Susan Miner

I'm so excited that I have completed the course and now have my CDPE designation! Wow, what a lot of information to take in. I can't believe that agents do short sales without all of the information obtained in this class. Knowledge is power and we owe it to ourselves to get the education needed to represent our clients appropriately!

LISTED BELOW IS A COMPARISON OF RESIDENTIAL/TOWNHOME STATISTICS FOR "JANUARY - JUNE"

RESIDENTIAL / TOWNHOME STATISTICS (ALL MLS AREAS)

"2009" "2010" % Difference

#Sold Units: 1,324 1,472 + 11 %
Total Dollar Volume: 140,323,906 164,182,534 + 17 %
Average Sale Price: 105,985 111,537 + 5 %
Median Sale Price: 85,000 92,950 + 9 %

RESIDENTIAL/TOWNHOME STATISTICS (ST. JOSEPH COUNTY - AREAS 1-20)

"2009" "2010" % Difference

#Sold Units: 1,240 1,375 + 11 %
Total Dollar Volume: 131,243,651 154,621,275 + 18 %
Average Sale Price: 105,842 112,452 + 6 %
Median Sale Price: 86,500 94,000 + 9 %

LISTED BELOW IS A COMPARISON OF RESIDENTIAL/TOWNHOME STATISTICS FOR "JANUARY - APRIL"

RESIDENTIAL / TOWNHOME STATISTICS (ALL MLS AREAS)

"2009" "2010" % Difference

#Sold Units: 771 807 + 5 %
Total Dollar Volume: 73,536,648 81,856,289 + 11 %
Average Sale Price: 95,378 101,433 + 6 %
Median Sale Price: 70,000 80,800 + 15 %

RESIDENTIAL/TOWNHOME STATISTICS (ST. JOSEPH COUNTY - AREAS 1-20)

"2009" "2010" % Difference

#Sold Units: 724 759 + 5 %
Total Dollar Volume: 69,750,683 77,594,130 + 11 %
Average Sale Price: 96,341 102,232 + 6 %
Median Sale Price: 74,950 83,000 + 11 %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY HOME PRICES GAIN

IN FEBRUARY

SOUTH BEND, IN (March 23, 2010)--Average home prices in St. Joseph County rose in February, according to the latest monthly data compiled by RE/MAX of Indiana.

AVERAGE SINGLE-FAMILY HOME PRICE UP = $82,655

February,2010 single-family average home price up 1.71 percent from February, 2009

PENDED HOME SALES UP = 252 (Listings expected to close in the next 30 days)

Up 19% Compared to Feb '09

Up 29% Compared to Jan '10

"Our RE/MAX agents report that many first-time homebuyers have been taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, but time is running out with that incentive set to expire on April 30," said Marsha Lambright, Broker/Owner RE/MAX 100 in Mishawaka.

February, 2010 brought the Greater South Bend-Mishawaka area housing market mixed results when all listing categories are compared to February of 2009:

Total property sales declined -however--

Total dollar volume and average single-family home sales prices rose on a year-over-year basis.

• Active inventory in the St. Joseph County area is stable and down only 2 percent from February 2009 (2,413 vs. 2,471).
• Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month was $13.86 million versus $13.81 million one year earlier, representing a 0.51 percent increase

HOME SALES STATISTICS BY PRICE (Feb '10 vs Feb '09)

• Homes Priced Below $75,000 Down 5% (97 vs 102 )
• Homes Priced Between $75,000 and $150,000 Up 19% (44 vs. 37)
• Homes Priced Between $150,000 and $250,000 Down 25% (18 vs.24)
• Homes Priced Between $250,000 and $500,000 Up 29% (9 vs.7)

"The recent moderation in sales and pricing trends is an encouraging sign, and the national median existing single-family price according to the National Association of Realtors® was $172,900, illustrating the continued higher value and lower cost of living that the St. Joseph County market offers consumers" said Dan Breault, Regional Director of RE/MAX of Indiana.

Statistics pulled from Greater South Bend-Mishawaka Association of REALTORS® for the dates of 2/1/2010 - 2/28/2010 and 2/1/2009 - 2/28/2009

I always knew it was a great place to live and values for housing was very affordable. Now it's been validated by the Today Show and Barbara Corcoran, a real-estate contributor to the Today Show.

Jan 6, 2010

South Bend is the best city in the nation to find value, stability and rising prices in a home while living in a community with anticipated job growth, according to a real estate expert interviewed Jan. 5 on NBC-TV's Today Show.

Barbara Corcoran, a real-estate contributor to the Today Show and CNBC, ranked South Bend first among the "Top 10 Cities for Bargain Homes."

In South Bend, Corcoran told interviewer Ann Curry, the median "price is just $89,000, and prices have been rising steadily for almost a full year now.

"Still, the median price is only half of what it is in the rest of the nation," she said. "That's an enormous difference -- a lot of house for the dollars."

Corcoran's report showed a three-bedroom Victorian home in South Bend as she commented, "Pretty! Pretty! Pretty! It's $90,000. That is a creampuff of a house - in great condition."

If the availability of housing values weren't enough to put South Bend atop her list, "the cost of living is a whopping 29 percent lower than anywhere else," added Corcoran who sold her company The Corcoran Group for $70 million in 2001.

South Bend's value for housing confirms the experience of Sue Solmos, a former Indianapolis real-estate agent who moved to South Bend in 2008 to become the residential marketing specialist for the City of South Bend's Department of Community and Economic Development.

"I was delighted to see that we were on the top 10 list and even more impressed to see that we were No. 1, as we well should be," Solmos said. "Given that we have 10 universities and colleges, this new high-tech initiative going on and absolutely fabulous neighborhoods with magnificent housing stock, South Bend is an obvious choice. We are a train ride to Chicago, a short ride to the beaches of Lake Michigan and, for a city our size, we have surprisingly good arts and culture."

Here is Corcoran's ranking of cities as appeared on the Today Show:

1. South Bend, Ind.
2. Akron, Ohio
3. Topeka, Kan.
4. New Haven, Conn.
5. Tucson, Ariz.
6. Minneapolis
7. Portland, Maine
8. Miami
9. Kingston, N.Y.
10. Trenton, N.J.