Home Sales See January Jump

The new permits resulted in over 15

F.C. Tucker Co. says pended home sales in central Indiana saw a nearly 12 percent spike in January. More than 2,100 homes were sold in the 15-county region, up from nearly 1,900 during the same month the previous year.

Of the 15 counties tracked by F.C. Tucker, 10 saw an increase in home sales last month, with Hendricks and Hamilton counties seeing the largest jumps at 40.3 percent and 28.5 percent, respectively. The company says the average year-to-date home price for the region increased to $180,866 in January, a 7.1 percent increase over the same month in 2016.

"Home prices have surpassed pre-Recession levels," said Jim Litten, chief executive officer of F.C. Tucker Co. "Although mortgage rates are projected to rise to 5 percent in 2017, we don’t expect this minimal increase to have a huge impact on the market as a whole."

F.C. Tucker says the number of active listings saw a significant decrease in January, dropping 19.2 percent to 7,558. Morgan County saw the biggest drop in active listings at 33.1 percent, while Jennings County’s active listings grew 80.6 percent.