Statistics

Munster Indiana Real Estate Market Summary January 2011

Recent movement in the Munster Indiana real estate market shows that the prices of single family homes slightly recovering from their lowest bottom during January.  Home prices made an impressive peak last summer but fell back and stayed flat at the end of 2010. While some people may be alarmed by this slide, similar market shifting has been happening across Northwest Indiana. Munster still outranks next door Highland Indiana by almost 14% on a price square foot basis.

The typical Munster Indiana condo lost around  $9,000 during the past year but prices have stabilized during the last 2 months with the median condominium asking price curently being just under $124,000. The numbers for early February are showing a slight  up tic, so perhaps we have moved beyond the bottom.

What does all this mean? If you are a BUYER looking for a home in Munster Indiana, this is an unprecedented opportunity to buy property at the lowest prices in several years. Interest rates have already started to climb, so many experts are predicting that this is as good as it will get.  If you are a SELLER you need to get very real about your pricing. Keep in mind those important price-per-square-foot numbers that we use to compare different size homes, and the overall quality of their collected construction, design, and amenities.

Single Family Benchmarks:

• New Listings, 16
• Sold Listings, 17
• Inventory, 118
• Average Days-On-Market, 206
• Price Per Square Foot, $126

Condominium & Townhouse Benchmarks:

• New Listings, 15
• Sold Listings, 13
• Inventory, 58
• Average Days-On-Market, 212
• Price Per Square Foot, $100

New & Noteworthy

This week’s “blue-light-special” features this bank owned Highland Indiana tri-level townhome on Price Circle. It  had originally been listed on the market last March for $140,000. The MLS is now showing it as a PENDING listing with a price of $89,900. Congratulations to the savvy bargain-hunter who got this diamond-in-the-rough for only less than $64 per square foot.

Trust your local market expert. If you have you are scouting the market for a bargain of your own, or simply need more information about a particular home,  it is my mission to share the information at my disposal to help you.  And likewise,  if you know anyone who is seeking a property to buy, or thinking about selling a property in any of Munster Indiana’s neighborhoods or developments, please let them know about my innovative real estate practice. You can be assured that they will receive the utmost care, foremost marketing skills, and diligent service.

What’s the Buzz in Crown Point Real Estate: August 6th

The media is having a field day highlighting the poor economic news and the slumping real estate market. When I look around Crown Point Indiana, I see something to the contrary. Take a look at the graph below and tell me what you see. By the way, it’s not a disgruntled smile.

Can you see what I see? I see home prices stabilizing in Crown Point Indiana for the quartile of homes that typifies the first-time home buyer in Crown Point Indiana. Why isn’t everyone talking about this news?

It might be true that house values and home prices are still collapsing in the sand belt states. But here in Crown Point Indiana that is not the case. This is the kind of real estate information that every home seller and every home buyer needs to know.

Home sellers in Crown Point Indiana please pay attention. Home prices are NOT appreciating by double-digits so do not price above the market. You could get away with that in 2006, but that’s history.

Home buyers in Crown Point Indiana can also benefit by knowing the real estate trends. Home prices are NOT falling to the point that you can ask for 10% – 30% discounts from list price. Be rationale and reasonable in your assessment of a good deal.

This is my first blog post of many to come in a series I will call “What’s the Buzz in Crown Point Real Estate”. Stay tuned and don’t hesitate to leave your comments.

If All Real Estate Is Local, Who Cares About Averages

All real estate is local! If you’ve heard it once, you have most likely heard it a thousand times. How could you not hear this old cliche when working with real estate and mortgage professionals.

The May 2010 Public Awareness Campaign from the National Association of REALTORS® even states:

“Every market’s different, call a REALTOR® today.” – What Matters Most

If this is true, why is all the focus on averages? Why should you, for instance, care about averages?

Here is a sample chart to illustrate average days on market for single family homes in Schererville Indiana.

From this chart, it appears that the Schererville Indiana real estate market is improving as the average days on market is nearing 180 days which is an indication of a balanced market. Be mindful that this is the average days on market for the entire spectrum of single family homes for sale in Schererville Indiana.

Wait a minute. Your home is not like everyone else’s home and the home you want to buy is so much nicer than other homes on the market. Let’s break the average days on market down to quartiles based on list price. The chart on the left below represents the top 25% of homes for sale in Schererville Indiana. The chart on the right below represent the bottom 25% of homes for sale in Schererville Indiana.

        

 

Do you notice anything different? Do you notice anything that is similar?

If  you recall, the average days on market for the entire spectrum of single family homes for sale was nearing 180 days. For the homes listed in the top quartile, most expensive, the average days on market is 40% longer. For the homes listed in the bottom quartile, least expensive, the average days on market is 15% less.

Depending on what price point you are looking to buy a home or sell a home, knowing the specific real estate trends and statistics to that real estate market would be critical to your decision making process. So back to the question…why should you care about averages?

Regardless of which graph you look at above, the real estate trend for average days on market in Schererville Indiana is definitely improving. Averages help illustrate trends and consequently helps manage expectations.