Indianapolis Home Sale Activity, 3rd Quarter 2013

The newest edition of Carpenter Reports, a review of home sale market activity in Indianapolis and central Indiana during the third quarter of 2013, is now available. In it, you’ll note that the central Indiana real estate market continues to build a solid footing despite a disappointing September.

Year-over-year listing inventories have continued to decline; down another 4.9% over the third quarter of 2012. Hamilton County led the decline with a 12.7% drop. Marion County, the largest in our survey, showed a 6.2% decline in homes for sale. Continued decline in inventories is important for the recovery of the housing market. In recent weeks we have begun to see inventories solidify with a possible upward bias. Johnson County saw a 7.9% increase in inventory of homes;  Montgomery County up 8.1% and Putnam County had an increase of 11.6%.The soundness of the housing recovery is further reflected in the sales. Pending sales during the third quarter of 2013 were up 10.7% year-over-year. Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Montgomery and Morgan Counties all experienced double-digit improvements over third quarter 2012. While these pended sales reflected a slight slow-down from the second quarter levels reported in the July issue of Carpenter Reports, the data clearly positions the housing recovery on a solid footing.

The average sales price for closed residential sales in central Indiana showed its strongest quarterly increase at 10.9% year-over-year. Hancock, Hendricks, Madison and Montgomery Counties led with double-digit increases. Marion County experienced a solid 9.6% increase. We anticipate the strengthening of home prices to continue into 2014 and beyond.

We believe the recently announced  leadership change at the Federal Reserve will extend the life of the much talked about current economic stimulus known as “QE”. We do not anticipate the reduction of “QE” to begin until late spring or early summer of 2014. If we’re correct, we look for relatively steady mortgage interest rates through early 2014; generally in the 4% to 4.5% range. At Carpenter Realtors, we continue to be optimistic about the future of housing in central Indiana. The improving picture presented in this report continues to fuel our optimism.

We hope you find the quarterly edition of Carpenter Reports and the insight it might provide useful in your understanding of the central Indiana housing market.