime. Having the right agent working for you will be the key in getting the best deal in the right location with the smoothest transaction. Here is what you will receive when working with this Carmel Realtor:

• Careful consideration of your needs and wants for a new home. I will not send or show you volumes of homes hoping one of them will work. I will send you homes that match as many of the criteria you give to me. I will make suggestions if needed; for example if you want a lot of acreage and a newer home, we may want to talk through that. Typically new homes don't play well with large lots, they more than likely will come on smaller lots. Another example is if you want a particular commute; I will go over traffic patterns with you so that you understand glitches that don't exist on Mapquest.

• I will help familiarize you with our city pointing out areas with good schools (that usually equate to better resale values), points of interest to make you comfortable in navigating our city and a variety of neighborhoods to help you find the right match.

• Flexibility in showing you the homes. I try to manage the number of clients I have so that I am available when you need me to be. If you are an out of town buyer, I may need to be your eyes and/or video tape homes for you when you are unable to view something new on the market that meets you requirements.

• I will do a series of analytics to help you understand the value/pricing of the home once we narrow down our selections. I love working with numbers so this is an area I excel at with my clients. This will include days on market, whether it has been listed before, what the last sales price was, what else in the neighborhood or surrounding area has sold for, and absorption rates to determine how it is placed in the current inventory.

• I will discreetly try to determine seller's motivation to help in our pricing strategy. Of course, your motivation will also play into the scenario. My favorite argument is when the seller says he needs a certain amount to cover his costs; the market doesn't care what he needs and I feel very comfortable pointing that out.

• Once our pricing is determined, I will use the negotiating skills I have perfected as an accountant in another industry to get you the best price on the home you have chosen.

• I will work with you during the inspection to be sure you have representation and to help direct you to vendors who can quote the cost of the repair to be sure we get what we need.

• I will work with your lender and the Title Company to ensure a smooth transaction.

• I will be your advocate from the time we meet well through the years you live in your new home.

• You will be on our list for client appreciation events ranging from Bandaids (Stick with the Marchant Team) to Hayrides and Baseball games!

I look forward to working with you soon!

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Cindy "in Indy" Marchant - Carmel Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Carmel IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

After writing many Carmel Indiana real estate market reports, it is time again to do the six months in review. I am comparing the first six months of 2009 to the same time period of 2008. What is most interesting is the increase in the number of distressed properties. There were 38 in 2009 compared with only 22 last year during this same time frame, that is a 72% increase!

The actual number of sold homes is down nearly 25% from a year ago; with only the "less than $150,000″ priced homes showing an increase.

This is actually good news. This means that more and more first time buyers are entering the market and as they buy these homes, that will allow that tier to move up in their home purchase price.

The largest decline as expected is in the higher priced homes (over $350,000) showing a decline of 36% from a year ago. The middle tier showing a decline of 21%. But as we just mentioned, this should start to see improvement in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

Carmel neighborhoods showing the most activity were Village of West Clay (30!), Saddle Creek (20), Brookshire (16), and Plum Creek (10). The most expensive home that sold was in Claybridge for $1,000,000.

The chart also shows the days on market (how long from the listing date until it is closed) is up to 92 from 79 a year ago and the average price per sq ft sold is down just a bit from $119 to $111 in 2009.

The Marchant Team sells in many areas of NE Indianapolis, in addtion to Carmel. Please read our market reports for Fishers, Geist and Noblesville.

Search homes with one local phone number

Search homes with YOUR phone

Search Carmel Indiana Real Estate by Neighborhood

Search Carmel Indiana Real Estate by Price

Cindy "in Indy" Marchant - Carmel Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Carmel IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775