That’s particularly good news for homeowners who are
looking to upgrade to a higher price-range house says Tim McColly,
managing broker of the McColly Highland & Winfield offices and
Director of the McColly School of Real Estate. Last year McColly
Real Estate had 4,728 total transaction sides closed with $845
million+ in open sales volume, ranking in the Top 500 Brokers in
the U.S, Realtor word-of-mouth indicates that for sellers who want
to buy higher end homes, the market is good.
“Since there is no new construction focused on first time
buyers--for homes less than $250,000--inventory will remain scarce,
and there will continue to be upward pressure on prices,”
McColly forecasts. “With high end properties such as homes
over $400,000 though, it is still a buyers' market in most
areas. For buyers looking to move up, they might find strong demand
for their existing home, while finding more negotiating room on the
home they are purchasing.”
Indeed, as more millennials enter the housing market, the
options for buying less expensive homes will continue to be very
competitive. Add to that, single women are now the second largest
buying force for homes. While married couples hold the largest home
buying position with 54%, single women come in second with 18%,
followed by unmarried couples with 15%, single men with 11% and
other with 2%.
Add all that together and it’s tough out there for those
looking for homes under a certain price point.
“Currently in Northwest Indiana, buyers often aren’t
finding what they want at an affordable price or it sells too
quickly because sellers are often getting multiple offers on their
homes,” says Peter Novak, Chief Executive Officer of Greater
Northwest Indiana Association of REALTORS (GNIAR), which represents
more than 1,900 members in nearly 500 offices in Lake, Porter,
Jasper, Newton, Starke and Pulaski Counties as well as several
hundred from LaPorte County, IN; Cook County, IL and Southwestern
Michigan.
According to GNIAR’s Local Market Update, in February 2018
new listings were down by 23% compared to last year at the same
time and the number of available homes dropped by 18.2% from last
February to this one.
Being in a seller’s market can be difficult when it comes
to buying a new home but as McColly says, currently many newly
built homes are more expensive than people entering the market can
afford. That’s because currently there’s less
construction at the lower end of the market as
construction remains focused on luxury homes.
Another competing force, according to the National Association
of Realtors, cash investors now account for 22% of all home sales
transactions in November 2017 which was a 20% increase from the
previous month. For sellers, this could mean an all cash offer,
often too fantastic of an opportunity to turn down.
Looking at statistics for homes above $400,000, Novak says that
the data may indicate that up until last year that section of the
seller’s market was lagging.
In 2014, only 287 homes sold in the $400,000 or more market in
the seven Indiana counties GNIAR represents. That increased to 308
the following year and in 2016 to 362. Last year the jump was 40%
to 507 indicating people may be jumping into the market.
From January 1 to April 17 of this year, 2,397 homes were sold
in Lake, Porter, Jasper and LaPorte according to GNIAR’s
Market Statistic Reports and though the average time homes were on
the market for each county varied, none were over 98 days. List
prices per county averaged between $222, 939 (Porter) and $169,767
(LaPorte). In all counties, 3 bedroom homes with an average square
footage of 1,800 had the highest number of homes sold.
Also a plus for buyers looking for luxury homes is that interest
rates, though rising slightly, are still low by historical
standards. Besides that Northwest Indiana is also a bargain in
terms of property taxes compared to neighboring Illinois, giving
buyers more money for upgrades and more expensive homes.
“The National 30 year fixed interest rate has hovered
around the 4.62% mark over the past 30 days,” says Ryan
Eberhardt Executive Vice President Diamond Residential
Mortgage. “We anticipate the rates to slowly tick
upward toward the high 4’s to possibly low 5’s in the
late summer to early fall. The market is forecasting this
potential increase due to the Federal Reserve rate hikes, a growing
economy, and strong housing market. Even though the trend is
pointing upward, the market is still at historically all-time lows,
which is driving homeownership.”
About McColly Real Estate McColly Real Estate’s local
reputation and expertise are backed by its selection as a member of
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, a global community
of over 565 real estate companies awarded membership based on
rigorous standards for service and performance. This distinction
ensures that McColly Real Estate clients are working with
exceptional local professionals who also deliver connections to
buyers and quality real estate companies across the country and
around the world. Our strength in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago
Southland is mirrored by our fellow Leading Real Estate Companies
of the World® members. From London to Beijing to Johannesburg
and beyond, McColly Real Estate is proud to work with the very best
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introduction is made within Leading Real Estate companies of the
World®. As a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the
World®, McColly Real Estate combines authentic, local expertise
with global connections to the highest quality real estate firms
worldwide. We’re Local. We’re Global®.