Indianapolis Real Estate News And Information From HomeToIndy.com

The most recent real estate news indicates positive growth for the third quarter of 2011. As reported by National Association of Realtors, home sales in Indiana were up 18.6% over third quarter of 2010.

When you break it down by city in the Central Indiana suburbs of Indianapolis, how did we  do? Here's the stats:

Avon Indiana +20.2%

There were 208 home sales in Avon in 2011, compared to 166 sales in 2010. The average price of homes sold in Avon in the third quater of 2011 was $160,516. which was down 6.2% from last year for the same time period. The average home sold in Avon was three bedrooms, three baths and 2161 square foot. Average days on Market was 99 days. Search ...

The third quarter statistics quoted in a recent article about housing costs and affordability of homes in Indianapolis led me to my own research. I'm not the type of person who takes this information as the final word. I always run my own numbers to verify the data.

It's not my intent to discredit the news source. Their data could include homes which were private sales and not part of the Indianapolis MLS statistics, where I get my information. Not to say the news isn't good, but it's just not accurate, in my opinion.

Indianapolis has always been in the top twenty for home affordability and many times #1 in the past five years. The city actually held the #1 spot for 17 consecutive quarters. The fault I see in the reporting of the statistics is the fact, Carmel and Indianapolis are always lumped together. As stated in the report -

'By contrast, the average home in the Indianapolis-Carmel...

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Picks of the Week ~ 11/28 – 12/4/2011

Now that we’ve packed up all of our harvest décor and picked over all the Thanksgiving leftovers, let’s talk Christmas!  Central Indiana offers some of the most wonderful Holiday happenings that can turn even the scroogy-ist Scrooge into a jolly old elf.  Here are our top picks for Holiday fun this week.    

11/28 MONDAY ~ COUNTRY CHRISTMAS AT STONYCREEK FARM

Pick any day before Dec. 20...

Your First Indianapolis Home is a Dream Come True

The tendency of many first time home buyers is to think about their first home in terms of a dream come true. As they start their hunt they tend to search for what they perceive as the perfect home. Often the first time home buyer dreams about their lives in the home for years to come. They look at their first purchase with thoughts of things like adding on to the home, renovating kitchens and baths, and making the home perfect, for the rest of their lives.

Rarely does the first time home buyer embrace the fact that this is their “first home”, and that statistics show there will be many more homes for them down the road. While owning your first home is a dream come true, it will most likely not be your dream home.

How much home can I afford?

The most important consideration prior to searching for your first home is to have a very serious conversation with yourself as to what is a comfortable housing...

Reasons to Wait to Buy a Home

It may be surprising to hear this from a REALTOR®, but sometimes it may be better to wait awhile prior to purchasing a home. Rates are crazily low right now, and provided you have finances available to purchase a home, this could be a great opportunity. The main thing that needs to be considered is how soon you wouldneed to sell the house.

The reason being that if there isn’t enough time for the property to appreciate enough to cover the costs of selling, namely closing costs and commission, this could seriously cost you. The seller pays the commission, which is generally about 6% of the sales price. In addition, closing costs can add another two or three percent. It is easy to see how this...

Spark that Holiday Spirit in Central Indiana

                   Picks of the Week ~ 11/21 - 11/27/2011

All of Indiana will be bustling this week and the excitement of the season will be brewing. With a chill in the air and the Holidays on our minds, we’ll all be searching for that perfect “something” that ignites our spirits. Here are our favorite events to kick off the Holiday season this Thanksgiving week.

11/21 Monday ~ Capitol Christmas Tree Tour

 See the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree as it makes a stop in Santa Claus, IN. Guests can sign the banner that travels with the tree to Washington, DC. This is one of only 26 stops the tree will make across country, and the only stop it will make in Indiana.

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A common question I receive from homeowners who want to list their home this time of year is, 'Do homes sell in Indianapolis in the winter'? My answer is yes, they do.

Are there fewer home sales in the winter? Yes, there are. 

Still, people do buy homes in every season. I have fallen into many snowbank (with my clients right behind me) and have even fallen on my backside getting out of car on icy driveways. All in a day's work, showing buyers homes during an Indianapolis winter.

There are two distinct advantages to market your home in the winter.

• 1. There is less competition
• 2. Buyers are generally more serious.

What is the difference in the number of sales in the winter compared to the rest of the year? I ran the numbers for the past year. These are the dates the homes actually closed.

                         ...

If you have turned on the TV lately, glanced at a headline, or heard your co-workers talking at the water cooler, you have no doubt heard about our nation’s debt crisis. The Obama Administration has charged both houses of Congress with coming up with a plan to reduce the national debt.

One of the many suggestions that has surfaced is doing away with the long-standing mortgage interest deduction. Don’t do your own taxes or are not sure what this is? Basically, each year in the US, homeowners are able to take any amount of interest they pay for their mortgage as a deduction on their income taxes.

Touted as a boon by some in Washington, doing away with the mortgage interest deduction has the mortgage industry is up in arms. They claim that with...

Foreclosure, HUD and bank owned homes can be a great value for Indianapolis homebuyers. There can also be additional costs associated with bank owned properties many people do not assume.

Buying a bank owned home is not the same as buying a home directly from a homeowner or builder.

Banks have their own set of addendum's required with the purchase of one of their homes. Generally, there are requirements within the contract and addendum’s that cost a homebuyer more money, both in upfront costs and settlement costs.

When it comes to buying any home, we always recommend a home inspection. This is always a buyer cost, but with a bank owned home, you may have additional fees in relation to the inspection of the home.

Winterization:...

Property taxes are generally a huge consideration for homebuyers. In Indianapolis, and the State of Indiana, property taxes are set at 1% of gross assessed value for owner occupied properties.

This isn’t the price you pay for the home, it is the value the assessor has placed on the home. If you plan on living in the home, you will pay 1% of that assessed value. Assessor’s don’t actually visit every home they assess, so the value may be more or less than the price you pay and the assessed value is subject to change.

Non owner occupied homes are taxed at 2% of the gross assessed value. In Indiana, you must file a Homestead...