Type:  Traditional

Age:   Built in 1995

Location:   Near 116^th  Street and Gray Road

Neighborhood:   Windpointe is an exclusive community featuring a freshwater lake surrounded by a 1.5 mile walking path, fully furnished clubhouse, four tennis courts, and three swimming pools.

Square footage:  7359 including 1386 in the finished basement. 

Rooms:   This six-bedroom home offers six-and-a-half-bathrooms, two-story great room, main floor master, main floor in-laws quarters with two bedrooms and bath, large bedrooms, loft, and second floor office.  The finished basement has a home theater, fireplace and wet bar. 

Strengths:  This luxury home is located on 1.1 acres and has a beautiful lake view including a dock.  The six-gar garage is perfect for car enthusiasts with a separate heating and cooling system, epoxy floors, wet bar and basement with a lift for storage.  Price pressure in the high end market is allowing bargain values like this compared to the recent past. 

Challenges:  The closets are compact for this size of home.  The walking path runs between the lake and the home.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $800,000

WHAT’S IT WORTH?

Type:  Traditional

Age:   Built in 2001

Location:   Near 146^th Street and Carey Road

Neighborhood:   Foster Estates offers a swimming pool, clubhouse and easy access to the Monon Trail and Clay Terrace.

Square footage:  4706 including 1358 in the finished basement

Rooms:   This five-bedroom four-bath home offers a bright open floor plan with two-story entry, formal living and dining rooms, great room with built-ins, main floor 5^th bedroom that is currently used as an office, and finished basement with full bath.

Strengths:  The main floor bedroom/office is something many buyers look for in this price range.  This home is set on nearly a half-an-acre lot with basketball court.  This is a great opportunity for the move-up buyer to take advantage of the $6500 tax break. 

Challenges:  There are currently four other homes in the same price range for sale in the neighborhood.    

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    480,000

Those thinking about buying a home right now are in unchartered territory.  Never before has the government offered such an incentive to buy a residence.  Yes, the first-time home buyer program offering $8,000 has been extended, but there was a new addition, $6,500 for home buyers who have previously owned a home.  This is unprecedented and I fully expect it to make a sizable impact to our local real estate market.  The tax credit provides an extra incentive for homeowners who were thinking of either moving to a more expensive home or downsizing but were previously sitting on the sidelines.  

The full $6,500 refundable tax credit is available if you meet the basic criteria:

• You have lived in a home that you own for at least 5 of the last 8 years.
• Execution of a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and closing by June 30, 2010.
• Earn less than $225,000 as a couple jointly or $125,000 individually.  The amount of the tax credit decreases as the homeowner’s income approaches the maximum limit of $145,000 for individuals or $245,000 for couples. 
• The purchase price of the home is less than $800,000.

A significant number of home owners will be able to capitalize on either the $8,000 or the $6,500 tax credit and these homebuyers will not need to repay the tax credit if they occupy the home for longer than 3 years.  Since the home values in Carmel are less than many other areas of the country, we will likely benefit more from these tax credits than elsewhere.  Increased homes sales will drive more people pumping money into the local economy. 

Type:  Condo

Age:  Built in 2002

Location:  Near 96^th Street and Westfield Blvd.

 Neighborhood:  The Retreat is a condominium community that offers residents a clubhouse, exercise facility, business center, basketball court, outdoor pool, tennis court and private access to the Monon Trail.

Square footage: 1640 square feet

 Rooms:  This first floor end unit condo has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, kitchen with quality cabinets and ceramic tile flooring, great room with a gas log fireplace, 9’ ceilings, neutral décor, crown molding and a two-car attached garage. 

Strengths:  The main floor end unit location is ideal for those searching for main floor living.  The community takes care of outside maintenance including snow removal, lawn care, and irrigation.  It is conveniently located with easy access to I-465. 

Challenges:  There all eleven condos for sale in the neighborhood, which puts price pressure on sellers.     

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $165,000

There is now an opportunity to reach out to buyers anywhere in the world.  Our community borders have just opened.  Carmel and Fishers properties can be presented to qualified buyers through personal introduction in most places around the globe.  I utilize a new, structured real estate international marketing system linking the power and efficiency of worldwide professional agents who specialize in their respective areas to promote a property from our area.

The core of the concept is that your local professional has a common goal and business agreement with like-minded, United States and International agents to sell a Carmel or Fishers property.  This group of real estate agents is committed to introduce a Carmel property to their best clients.  There are more opportunities to sell a local property through a process that provides a personal introduction from a trusted advisor. 

We are able to package the city of Carmel along with the property showing our new cultural opportunities here such as the Performing Arts Center and Arts & Design District to promote the city along with the property.  There are not many places around that offer the quality of life at such a low price.  We have an incredibly inexpensive cost of living and unbelievably low property values compared to many other states and countries.   

One recent investor client from the Far East described to me that land values in her country as ten times higher than ours.  These, and many other investors are looking to purchase here for a great value.  A powerful package of the city along with the impact of relatively low property cost through a quality personal invitation opens more buyers to sell a luxury home, residential investment, or commercial property.  The process of linking outside buyers with local sellers generates increased activity in pockets where the market is soft.  More buyers is exactly what the sellers tell us we need right now.  This international system stimulates buyer activity and sales.

Type:  Traditional       

Age:   Built in 2003

Location:   Near 131^st Street and Hazel Dell Parkway

Neighborhood:   Delaware Trace is an east Carmel neighborhood with a clubhouse, community pool, and playground.

Square footage:  5840 square feet including nearly 4000 on the main and upper floors and an additional 1881 in the finished basement. 

Rooms:   This custom home offers a family room, living room, formal dining room, four bedrooms plus upstairs loft, main floor office, and large open kitchen with beautifully tiled flooring, large center island and walk-in pantry.  The finished basement is complete with a wet bar, bright windows and a versatile extra room with a fireplace that can be used as a guest room or office. 

Strengths:  This home provides luxury items like an enormous master suite with sitting area. The bathroom with glass block shower is twice the size of lower priced homes. The kitchen is rich with new oversized tile floor and perfect for entertaining large groups. Lots are wide in the neighborhood providing good distance between homes.

Challenges:  There are currently 16 houses for sale in a variety of prices in the neighborhood of 177 homes which presents plenty of options for picky buyers.

 WHAT’S IT WORTH?  $550,000

Right here in Carmel, The O’Connor House is non-profit organization put in place to protect pregnant, single women.  The many volunteers are proud of the 37 newborn babies and mothers that have been supported since the home opened.  Currently there are five women, three toddlers, and three babies that are supported in their current home.  These women are on their own with no where else to turn for help for themselves or their other children.  The demand for help is much larger than the home where they live.  Many women are on a list waiting for the opportunity during their time of need.  This charitable organization has been pushed to expand their capability to help more women and as a direct result, a larger facility is necessary.  Driven to help more, the board of directors is collaborating on a financial grant that would provide them with substantial resources for real estate.  If awarded, the grant will be available for purchasing, building, or expanding a home to support up to twice the women.  A specific property must be identified in the proposal.  The board is considering vacant land, existing homes, and multifamily homes.  Their preference is the property in close proximity to their volunteer base and convenient for public transportation, since most of these women are employed.  If you own or know of a property that may have potential for The O’Connor House, please contact me so that we review our specifics of the real estate to see if there is a match.    

As with many non-profit organizations, the operating capital to run the home is a constant effort as it is completely funded by gifts of charity.  Your tax deductible donation to help support operating costs may be provided at www.theoconnorhouse.org. 

Type:  Ranch

Age:   Built in 1953

Location:   Near Rangeline Road and Meridian Street

Neighborhood:   Walter’s Rolling Acres

Square footage:  2776 including 1498 in the finished basement

Rooms:   This arts and crafts style home features four-bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a completely updated kitchen, and sunroom.  There is also a one-car attached garage as well as a two-car detached garage and side parking space. 

Strengths:  This home is located on nearly two acres with mature trees, rolling hills and evergreens.  The detached garage can also be used as a workshop and there is enough parking space for a boat or RV.  There are no covenants and restrictions for the neighborhood.

Challenges:  This home is for the person who is willing to be inconvenienced with lack of a bathroom or walk-in closet in the master suite but willing to trade that for the charm and character of an older home. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?  $189,000

The recession was led by housing and will be led out by housing, so it is wise to keep up to speed on where things are heading.  It is critical to know what is going on if you own and invest in real estate. 

The data is in and home sales are steady due primarily to the first-time buyers and investor market.  We did see some significant move-up business in price points below the luxury price range throughout the year due to our great cost of living in the Carmel and Indianapolis area.  The move-up buyer seems to be missing from many other markets in the country.  I know for a fact that the first time buyer incentive offering an $8,000 tax credit is sparking people to move forward who would have stayed on the sidelines especially in the $250,000 and under price points.  The investor buyers are also spurring activity, finding great values, and are able to find a larger pool of renters in this market.

According to new monthly data compiled by RE/MAX of Indiana, we see sales of homes in the Indianapolis market holding steady comparing the previous month.  The median home price in the Indy metro area was off slightly from the prior month at $123,900, meaning that half the homes sold for more, half for less.  However, the value was the second highest since July 2008.  Average price for the Indy metro area was $155,190.  Hamilton County continues to be one of the most stable locations in the area where just 6% of sales recorded were listed as foreclosures.  About 21 percent, or more than one in five sales in the entire Indy Metro market, were foreclosures.  Broker Listing Cooperative provided by MIBOR statistics show that the median price of foreclosures is very low, at $57,950 so this really pulls down the median data of all homes.  Median price in Hamilton County was down about 10% from the same month a year ago, to $184,475 from the same source.

For more information please visit the link on www.JohnPacilio.com of the INDY Channel 6 News report where I discuss the real estate market. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?

Type:  Ranch

Age:   Built in 1984

Location:   Near 106^th Street and Shelbourne Road

Neighborhood:   Brandywine is an established neighborhood of 30 homes with large lots, mature trees and a pond.

Square footage:  3111

Rooms:   This four bedroom ranch has a bright open floor plan with an expansive great room, living room, breakfast area and versatile upstairs loft.  The spa-like master bath offers dual vessel sinks, a walk-in tile shower and sauna.

Strengths:  Almost an acre in size, the lot comes with a fenced backyard and part ownership of the adjacent pond.  The home has been recently renovated to include modern features and stylish décor.  Nearly everything in the home is new from the roof and water heater to the kitchen cabinets and hardwoods. 

Challenges:  The home’s modern décor has a Soho loft style feel which may not appeal to every buyer. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $340,000

To view a virtual tour of this home click here.