Chanda Barrick REALTOR (Indianapolis, Avon, Greenwood)

I'd just like to say, the weather here in Indy (Indianapolis) today was awesome! It was such a treat to have the high reach, I believe, 72 degrees today! While the sun wasn't shining much and it was SUPER windy, it was great to open all of the windows and doors and get some much needed fresh air in the house. Tomorrow it will be in the sixties, so again, I definitely won't complain. Hopefully this is a sign that spring is just around the corner! Hope the weather was as wonderful in your neck of the woods. :)

C.P. Morgan Homes officially ceased operations today. C.P. Morgan first started building homes in 1983 and in the 26 years that they were in business they built more than 25,000 homes in Indiana and North Carolina. The owner of the company blamed the current housing crisis for the eventual demise of the company.

While it is sad to see yet another Indiana company close it's doors, I can't say it surprises me. Indianapolis (and the surrounding areas) was inundated with a slew of builders coming in and building more houses than you can shake a stick at. I feel many of the builders were doing the same thing I saw Starbucks doing, they were trying to grow too big too fast and now they are paying the price.

I also believe the building boom was also a contributor to the foreclosure rates here in Indy. During the buying peak, people were so enamored by the shiny new homes and being told that they could hop right into a home for next to nothing...OK well, maybe the first year or two, your payments were reasonable, but this was before property taxes had been assessed. When the assessments were complete some people's mortgages were literally doubling! Long story short, they could no longer afford their payment and now you see TONS of homes in these additions being sold for next to nothing, bringing property values down for other residents in the neighborhood. Yes Yes I know you are not supposed to factor in those numbers to comparables, but believe me, it really is affecting the regular homeowner's ability to get a decent price for their own home.

OK, I'll stop ranting for now, but I just hope this is an example to those companies that try to grow at the speed of light and ruin a good thing. C.P. Morgan had done quite well before they started trying to build so many homes so quickly and I believe if they'd kept to gradual increase in growing their business they'd still be around today...

For all you college athletic fans out there, the NCAA Hall of Champions is back and better than ever. There was an electrical fire that occurred in November 2007 and as a result, they decided to use the incident as an opportunity to remodel the entire building.

The new and improved Hall of Champions will feature attractions like 23 new interactive kiosks highlighting the various sports in which the NCAA is involved. There's also a new gallery (called Play) that will allow you to literally become a part (tennis, rowing, basketball, you name it) of each of the NCAA sports. In addition to the attractions, it will also offer meeting/event space in addition to retail space.

If you are an Indy resident, get ready for yet another great addition to Indianapolis. For those visiting or planning to relocate, keep this latest development in mind for your next visit!

Looking for other great things to do around Indinaapolis? Take a look at my other post about Indy attractions...