Realtors Release April Central Indiana Housing Data; Hamilton County Housing Market Saw Increases in Sales, Listings
Data released by MIBOR REALTOR Association shows home sales and listings increased in Hamilton County during the month of April. Closed sales increased to 456, up from 446 in March, while new listings went up to 665, up 16% from 574 in March.
Pending sales increased to 569, up from 512 in March, while average days on market fell from 12 to 9. Price per square foot increased 7%, from $187 in March to $200 in April, and percent of asking price received went up as well, from 103.1% to 104.4%.
The absorption rate, a supply-and-demand measure that takes the number of homes sold in a month and divides it by the number on the market, is used to determine how quickly homes are sold. Economists and housing market analysts generally agree that an absorption rate over 20% (.2) indicates a hot real estate market; Hamilton County’s absorption rate increased 50% from March to April, from .4 to .6.
Only one area saw a decline besides average days on market; median sale price fell from $425,000 in March to $417,558 in April.
“Once again, we saw Indianapolis home prices increase to a record high median sales price of $275,000, a 15.5% gain over last April and a 3.8% gain over last month,” said Shelley Specchio, MIBOR CEO. “Additionally, the percent of list price received at sale rose to an all-time high of 102.1% and average days on market of 15 days declined from 19 days last month and from 18 days at this time last year. This data is proof, although inventory is low, demand remains high. In this market, things will move quickly, and buyers and sellers need a REALTOR for guidance.”
Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, an internationally acclaimed economist and public speaker, says, “Despite the Fed’s plan for even higher interest rates, the housing market is much stronger than it was in the past and we are in no way seeing a replay of 2007/2008. Wages continue to rise by a strong 5-6%, rents are going up, not down, there is a significant lack of supply in the housing market, and demographics point to a continuing demand for housing. Further, with the high number of cash buyers and Wall Street players in the game, I think the housing market is likely to be better able to withstand higher interest rates than in the past.”
He continued, saying, “That said, housing has become a much more important transmission channel for monetary policy than it’s been in the past, partly because auto demand is supercharged given the lack of supply and because investment in corporate plant is, relatively speaking, very low right now. As a result, home sales are likely to decline, but probably by no more than 10-15% below where they are right now, still comfortably above 5 million at the national level. As for prices, I expect home appreciation rates to decline substantially but remain positive year-over-year through the end of 2022.”
Additional central Indiana year-over year comparisons (April 2021 vs. April 2022):
- Pending sales decreased 0.5 percent to 3,580
- Current median sales price: $275,000
- Months supply of inventory: 0.7 months
- Total active listings increased 4.3 percent
This information has been provided by MIBOR REALTOR Association (formerly named the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS), the professional association representing central Indiana’s REALTORS®. MIBOR serves the needs of over 9,000 members in Boone, Brown, Decatur, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, and Shelby counties. MIBOR also supplies the BLC service to REALTORS in Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings, and Putnam counties. MIBOR’s archive of housing data can be found at www.mibor.com/marketinsights.