Indiana Real Estate

Real estate experts are worried that the Indiana real estate market may be a ways away due to slow real estate activity, despite low mortgage rates and the federal tax credit incentives. Although previous months have posted improvements, real estate experts don’t expect the improvements to continue and believe that winter home sales will stall. Indianapolis is ranked as one of the worst faring cities in the nation in terms of real estate activity. Realtors can only hope that the coming months will bring only small declines if improvements cannot be made.

According to the Indy Star, November has posted promising signs of an improving real estate market in Indiana. However, real estate experts don’t believe the recent success is enough to prevent the expected halt in the Indiana real estate market during the winter months despite the incentives offered to prospective homebuyers through low interest rates and the federal first-time homebuyer tax credit. The Indiana Association of Realtors posted that in the month of November, just over 5,000 homes were sold in Indiana, a 36.5 percent increase from November of 2008. The increase in sales in Indianapolis was 27.79 percent between November of 2008 and November of 2009, ranking the city as the seventh-worst improvement among large U.S. cities. Real estate experts have also noted that there are people interested in buying, but the strict lending standards enforced by local banks has made it extremely hard for prospective buyers to obtain loans. Job security and high unemployment rates have also played major roles in slowing the Indiana real estate market. Although the real estate market is expected to worsen over the next few months, real estate experts have noted that the declines in sales and median prices may be small due to signs that the Indiana real estate market has bottomed out.

The Indianapolis Business Journal has also reported on some of the real estate successes seen in 2009, offering hope that recovery may be near. Some of the top stories include recent growth and an increase in real estate activity around the Indianapolis International Airport, support for restoration of historic buildings in downtown Indianapolis, and the success of some local businesses. The industrial real estate in Indianapolis was also reported to be quite successful, preserving a stable vacancy rate and only slight decline in rent rates, despite the struggles in most other parts of the economy. Although there have been many promising stories suggesting real estate improvements, real estate experts have also noted that another wave of foreclosures is expected to hit the local real estate market in early 2010.

Tampa Real Estate Market

Like many cities in the Sunshine State, Tampa has been hit hard by the recession in the United States as the Tampa real estate market has fallen, with home values plunging and foreclosures skyrocketing. The market may have been overheated before, spurred on by speculation, which has contributed to its fall in prices.

However, all is not bleak. The market for real estate in Tampa seems to be on the rebound as of late. According to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, there were 1,131 homes sold in October, up from just 876 the year before, many likely spurred on by the government stimulus-rebate program for home buyers. Condo sales volume was up too, as were villa and townhome sales.

However, prices are still lagging on homes for sale in Tampa. The average sales price of a residential home sold in October was $170,932, down from $205,410 in 2008. Condo prices were down by around $34,000, townhomes were down by around $36,000 and villas were down by $38,000 — great news for buyers but not so good for sellers.

And the St. Petersburg Times reported that sales in the Tampa area in November were up by more than 50% in the month of November, as compared with the previous year’s figures. Mortgage default rates were still high, with October giving the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area a 15% 90-day-plus delinquency rate, the highest of 2009, and a 9% foreclosure rate — also the highest of the year. As these homes are returned to the banks, the inventory available will continue to build up.

Denver Real Estate Market

The Denver real estate market is facing mixed signals, meaning that the quasi-recovery after the nationwide economic recession has not been particularly strong. According to a November 19, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal, “Colorado saw 12,468 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, setting a new all-time quarterly record, but completed foreclosures so far in 2009 are down from last year, the state Division of Housing reported Thursday. It’s the fourth consecutive quarter in which statewide foreclosure filings have increased, according to the state’s latest ‘official’ release of statewide foreclosure statistics as mandated earlier this year by the states Legislature. Colorado’s third-quarter filings total is up 3 percent from the second quarter, which in turn was up 15 percent from the first quarter. The new filings brought Colorado’s total for 2009 foreclosure filings to 35,112 for the nine months ending Sept. 30, up 18 percent from the same period of 2008.”

Denver homes for sale were more popular among prospective home buyers, according to a November 10, 2009 article in the Dallas Morning News. The piece, written by Steve Brown, noted that “Pre-owned home sales in North Texas were up 11 percent in October from a year ago – the first year-over-year gain since September 200 and the best sign yet that the local housing market has turned the corner. Real estate agents sold more than 6,300 single-family homes through the Multiple Listing Service last month, according to numbers released Monday by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. October’s increase was only the second year-over-year rise in home sales in three years.”

Real estate in Denver also faced decreasing home prices, according to a November 24, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal. The piece, composed by Renee McGaw, stated that “Home prices in the Denver area declined 0.5 percent in September from August, a slight pullback following six straight months of improvement, according to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price data released Tuesday. Some easing is to be expected following the seasonally strong summer selling months, officials said. Denver home prices were down 1.2 percent in September compared with the same month a year ago.”

Dallas Real Estate Market

The Dallas real estate market seems to be recovering slowly, although there are still a number of challenges facing the Dallas-Fort Worth region. According to a  November 29, 2009 article from the Denton Record-Chronicle, home foreclosures have decreased in the most recent year. the piece, composed by Candace Calisle, noted that “Fewer homes were posted for foreclosure this year in Denton County compared with last year, according to a recent study conducted by Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. Denton and Dallas counties were the only two in the 19-county study that showed decreased net foreclosure postings, said George Roddy Sr., president of the Addison-based listing service. ‘We got a pretty good indicator, which is, Denton is faring better than most of the other counties in the metro area,’ Roddy said.”

A relatively steady trend was reported for Dallas home sales and prices, according to a November 25, 2009 article in the Dallas Morning News. According to the piece, written by Steve Brown, “Dallas-Fort Worth home prices held almost steady in the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index – down 1.2 percent from a year ago. It was one of the smallest annual declines in more than a year in the closely watched index of home prices around the country. September prices were down 0.7 percent from August, ending a six-month string of month-over-month gains…Nationwide, prices fell 9.4 percent in September from a year earlier in the 20 cities Case-Shiller tracks. The numbers continue to show gains from earlier in the year, analysts said. North Texas home prices are about 7 percent higher in the Case-Shiller index than they were at the bottom of the market in February.”

A November 24, 2009 article in the Dallas Business Journal took a slightly different angle on real estate in Dallas. According to the piece, “Home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are down 1.2 percent in the third quarter, but North Texas homeowners are faring much better than those in other U.S.-based cities, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s S & P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index report. Only Denver has had a price decline as slight as the drop experienced in Dallas. Most other American cities experienced declines of 3.3 percent or more during the third quarter, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report.”