Now doesn’t appear to be the time to sell your house if you don’t absolutely have to. The state of the economy continues to impact the housing market and hit home sellers hard, according to a study of 13 Central Indiana counties recently released by the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR). However, newcomers to the Indianapolis area and those entering the home-buying market for the first time are likely to get themselves a very good deal indeed.
Boone, Brown, Decatur, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Putnam, and Shelby counties were included in the study, which compares statistics for November 2008 to those reported a year prior, in November 2007. The following numbers tell the story:
- Home sales plummeted 29 percent, from 2,028 units (or residences) sold in November 2007 to 1,448 units (or residences) in November 2008.
- The average* sales price dropped 10 percent, from $143,182 in November 2007 to $128,867 in November 2008.
- The median* sales price dropped 13 percent, from $115,775 in November 2007 to $100,800 in November 2008.
- The number of new listings decreased 24%, from 3,700 in November 2007 to 2,824 in November 2008.
*Quick math refresher course: The average sales price is determined by adding up the sales prices of all properties sold and dividing by the number of sales, whereas the median is determined by lining up the sales prices from lowest to highest, and identifying the number that falls squarely in the middle.
A Closer Look at Marion and Its Surrounding Counties
A survey of the actual number of properties sold in November 2008 compared to the number sold in November 2007 in Marion and the surrounding counties shows that Hancock county fared best with 0% change. All of the other counties experienced a decline, as indicated in the table.
Properties Sold by County
COUNTY NOV 2007 NOV 2008 % CHANGE Boone 57 34 -40 Hamilton 358 226 -37 Hancock 67 67 0 Hendricks 146 120 -18 Johnson 163 91 -44 Marion 907 689 -24 Morgan 67 42 -37 Shelby 35 29 -17
