Type:  Traditional

Age:  Built in 1998

Location:  Near 131^st Street and Hazel Dell Parkway

Neighborhood:  Brooks Landing at Prairie View is an exclusive neighborhood adjacent to Prairie View Golf Course and the White River and offers a clubhouse, community pool and tennis courts.

Square footage:  This home has 4996 square feet including 1338 in the finished basement.

Rooms:  This four-bedroom four-and-a-half bath home has a gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops, a tumbled stone backsplash and custom cherry cabinets, a main floor office, sunroom, a basement with full bath, fireplace, theater area and exercise room and a three-car side-load garage.

Strengths:  This home is on a large wooded cul-de-sac lot with a park-like setting that backs up to the White River.  There are many upgrades including a nice trim package, crown molding throughout, hardwoods, new front door and fresh exterior paint.  It is surrounded by more expensive homes. 

Challenges:  Some buyers may prefer a more open kitchen and great room combination.  Storage space is somewhat limited.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $575,000

Tougher mortgage lender requirements and market conditions over the last year has changed the landscape of real estate.

A real estate short sale can take time, but can provide a good value to the patient buyer.

A short sale is one where the owner is not able to make up the difference financially between what a property will sell for after expenses and what is owed to the bank(s).  Banks will approve such a sale and take a financial loss now if the value offered is reasonable for today’s market in order to prevent future losses due to delinquent payments and costly foreclosure proceedings.  The seller must have a credible hardship.  The buyer must have patience.  Due to new guidelines, bank response times will be improving.

Banks have become tougher on loans. 

The good news is that loans banks are approving now will have a lower failure rate compared to just two years ago.  The banks have insulated the appraisal process, increased buyer credit rating requirements, and have been downright picky on stipulations that were overlooked in the past.  Money is still available for people to purchase a home, though not as many.  The byproduct of banking loan restrictions has been a robust demand for single family home rentals.  The buyers that are out of the market to purchase due to a blemish on the credit report still want a home are willing rent for a year or two.  Keep in mind with the new property tax laws, rental home tax rates (2% tax cap max.) can be double that of a neighboring home that is owner occupied.  The rental rate may trend up due to this extra cost.

As a real estate professional, I’ve opened up a toolbox of different strategies to accomplish the goal of buyers and sellers.  We have negotiated a sale with a bank while they fixed a foreclosed home, worked out a sale with a one year closing date, strategized with options on properties,  bought property with a personal retirement account fund, and saved years of seller’s financial hardship by negotiating short sales.  Due to the unusual market provided this past year, I feel more even more educated to be able to provide buyers and sellers valuable insight gleaned through our experiences.

Type:  Ranch with Bonus Room

Age:   Built in 2001

Location:   Near 156^th Street and Springmill Road             

Neighborhood:   Mulberry Farms is a quiet community with a large central pond and playground.

Square footage:  1728

Rooms:   This three-bedroom home has two full baths, a large great room with vaulted ceilings, kitchen with new stainless appliances, main floor master suite and upstairs bonus room. 

Strengths:  This home has updated attractive décor and sits on nearly half an acre.  Many other ranch style homes in Westfield are older and more dated compared to this newer, more modern home. 

Challenges:  This home backs up to 156^th Street but the large lot and trees help to create a barrier.  

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $180,000

Type:  Luxury Home

Age:   Built in 2001

Location:   Near 106^th and Towne Road

Neighborhood:   Windermere is a premier neighborhood with luxury homes, large lots and mature trees.

Square footage:  9275 including 3904 square feet in the finished basement

Rooms:   This five-bedroom home has a gourmet kitchen overlooking the hearth room, impressive great room, main floor library, master suite with spa-like master bath, six full baths, two half baths, and a lower level with wet bar, wine cellar and state of the art theater room.

Strengths:  This home has all the bells and whistles and boasts top of the line features.  It is located on a large lot overlooking a plush golf course.  If history repeats itself, this home will result in a successful sale since it has been sold twice in the last ten years. 

Challenges:  The price range of this home will limit the amount of potential buyers.  According to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, there is currently over a year of inventory in this price range in Carmel. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $1,600,000

Type:  Ranch

Age:   Built in 1997 

Location:   Near Carmel Drive and Guilford Road 

Neighborhood:   Carmel Station 

Square footage:  2023 including 867 in the finished basement 

Rooms:   This three-bedroom home has a split floor plan with modern décor, great room with gas fireplace and built-ins, laminate flooring throughout the main level, finished basement with wet bar and versatile office area, and two-car garage.  

Strengths:  The ranch style home appeals to buyers looking for a main floor living space.  This home is located right in the heart of Carmel just minutes from the Monon Trail and the new Palladium opening in 2011. This is one of two homes on the market in Carmel between $150,000-200,000 built in the last 20 years with a basement. 

Challenges:  The 40 foot wide lot may feel small to those wanting a large private yard, however, there is very little yard maintenance involved.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $170,000

This activity is leading to more Fishers, Carmel, and Indianapolis home sales, which I expect to continue through April 30th at a minimum. We keep track of home inventory on a monthly basis breaking down homes for each price level for many areas around Indianapolis. What I am seeing is a very healthy inventory level (below 6 months) for sellers and buyers at median and below price points. As the price increases, the inventory levels jump and there is much more pressure on seller’s—buyer’s have the upper hand in negotiation and quality of product for their money. The price point where the homes are typically discounted depends on where the home is located. For example, Lawrence Township home inventory can vary greatly from Fishers, which will affect the price you can get for a property. That said, there are sporadic good deals in all price ranges due to distress sales. Email John@JohnPacilio.com with questions on your specific area.

Hamilton County Indiana Residential sales are going to pick up in the first quarter. 

Many people ask if they should wait until spring to list their homes in the Indianapolis area.  They have the perception that buyers wait until spring to go after properties.  Reasons that they feel this way range from the obvious—It looks better with green grass, flowers, or more leaves on the trees—to the feeling that “no one looks for a home January through March”.  Data over the last several years supports the fact that yes, homes do sell when there are snowflakes and shorter days.  In fact, historically approximately 20 percent of homes sell this time of year (excluding the plunge in selling activity early in 2009 due to unprecedented intensified fear from the banking industry meltdown).  Based upon the quantity and quality of the homebuyer phone calls that I have received over the past month, we are going to have an incredible amount of sales for the first quarter.  Due to the perception of the market, people will wait to list their homes until Spring.  There will be buyers ready the first part of the year with a lower home inventory to choose from and will select from those on the market.  

We have determined in our research of monthly residential inventory levels that there is a definite price point where the market is strong and another where competitively priced homes are forcing motivated sellers to negotiate more.  I find the line is approximately $450,000.  Below this price point, homes inventories are between 3 and 6 months, a very favorable level.  Above this line as we look at prices increased incrementally into higher and higher priced luxury homes, the buyers are offered extreme bargain prices.  The higher the price, the better value for the buyer.  Supply is high and demand relatively low so a motivated seller must be open to negotiate.  At lower prices, well-priced listings are selling at a good rate within 96% of the list price. 

Continued low interest rates, $6,500 for sellers who have been in their property for 5 years, and $8,000 for First Time Buyers will continue to provide the incentive to homebuyers in Carmel and Fishers.  List your home in the beginning of January to increase your chance to sell in 2010. 

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.