Indianapolis: An Affordable Housing Market

According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index Indianapolis has maintained its standing as the most affordable major U.S. housing market for a ninth consecutive time in the third quarter of 2007.

In the nation’s most affordable major housing market of Indianapolis, 87.5% of homes sold in the third quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median household income of $63,800.
Meanwhile, nationwide affordability rose on a year-over-year basis, but was down slightly for the quarter, due to high mortgage rates.

So if you’re looking into buying a home, it might be wise to check out the Indianapolis area, also known as, the most affordable major housing market.

Home Sales Rebound in Indiana

According to today’s morning paper, Indiana home sales are up for the month of July. However, “The market continues to be erratic,” says G. B. Landrigan, president of Indianapolis real estate firm Landrigan & Co.

In the nine-county area surrounding Indianapolis inventory of homes for sale is 5% higher than one year ago. People are hesitant though, because of the uncertainty of the real estate tax. For the first seven months of 2007 real estate sales were down 5%, according to MIBOR (Metropolitan Indianpolis Board of Realtors ) numbers.

Buyers have been encouraged by the lower home prices this year and higher inventories of homes for sale.

In addition, a recent Forbes Magazine article states that Indianapolis remains one of the most affordable cities in the country to buy a house. Builders have a large inventory of homes that are ready to be moved into right away and many are offering large incentives for credit worthy buyers.

To check out what’s available in maintenance free living, go to www.FindYourMaintenanceFreeHome.com.

Housing Market Gains (by county)

Boone                           16.9%                                       .6%

Hamilton                       -5.3%                                        -8.3%

Hancock                       25.3%                                       2.4%

Hendricks                      -29.9%                                  -11.2%

Johnson                        7.0%                                         -2.2%

Madison                        0.0%                                         -0.5%

Marion                          -0.3%                                        -4.5%

Morgan                         12.3%                                       -7.8%

Shelby                          48.6%                                       4.9%

TOTAL                         -1.4%                                        -5.0%

* Information from the Indianapolis Star and Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors

Homes For Wine Lovers

Do you enjoy wine? Do you want to live in a home that fully allows you to enjoy your love of wine?

Read this article on homes with fine wine cellars that are for sale across the country. (Bonus: they are located near local vineyards.)

Thanks to Rismedia and Trend Spot we can now find homes across the country to accomodate wine lovers.

Room to Breathe: Temecula, California winegrowers embrace the sunny days and coastal breezes known for making this area so diverse in its range of wines as well as homes. This seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom estate built on 2.53 acres, has its very own vineyard and ample room to breathe while sipping wines from the private wine cellar and taking in the panoramic city views of the Temecula Valley. Let’s not forget the full-size tennis court, putting green, and rock pool with grotto and waterfall. All this and so much more for $2,900,000. (http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1075143183)

Full Bodied Washington State: The second largest producer of premium wine boasts this stunning Kirkland, Washington home, close to a dozen wineries. For $2,250,000, this home offers wine connoisseurs breath-taking views of the surrounding city, lakes and mountains. The five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath includes a complete guest suite perfect for out-of-town visitors while the 1,500-bottle wine cellar is also large enough to serve as an entertainment venue. (http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1067483921)

Wine Lover’s Palace: Leesburg, Virginia’s hosts the oldest annual wine festival on the East Coast. Now you can spend the rest of your year on this nearby 3.63-acre rolling countryside estate holding your own personal wine festival with the 1,400 bottle wine cellar and tasting room. $1,529,000 purchases the estate, which includes a stadium seating movie theater, exercise room, and game room. It’s perfect to host those who enjoy the taste of the finer things in life. (http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1069057694)

Parisian Dallas? Most don’t think of Dallas, Texas as having a world-class wine scene, but the state is the fifth-largest wine producer in the nation. This Parisian-styled home is fit for wine enthusiasts with its walk-in wine cellar, wet bar, library, and three covered porches. Juliette balconies allow you to enjoy spectacular Turtle Creek views, while the third floor master suite comes complete with an elevator. This mansion is on the market for $2,950,000. (http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1061103592)

Crisp Floral Notes As the neighbor to more well-known Napa and Sonoma, California, Marin County’s wine industry continues to grow due to the wet winters, dry summers, diverse soil and the abundance of sunshine. This $3,975,000 four-bed, three-and-a-half bath, romantic Belvedere beauty overlooks the water. With magnificent wine cellar included, lazy days can easily be spent relaxing in this home. (http://homes.realtor.com/prop/1067977398)

Additional comparisons and lists showcasing trends in consumer preference, interest and demand for Real Estate properties are available at http://trends.move.com.

Is Renovation Right For You?

Whether you’re a new homeowner or a long-time resident, making major home repairs or improvements can significantly add to your personal enjoyment, and increase your home’s resale value. However, knowing which investments will increase your enjoyment and which will give you the biggest return on investment value can be tricky.

If you’ve already decided that you want to put in that swimming pool for your enjoyment, you should go ahead and do it! However, if you’re planning on selling your home soon, it might be wise to think of how much of that investment you’ll get back. Here are a few facts from recent studies showing how much of an investment sellers get back for their renovations.

The Best Choices:

The Highest Resale Payback:

• A new air conditioning or heating system is worth up to 100% of its cost in most areas of the country.
• Remodeling your kitchen or bathroom offers a more than 90% return on investment in resale value.
• Adding a deck can add up to an 86% bump in resale value.
  Replacing the windows in your home can produce 60- 70% payback.

The Lowest Resale Payback:

• Remodeling the basement or upgrading landscaping, generally only offering a 30- 60% return.
• Experts say that putting in a swimming pool usually provides only up to a 40% return on investment.

Whether you do the work yourself or hire a contractor, making renovations to your home can be a source of pride and pleasure. But remember, renovations should be fit for your lifestyle and pleasure if you plan to continuing living in the home!

What Determines The Market Value of Your Home?

There are 5 important factors that play a part in determining the fair market value of any home. If you’re curious as to why your home is worth more or less than what you expected, it’s a combination of these:

1. Supply and Demand. Depending on whether it’s a seller’s market or a buyer’s market your home could be worth more or less. A seller’s market commands a higher price for the house because there are few on sale, and a buyer’s market lowers prices of the houses because there are a lot on sale.
2. Mortgage Money. When mortgage money is scarce, higher interest rates prevail, and often larger down payments are required. This means that fewer buyers are able to qualify for loans, and homes may take longer to sell or require price reductions.
3. Seasonal Markets. Weather plays an important part in creating demand for houses. For example, in the South buyers are most active in the winter months when people go south to escape the cold. In the North buyers are most active in the nicer months of spring and summer.
4. Economic Climate. Besides the national economic climate, business conditions of any community strongly affect home sales. Where there are new, prospering businesses, real estate prospers; where business is faltering, home prices fall.
5. Political Actions. Government actions can directly affect your property. Changes in sales and income taxes change the value of your home. So do changes in local zoning, property reassessment, property tax rates, appropriations for community projects, and salary increases for government workers.

Spring Cleaning Your Garage

Since May is National Home Improvement Month, there’s no better time to get started on some spring cleaning. The first place many people need to start on is their garage. Has your average two-car garage become a no-car garage?

Well it’s time to get busy, having an organized garage can be both valuable and convenient, and if you’re trying to sell your home, a well-organized, multi-purpose garage can be a key selling point.

Sometimes cleaning up a garage can seem overwhelming, with all the boxes of knick-knacks and things you haven’t seen for years scattered about. However,  with the help of resources like  Garagez.com,  you’ll  be parking your cars in there in no time, and have room to store your possessions.

Do you really want to have to rent a self-storage unit, like the 9% of U.S. households that did in 2005, according to the Self Storage Association? The self-storage industry is grossing about 23 billion dollars a year, mostly because people have cluttered garages. Garages don’t always have to be for just storing your cars and things either. There has been a new trend in extending the garage as a living space, incorporating stations for crafters and gardeners and creating auxiliary play space for kids.

If you’re trying to sell your home, having a well-kept garage could be vital in shortening the property’s time on the market. Many buyers are looking for “Great Garages,” which was listed as one of the top home trends by the National Association of Home Builders in 2006, and at this year’s International Builder’s Show, the NAHB forecasted an increased demand in three-car garages. Overall, it’s the fact that when people look at a garage, it sort of sets an overall tone for how the house is being kept. So now more and more sellers are focusing on their garage by incorporating better organization systems into their homes in order to differentiate themselves during a slower real-estate market.

So use that long Labor Day Weekend, take advantage of the nice weather, and start cleaning your garage. It will make your home more appealing to you, and (if you plan to sell) more appealing to your buyers.

Are You Ready to RightSize?

RightSizing® is a lifestyle, it’s finding what makes you happy and pursuing it.

RightSizing® is also a real estate decision, it’s finding a home that suits you, that allows you to be worry-free and gives you more freedom. RightSizing® is living life to it’s fullest, and if you think that you want to find out more about this easy-going lifestyle.

Read on to find out why RightSizing® is important and what you can do to start.

As an aging American, you want to enjoy life without worry of your own and without unnecessary encumbrances. You want to retain your right to make your own decisions and you may want assistance in implementing those decisions. You want to ensure that you make decisions about your own life and that you take steps now to ensure that your choices are followed — now and later.

In order to start RightSizing® the first step you need to take is to evaluate your current situation and assess all your options based on where you are now, and where you want to be. We can help you with the evaluation process — just call us. Your situation (or your family member’s) situation may require only a few additional services to reap all possible benefits, or it may take a series of steps to ensure the best possible quality of worry-free living for you and for them.

If you’re interested in finding a maintenance-free home your can check out www.findyourmaintenancefreehome.com to start living a more manageable lifestyle.

Checklist For Showing Your Home

“Marketing a home is not the same as living in one.”

Keep this quote in mind when you’re preparing your home for showing. There are a lot of little things that need to be done around the house to make it appealing to prospective buyers.

So read on and take a look at the handy little checklist I’ve included for day-to-day pre-showing “must do’s,” and pass this list on to anyone who will be responsible for preparing your home for a buyer showing.

Show Time

• During daylight open all draperies, shades, and blinds, and make sure they’re clean- wash windows to make them sparkle! Natural light is at the top of most buyers’ wish lists.
• At night turn on all the lights. Dark homes are not inviting. Don’t forget outside light by the front door. First impressions are important so make sure the front yard is neat and the steps are clear.
• Have photos of your garden available.
• Consider displaying before and after pictures of major remodeling projects.
• Use feature cards around your home to reinforce home benefits such as air-conditioning or nearby parks in winter months.

Keep it Clean

• Clean sinks, bathrooms before each showing.
• Vacuum rugs and carpets before each showing.
• Wash dirty dishes and put them away.
• Empty waste baskets and trash.
• Put away clothes and personal items.
• Organize mail, magazines, and newspapers.
• Fold towels and make beds.
• Eliminate offensive odors from pets or cooking. No smoking in the house when your “on the market.”
• Keep landscaping neat and mowed. Sweep driveways and sidewalks. Shovel snow.
• Pick up litter on the property.
• Clean litter boxes and pet food and water bowls.
• Pick up animal droppings in the yard.

Also remember to keep your house neutral. Minimize religious effects or anything else that could possible be offending to prospective buyers. You want anyone to be able to see themselves living in your house.

Indianapolis Ranks In the Top 15 of U.S. Cities Best Fit for Senior Living

According to a report by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company that ranked the top 50 U.S. cities for senior living, Indianapolis ranked the 15th best place for seniors to live, based on the information gathered by a panel of experts on gerontology and senior issues.

This panel determined which cities offer the best quality of life for older adults based on numerous factors and In a news release about the survey, Bankers’ Chief Operating Officer Scott Perry said that the purpose of the study was to find “the best cities for seniors regardless of whether they are retired, working, active or not, healthy or not.”

If you’re interested in moving to the Indianapolis area, or already live there, read on to find out how the panel made their decisions and why Indiana placed so high on the list!

What Makes a City Good for Senior Living?

To find out which cities best suited senior living, the panel researched numerous cities throughout the country and weighed their findings based on the following information:

• Health Care both quality and availablity in the city, such as physician-to-senior and gerontologist-to-senior ratios, plenty of hospitals, and the availability of adult day care, assisted living facilities, continuing care (CCRC) facilities, independent living facilities, nursing homes, and senior meals. The panel also looked for high life expectancies and low rates of depression, heart disease, and cancer.
• Economics in the city, consumer prices, sales taxes, unemployment rates, and recent job growth trends.
• Social benefits for seniors in the community, like entertainment opportunities, museums, education programs, recreational parks, colleges and libraries. The panel also examined the percentage of the population belonging to organized religions and the number of religous congregations.
• Quality of Environment with a number of sunny days, clean air and water,  risk of natural disasters, and the presence of ocean coastline, rivers, lakes, and national parks.
• Transportation with  means of public transportation, special access transportation, and low commute times.
• Housing in the city, such as a cost of living, and affordable median home prices, property taxes, and monthly apartment rent.
• Crime Rates including number of incidents of violent and property crime.

Should I Sell My Home Myself?

Have you lived in your home for a long time and now you’re thinking of moving? Wondering if you can sell your home on your own? Well there are a lot of things to consider before you try and do it yourself, the real estate market is constantly changing, and without up to date knowledge you could be putting a lot on your shoulders.

Many people try to sell their homes themselves to save money and to avoid paying a real estate agent commission. It looks easy at first. Put a sign in the yard, put an ad in the classified section, wait for the phone to ring, show the house to prospective buyers, and go to closing to get your proceeds check. But wait a minute, there could be problems looming right around the corner.

If you want to avoid using an agent you’ll have to do all the work the agent normally does. Buying and selling real estate involves legal contracts that can get you into a lot of trouble and cause delays if you don’t understand the legal issues of contracts and disclosures.

How much do you know about legal disclosure laws? Are your negotiation skills up to date? How is your marketing expertise, do you understand today’s market pricing, inspections, appraisals, and advertising? Do you know how to screen potential buyers? Do you know the difference between a pre-qualified buyer and a pre-approved buyer? Are you aware of the difference between seller financing and a mortgage?

If you try selling your home on your own you may soon discover how much real estate agents (licensed professionals) really do to earn their commissions.

What it comes down to is that over 90% of all people who start out trying to sell their home on their own will end up listing their home with an agent.  Most for sale by owner sellers find out that they don’t want to deal with tire kickers, waiting for the phone to ring, and people who want to buy with no-money down.

For sale by owner works best in a seller’s market when there is a high demand for homes and inventory is limited. Today we have high inventory and moderate demand; we are in a buyer’s market.

To avoid getting in deep trouble use the services of an experienced title company like Amanda at First Title 317-501-6250 as well as a seasoned senior real estate specialist to make your sale go smoothly.

-The Smooth Moves Lady

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