Southern Indiana REALTOR® ~ Brett Mumaw

Hello everyone. Thanks again for stopping by and checking out my blog. I hope everyone's power has been restored by now and we can all start the cleanup so things can get back to normal.

Below are the numbers for the Southern Indiana Area. You can also view the numbers for the Greater Louisville area as well as the Elizabethtown / Ft. Knox areas by clicking here. As always, if you have any questions about these numbers or would like to discuss them further, please don't hesitate to call or email me.

The numbers for Southern IN are as follows as of Sunday, September 21, 2008:

Active Listings Stats

• 2,590 homes currently on the market
• $173,911 is the average list price of those homes
• There is currently 14.9 months of inventory*

Last 30 Days Stats

• 174 homes sold
• The average sales price was $120,902
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.2%+
• The average Days on Market was 115
• There were 448 new listings on the market
• There were 367 listings that were either canceled, withdrawn or expired

Last 12 Months Stats

• 2,779 homes sold
• The average sales price was $130,707
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.3%+
• The average Days on Market was 105

*Months of inventory is calculated by dividing the current inventory by the amount of homes sold the previous 30 days

+Sales Price vs. List price is determined by dividing the average sales price into the average list price of homes sold

Southern Indiana Area is primarily Clark, Floyd, Harrison and surrounding Indiana counties just north of the Ohio River. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These statistics include single family homes and condos only.

Greetings everyone. Well what a week here in Southern Indiana. I know there are a lot of people still without power (including myself). Unlike most of you though, I still have power running to my house. With that said, we decided to turn it off in the house because our electrical box was pulled off the house by a tree limb. So while most people are waiting for Duke Energy to turn their power on, I'm waiting for them to turn it off! That sounds crazy doesn't it?

Anyway, I didn't want to miss putting up the numbers for this week. Below are the numbers for the Southern Indiana Area. You can also view the numbers for the Greater Louisville area as well as the Elizabethtown / Ft. Knox areas by clicking here.

The numbers for Southern IN are as follows as of Sunday, September 14, 2008:

Active Listings Stats

• 2,615 homes currently on the market
• $174,512 is the average list price of those homes
• There is currently 14.5 months of inventory*

Last 30 Days Stats

• 181 homes sold
• The average sales price was $125,916
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.5%+
• The average Days on Market was 115
• There were 481 new listings on the market
• There were 380 listings that were either canceled, withdrawn or expired

Last 12 Months Stats

• 2,794 homes sold
• The average sales price was $131,051
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.3%+
• The average Days on Market was 105

*Months of inventory is calculated by dividing the current inventory by the amount of homes sold the previous 30 days

+Sales Price vs. List price is determined by dividing the average sales price into the average list price of homes sold

Southern Indiana Area is primarily Clark, Floyd, Harrison and surrounding Indiana counties just north of the Ohio River. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These statistics include single family homes and condos only.

This past Sunday blew me away, almost literally. What was leftover from Ike blew through the area yesterday for something we weren't used to here in the Midwest. Strong straight-line winds, which were reported to reach up 75 miles per hour by the local news affiliates, ripped through Kentucky and Indiana. As of this morning, it was reported that around 300,000 people are without power and it could be the end of the week before they get it back.

I experienced the wind first hand at home. I had just reached the office and was preparing to go work an Open House when Chasidy called and said I needed to come back home immediately because a tree just destroyed the house. While I'm talking on the phone with her, my neighbor is calling in on the other line. When I answer, all I can hear is wind blowing into the phone and my neighbor frantically telling me its on my carport.

Well, luckily no one was hurt and the damage really could have been much worse. The top of our tree in the backyard snapped and flew across the yard and landed on top of the carport. It was smashed, the electrical box was pulled off the house and part of the siding was ripped off. All things said, I think we are pretty lucky.

***Edit*** I forgot to mention that we were also lucky that there weren't any cars under the carport when this happened.

Hello everyone. I hope you are all having a great afternoon! Have you seen the weather outside? If not, get out there and enjoy it. It is absolutely gorgeous!

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Below are the numbers for our local Southern Indiana area. I will publish and track these numbers each week so that we can all stay on top of where the market is headed. You can also view the numbers for Greater Louisville and the Elizabethtown / Ft. Knox areas by clicking here.

The numbers for Southern IN are as follows as of Sunday, September 7, 2008:

Active Listings Stats

• 2,660 homes currently on the market
• $175,711 is the average list price of those homes
• There is currently 13.8 months of inventory*

Last 30 Days Stats

• 193 homes sold
• The average sales price was $137,257
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.3%+
• The average Days on Market was 108
• There were 517 new listings on the market
• There were 366 listings that were either canceled, withdrawn or expired

Last 12 Months Stats

• 2,816 homes sold
• The average sales price was $131,762
• The Sales Price vs. List Price was 96.3%+
• The average Days on Market was 105

*Months of inventory is calculated by dividing the current inventory by the amount of homes sold the previous 30 days

+Sales Price vs. List price is determined by dividing the average sales price into the average list price of homes sold

Southern Indiana Area is primarily Clark, Floyd, Harrison and surrounding Indiana counties just north of the Ohio River. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These statistics include single family homes and condos only.

Hey everybody. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all had a great weekend.

Today we're going to talk about some of the reasons that homes won't sell. I don't think it is any secret that we are facing a challenging market, even here in Southern Indiana. But just because it is challenging, it doesn't mean your home won't sell. There are still houses being sold every day, just not as many as there were over the last five years or so. So what does that mean? It means that if you need your home to sell, it better stand out and be better than everyone else. So basically, nothing has changed.

There are different factors that affect every home sale. Some of those we can control while others we can't. The factors you can't control are:

• Location
• Market Conditions*
• Competition

*Even though some think we do, we Realtors do NOT control the market.

The factors that you can control are:

• Condition of the Property
• Ease of Showing
• Listing Price
• Terms Offered
• Choice of Realtor

Remember that all of these things affect your home sale, whether you can control them or not. You can't control where your home is. Well, you can, but only before you buy it. This is something you need to take into consideration before you make your purchase.

The market conditions are another factor you can do nothing about. I'm convinced that some people think their home's value will appreciate no matter what the market conditions are. I don't know why they think this, but I know there are some that do. Instead of thinking that, think of your home as what it is, an investment. Just like stocks or bonds, your home can lose value. Hopefully it won't, but it definitely can.

Lastly, your competition is another factor you can't control. The more homes on the market that are comparable to yours, the more attractive you need to make yours look to stand out from the rest.

OK now we're going to get into what you can do to help give your home it's best chance to sell.

First off is condition. Be sure that the overall condition of the home is in good shape. Fix all the "little things" that need to be attended to. Update things that need to be updated (carpet, paint, utilities, etc.). Remember this though, there is normally a range to which the price of your home could be. If it is in excellent condition, then it can be placed towards the top of the range. If it is in bad condition, it will be closer to the bottom of the range. Just because you spent $3,000 on new carpet, doesn't mean you should add that cost to your listing price. You are making your home easier to sell and putting it closer to the top of your range. Also be sure to get out all the clutter. People need to see the house, not your stuff.

Ease of showing is important. If you make it difficult for buyers and agents to see the property, they could forget about it. Also, they could be thinking "If it is hard just to get in, imagine trying to work out a transaction" and end up walking away.

The listing price is by far the number one thing you can do to help get your home sold. Your listing price is affected by every other factor on this list. You have to get it priced close to, or even a little under, market value from the get go. There are many that happen if you overprice. The first problem is that you could scare away potential buyers. Your home will receive the most amount of attention in the first month. If your house is priced too high, your buyer may not even see it. That means you will have to start reducing, reducing, and reducing some more and could potentially end up getting far less than market value. If you price it right in the first place, you will have a much better chance at receiving an offer early, and a chance at a multiple offer situation (which could be more $$$).

One option that is becoming more prevalent in today's market is offering terms on the property. Basically you are going to handle your buyer's financing. When I first started in this business about four years ago, I could count on one hand the amount of homes listed offering terms. That number has grown considerably since then. Sellers are having to do this in order to attract more possible buyers. I will say that if you do this, be careful and work with your Realtor and Real Estate Attorney to make sure you have the correct paperwork filled out.

Lastly is your choice of Realtor or agent. Make sure you are getting someone who will work hard for you. They should have a plan. I show my clients an exact list of how their home will be marketed and when. I keep them advised of what is happening and touch base with them on a regular basis.

As I said earlier, homes are selling everyday. Be sure you give yours a chance or it could be a long and frustrating process.