Realtors: October better after home buying, inventory dip
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By the numbers, October housing metrics saw largely negative percentages similar to previous months and most of this year. However, the Indiana Association of Realtors said the market is stabilizing with more new pending sales and inventory matched with cheaper price tags.
October saw 6,267 closed sales, bringing the year’s total sales to 64,267. Listings are just under 80,000 with about 8,000 new listings last month. Both metrics followed the year’s downward trend, as the first 10 months saw 15% and 13% respective drops from last year.
“Since August, homebuyers have seen the average number of homes on the market rise nearly 20% while median prices have dropped 6%,” IAR President Lynn Wheeler said in a news release.
The median price lingers around $240,000, which is a 1% increase over last year. Sales below $250,000 declined 13% year-over-year while sales over that amount saw just a 3% decrease.
The Fort Wayne metro was one of 10 areas in the country to see the largest year-over-year price increase in existing single-family homes at 12.9%, according to the National Association of Realtors. Six of the 10 markets are located in the Midwest.
This part of a larger trend where single-family home sale prices rose in 82% of the association’s 221 surveyed areas; about 11% saw a double-digit increase. The national median price grew by 2.2% from last year, now sitting at $406,900.