About Our Blog!
We added this Blog recently so we could share additional insights and information about the local real estate market with our clients and visitors. We hope you find the information interesting and useful. We may be irreverent at times or include links to other sites or articles of interest, so check back often for your dose of our Indy Real Estate Perspectives!  Weekly Price Reductions Create Interest In FlockBay Homes
September 23, 2008 – Several months ago we introduced a new concept in home pricing. We launched “FlockBay” on our web site and persuaded several of our clients to try weekly price reductions, some as high as $2,500, to increase interest in their homes. New Price means better value, and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the success of this strategy. Most of the homes listed on FlockBay have sold despite a slow market. Often the worst thing a seller can do is nothing, and too many brokers let it go on because they don’t want to tell sellers they made a mistake listing their home too high! We provide our clients with detailed market sales and absorption data to back up our recommendations. We are general contractors, award winning builders, and accredited home staging professionals. We provide our clients innovative advice and strategies to enhance the value of their home and reduce marketing time!.
An Interesting Segway To New Condos In Herron-Morton Place.
September 2, 2008 – Herron-Morton Place is one of downtown's most popular historic neighborhoods. This coming Sunday, from noon to 6:00 p.m., area residents are hosting a neighborhood Home Tour. The tour will feature a variety of interesting homes and condominiums. We have many friends in Herron-Morton Place, and we like the area very much! If you are looking for somethng to do this Sunday, you should consider attending. We will have at least two homes open during the tour: 1630 N. Delaware Street and 2143 N. Delaware! An interesting new condo project on Talbott Street is set to have its Grand Opening the following weekend, Friday, September 12th. Find out what Kurt Flock had to say about this new project in this week's IBJ Real Estate Weekly.
What Does Our Competition Know That We Don't About Market Value?
August 25, 2008 – We lost a couple of listings recently to one of our competitors. In both instances, the older, existing, unsold homes had been on the market with other companies. The owners couldn't understand why they weren't getting showings or selling. We were very direct in our critique of each home's condition. We suggested significant price reductions and asked each owner to correct defects or make other changes to enhance their presentation. We set conditions upon taking the listings. We have to believe in the intrinsic value of the homes we are marketing in order to represent them to buyers who depend upon us for advice. This is does not compromise serving our sellers; it serves them better, because buyers are the ones out there doing the shopping, and they know a pig with lipstick from a little black dress. They visit competing homes in search of the one that best meets their needs and is the BEST VALUE. Giving a seller tough advice so they can appeal to buyers is especially important in a slower market like the one we're in. We provide our sellers with a plan, a strategy, and an extensive checklist of things to do to enhance the value of their home. Following our advice typically results in a quicker sale at a higher price. When we lose a listing to competition that offers hope and blue sky instead of a solid plan and advice that makes sense, we have no regrets. Not everyone is ready to acknowledge the tough realities of the current market. We just don't think it helps anyone to have for sale signs in the front yard forever!
How Lonely Are You Surfing Our Web Site! Not Very!
August 8, 2008 – Since launching our enhanced web site July 11th, we've enjoyed over 4,600 visits. We've also had over 114,000 page views! Visitors are averaging nearly 25 page views per visit, and they are staying on our site for nearly six and a half minutes. That's called a "sticky" site. We've also made it easier for people to see what's changed on our "Site Updates" page under PROPERTY LISTINGS menu. Early next week we'll post some very interesting stats about the downtown market. For example, sales of homes in condos in the $350,000 to $750,000 price range is down over 65% from last year. Wouldn't it be good to know the facts when you are making your own real estate decisions!
Renting Your Home During A Slow Sales Period Can Make Good Sense!
July 29, 2008 – It's not unusual for an owner, particularly one that's already moved to another house, condo, or city to consider renting the residence they have listed for sale. There are pluses and minuses to renting your home. The most obvious pitfalls are the wear and tear on the home and the unknown costs of fixing the home back up to high enough quality standards so it will appeal to buyers again, after the present tenants leave. The most obvious benefit is that rent will help offset any mortgage payment, and tenants typically take over utility payments. We recently helped several of our clients source quality tenants for their property. We show the property, take the application, negotiate the lease, run credit reports, verify employment and previous rental history, and do a criminal background check. The result of this due diligence is that we weed out problem tenants before they move into the home (remember the movie: Pacific Heights?!)
The best of all situations may be to convert a tenant into the home buyer. Often tenants want to "try it" before they buy it, or they may be waiting for a promotion, inheritance, or a home to sell. Circumstances may vary, but it may make sense for homeowners to rent to a buyer and structure their lease with economic incentives to induce the tenant to buy the home. Usually this is crediting a significant portion of the rent toward a tenant's down payment.
We are skilled at structuring a wide range of leases, lease-options, and lease-purchases. If you want to expand our marketing options, give us a call. The current housing market demands that you work with an experiences broker offers creative and multi-faceted strategies to get you where you want to be.
Supply and Demand in Center Township Impacts Sales Statistics
July 15, 2008 – Here's some interesting sales stats covering the first six months of 2008 for Center Township, a 42.68 square mile area in the heart of Marion County. Center Township is bounded by 38th Street on the north, Emerson Ave. on the east, Albany St. and Troy Ave. on the south, and Belmont Ave. and White River on the west. The statistics are derived the Broker Listing Cooperative™ of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS®.
• There were 1,191 residential sales from Jan. 1 - June 30.
• 192 or 16.12% of that total were sales over $100,000
• 40, or 3.36%, were over $300,000
• 17, or 1.43%, were over $400,000
• 10, or .0084% were over $500,000
• Only 2 sales were over $1,000,000.
• There are 2,050 active listings in Center Township as of July 15, 2008..
• 664 of those are over $100,000. This count does not include 100+ homes (mostly condos) in new projects where the developer has not entered every unit in the BLC™.
• 116 are listed between $300,000 and $400,000
• 23 properties went pending in the last six months that were listed between $300,000 and $400,000. The present absorption rate in this price range makes current inventory the equivalent of a 2.5 year supply.
Sales statistics such as these should be taken into account when pricing a home. Absorption rates and the number and location of competing properties impact home values as much as condition, curb appeal, deferred maintenance, and dated decor, etc. A seller's motivation is an important factor in positioning a home among its competition as well.
The Indy Real Estate Market Will Rebound Sooner Than Others!
June 20, 200• – Like many areas of the country, Indianapolis saw a general slow down in area home sales last summer. The slow down worsened as many buyers found it difficult or impossible to obtain financing due to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. Making matters worse, many Hoosier home owners were hit with crazy property tax increases. These events had a chilling effect on home buyers. The Spring market is showing signs of life and recovery however, and we believe the worst may be over. There are reasons for optimism
• Interest rates remain low and lenders are becoming a bit more aggressive in pursuing qualified home loan borrowers.
• The number of homes on the market remains high, providing buyers with a good selection.
• Many sellers have discounted the price of their home to entice buyers to take a closer look.
• Many sellers also are improving the condition of their homes by making repairs and offering home warranties or other incentives.
• The 2008 Indiana General Assembly passed property tax reform that will provide meaningful, permanent property tax relief to home owners. Property taxes will be capped at 1% of a home's assessed value when fully phased in in 2011.
• The central Indiana economy is diverse and remains relatively stable. A November 7, 2007 article on CNNMoney.com predicted "Home values should increase slightly in Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and a few other locales the bubble missed."
Downtown Now The Coolest Place To Live.
June 20, 2008 – A May 16, 2008 article in the Indianapolis Star reported "more people want to live Downtown, driving the (apt) vacancy rate to the lowest since 1996." George Tikijian, a broker for Tikijian Associates Multihousing Investment Advisors added, "Downtown, I'd say, is now the coolest place to live."
Builder drops price $21,000 on Fall Creek Place Model Home
June 20, 2008 – Vintage Homes wants to sell its most recent model home at 2339 Broadway in Fall Creek Place so they've lowered the price on this outstanding new model home by $21,000! It's a MUST SEE if you are shopping for a new home. List price is now $299,900!
CNNMoney.com Ranks Mass Ave. The 20th Best Place To Retire In US
A recent article on CNNMONEY.com named Indy's Massachusetts Ave. corridor as The 20th Best Place To Retire In US calling it a "great eclectic stretch"! Wow!
DOWNTOWN INDY WILL HOST SUPERBOWL XLVI IN 2012!
May 20, 2008 – NFL officials awarded Indianapolis the rights to host Super Bowl XLVI, further enhancing Indianapolis's growing reputation as world class city and community that knows how to host major sporting events. During Super Bowl XLVI, Downtown Indy will be transformed into a festive, Olympic village type atmosphere. We are proud to be charter members of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. and to actively support continued development Downtown in ways that makes hosting a Super Bowl possible! We live, work, and play Downtown. Now we get to walk to a Super Bowl!
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