EVANSVILLE— For the second year in a row, the average sale price of homes in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey and Gibson counties has risen, boosting the local real estate industry’s spirits.
The average sale price for all four counties collectively is $136,000, up from $131,100 in 2012, according to the 2013 Summary of Residential Sales Data.
The study was prepared by Robert S. Reid of Appraisal Consultants, Inc., for the Southwest Indiana Association of Realtors.
The number of homes sold also rose. In Vanderburgh County, 2,296 homes sold in 2013, 208 more than in 2012. The 2013 sales were the highest since 2,498 were sold in 2007.
In Warrick County, 871 homes sold in 2013, up 144 from 2012. The 2013 sales were the highest for Warrick County since 2006 (927).
“The signs are up for an improved economy, and that is very encouraging,” said Geri Terry, president of the local realtors group and an F. C. Tucker Emge broker associate. “The average sale price and the number of homes sold are the two things we’re excited about.”
“We’re presently at the same sales pace as last year,” Terry said. “We’re a steadily growing market again.”
Reid said he thinks the region will see the trend continue this year.
“Interest rates are still low, which will help,” Reid said.
According to Reid’s data, the average 2013 Vanderburgh County sale price was $123,691, up $3,055 from 2012. Homes were on the market 89 days on average in 2013, six days fewer than in 2012.
In Warrick County, the average sale price in 2013 was $182,555, up $8,575 from 2012.
Homes in Warrick County remained on the market an average of 81 days, or 14 days fewer than in 2012. The number was the lowest level since 2006, when homes stayed on the market 71 days.
Reid said trends in real estate take time, citing a 10-year period from 1977 to 1986 when sales declined and then ascended back to more normal amounts in Vanderburgh County.
In 1977, sales totaled 3,103. By 1982, they tumbled to 1,320 before bouncing back to a more normal 2,820 in 1986.
“Some trends we wish would be over in a year or two years ... All these things take time, though we’d like for them to be quicker,” Reid said.