Chris Price

So you need to sell your Indianapolis home? Here's some advice for you.

Historically we've had slow appreciation here in the corn belt. Prior to the crash, we weren't seeing price rise too rapidly. The fact that we don't have any geographical boundaries to our city allowed for great suburban sprawl. New home builders built many new neighborhoods probably above the demand curve.

When the crash happened, we in Indianapolis were also affected. Home builders stopped building because of our oversupply of inventory of homes.

Also credit (mortgages) were more difficult to get. This has presented a historic buying opportunity for buyers.

Distressed homes in Indianapolis flooded in the market in 2008-2010 making great deals available. But this has hurt prospects for retail home sellers. While non-distress sale homes are selling, they need to be priced right and the best condition in the area.

There was an uptick in seller activity in Indianapolis last year around the homebuyer tax credit time period. After it lapsed, it really hurt activity though. We saw that this artificially drew most of the buyers out of the market. That made for a tough fall and winter for Indianapolis homes for sale.

So what now. Well right we have a window for home sellers. Because of litigation in the fall of last year and ongoing settlements with banks and servicers, foreclosures for the time being have been basically on hold.

Couple that with still very low interest rates and home sellers have a nice opportunity right now. Because inventory on market is low (foreclosures held back, new home builders not building), retail homesellers like me and you are in prime position to sell right now. We're approaching the end of summer which is typically the best time to sell - we still have a good window until foreclosures really start to hit the market again.

If you're on the fence, this is really something to consider if you have a home in Indianapolis or surrounding areas to sell.

If you're interesting in finding out how to sell your Indianapolis home, get a value on it, or find out how it best can be marketed - contact us today.

Chris Price

chrisprice@indypropertysource.com

www.indypropertysource.com

317-225-5507

Thanks for all of you following from www.facebook.com/indypropertysource and twitter handle of @indypropsource!

I read an interesting article today from the National Association of REALTORS about home ownership expectations. As a real estate professional, I advocate responsible home ownership. I want to lead with that. I certainly think that owning a home is a great thing. While its part of the American Dream, I don't believe its all of it. Its certainly attainable by everyone but each person's situation varies. It is a great responsibility too so I feel that potential homeowners should be educated. Where else better to do that than with their local REALTOR.

We as real estate professionals must advocate that potential buyers are ready for this big decision and help them get there. We can't make financial decisions for our clients but let's make sure we refer them to good lenders, CPAs, attorneys, etc to help them make that decision.

The statistics in the article were than surprisingly renters (from 63% roughly to 72%) now say that homeownership is a good decision. Not surprising that its thought of like that but just in the timing with markets the way they are now. So keep in mind how many people out there know its important to own a home and how we can help them.

If you have specific questions about Indianapolis homes for sale or wanting to sell your Indianapolis home, let me know at chrisprice@indypropertysource.com

Thanks!

Chris Price

Real estate buyers and sellers are you confused about what's going on in the real estate market? It's a lot to digest right now. Lots of conflicting stories out there.

Here's the facts.

Fact #1 - Real estate prices have dipped back to post crash low levels. This is what's known as the dreaded double dip. Economists and experts see this as the recovery having lost its momentum.

Fact #2 - Interest rates are still at record lows, often times below 5% for certain buyers and depending on lender.

Fact #3 - Housing prices are fluctuating. Depends on your market too but some reports have sales increasing on existing homes, others have prices declining. There's a lot to report here but we'll discuss what it means.

Fact #4 - Banks have record levels of distressed properties on their hands. This is the most important point. We can't recover until these make their way through the system. Our existing buyer base needs to absorb this inventory so we can have stabilized levels of housing and prices can again appreciate. However our kick the can down the road atittude is prolonging this problem. Each month that a home sits, it causes more blight to neighborhood, takes on more damage, adds to existing inventory (shadow inventory) and takes up space on bank's balance sheets.

The window - The is the short term phenomenon we are seeing right now. Retail home sellers (non-distress sales) have a short window this summer to sell their home at optimum levels. Traditionally home sales are increased in the summer months. Buyers are very active and interest rates are low - see below. Given that levels of distress properties actually on the market are way down, sellers have a chance to compete and sell if priced right. In a few months, more foreclosures will hit the market and drive prices back down.

Buyer's market - This is turning into one of the greatest buyer markets ever. Many opportunities are available to creditworthy owner occupants and investors. The longer we kick the can the longer we will see this buyers market.

Have questions about economics or the housing market? Suggestions for future topics? Email us at info@indypropertysource.com or visit us on the web where you can also search for Indianapolis homes at www.indypropertysource.com.

Thanks!

Chris Price

Broker Associate

Keller Williams Realty - The Indy Property Source

National Association of REALTORS '30 Under 30'

Wall Street Journal's Top 400 Real Estate Professionals 2009 & 2010