Home sales in the Region remained strong in August despite the continued shortage of homes on the market and the rising prices, according to information from the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.
GNIAR collects sales data from members in a seven-county area, including Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton, Starke and Pulaski. In August, the members reported selling 1,246 homes, almost 100 more than August of 2019, or an increase of 8.3%. August was also up from July’s total of 1,227. For the year, sales are about 1% up from 2019 at 7,113 units sold.
The median price of a home rose almost 12% from a year ago to $211,500 and it jumped almost 5% from July’s median price of $202,000. So far this year, the median price of a home has risen 8% to $189,000.
GNIAR CEO Pete Novak said a total of about 1,800 homes were on sale during the month. That’s almost half as many as were on the market in August 2019. The shortage of homes on the market began to occur in 2014, but the number has decreased more rapidly the past three years.
Novak compared it to 2006, when buyers had 6,000 homes to select from. Despite the dramatic difference in the number of homes on the market, the number of sales was about the same in both years.
“We had strong August numbers,” Novak said. “We still have a very limited number of homes available and high prices, so to have an increase in sales is surprising. Buyers don’t have much to choose from, but they are still buying.
“We always want to see more of a balance between buyers and sellers, but we are still in the middle of a pandemic and jobs are down and a lot of people are struggling, but the real estate market is still leading the market. I would have lost a lot of money betting on the way the market would go.”
Novak said, after a slight dip in sales in May at the start of the pandemic, sales have improved every month, and he expects the trend to continue in September.
“It’s a seller’s market, but sellers who are then looking to buy aren’t finding much to choose from. We are in a higher demand market. Our supply of homes is about a two-month supply, meaning, if no more homes were listed, we would run out of homes in two months. A year ago the area had a four-month supply.
“Nationally it’s closer to three months now, and it’s the same in the Chicago area. That’s quite low. Our demand is due, partly at least, to the Illinois influx of people looking for a home in Northwest Indiana.
“Sellers are hesitant,” he said. “They are comfortable with the price they are getting, but they are not liking what they see out there. With high prices, we should see more homes for sale, but that’s not the case.
“We know in the long run a balanced market is better, but we can’t plan that. It makes it tough for realtors working with clients. If the buyer is not ready to act right away, there could be other offers.”
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