Indiana Real Estate Facing Inventory Crunch

Anyone looking to buy a home in Indiana is facing a competitive market with limited options, according to the latest data from the Indiana Association of Realtors.

The report shows the inventory of homes for sale was 13.1 percent lower last month than in July of 2016. While the number of new listings on the market dropped by less than one percent, numbers of closed sales increased, resulting in fewer homes on the market.

The report also shows the median and average sales prices for Indiana homes have both increased by more than five percent since July of last year.

Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies Director Douglas McCoy says the whole country is seeing an increased demand for homes in the face of a lower supply. But he says Indiana is faring better than other states.

“Our housing cost is a relatively small proportion of our wages,” McCoy says. “So our housing market tends to be fairly stable compared to most places in the country.”

McCoy says Indiana’s housing market has seen a lot of positive growth since 2009, and that’s likely to continue as wages increase. As that growth continues, it will get more difficult to keep pace with demand.

“Demand’s been very strong, so that’s been absorbing a lot of the supply, and then housing starts, you know, you can’t just build a house overnight,” McCoy says. “So it takes time to get that momentum going.”

And according the Indiana Builders Association, Hoosiers are building more houses to meet demand.

The organization says the number of permits filed for single-family homes in the state of Indiana increased 10 percent last month compared to July of last year. The group also says Indiana home building is up 12 percent for the first seven months of this year.

“When comparing the data from last year, we see that the upward trend is still reflective of a continued recovery for the state housing market,” IBA President Lance Swank said in a statement. “As Indiana continues to welcome more homeowners to the economy, we are confident home building will fall in line to meet consumer needs.”

McCoy says he expects the increased demand for homes in Indiana to continue into 2018.

IAR Housing Market Overview by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd