Real Estate Market Continues to Show Improvement as Holiday Season Approaches

rot2The latest real estate market data for single-family existing homes indicates that the market continued to be normal in both Lake and Porter Counties throughout November, reports Jeanne Sommer, broker/owner of CENTURY 21 Alliance Group in Valparaiso, IN.

“Lake and Porter Counties both continue to exhibit signs of a normal market, which is six months of supply, in spite of the holiday season,” said Sommer. “While inventories are increasing slightly, that is to be expected this time of year.”

Historically, the holiday season typically means fewer sales and a higher level of supply, but the numbers continued to improve in November with more homes selling for a higher price in a shorter amount of time. All data was provided by the Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors and calculated from January 1 to November 30 this year and compared to the same time period last year.

The number of single-family existing home sales increased from 1,434 last year in Porter County to 1,661 this year and from 3,531 in Lake County to 4,152. The average sales price on single-family homes continued to climb from $175,699 to $182,554 in Porter County and from $130,465 to $134,887 in Lake County.

In addition, the days a property is listed on the market were down in Porter County from 160 last year to 142 this year, while Lake County saw a decrease from 150 to 133.

“Home prices are rising, making now a great time to sell,” advised Sommer. “With inventories staying low, you shouldn’t wait until spring to list. It looks like 2013 is going to be an even better year for real estate.”

Market-Update 2012 November

ABOUT CENTURY 21 ALLIANCE GROUP
CENTURY 21 Alliance Group is a full-service brokerage firm specializing in residential and commercial listings. As Northwest Indiana’s premier real estate agency, CENTURY 21 Alliance Group has earned CENTURY 21’s Quality Service Award seven years in a row. The realty company is located at 450 Lincolnway, Suite 200 in Valparaiso, IN and has listings in Porter, Lake and LaPorte counties. For more information, call (219) 462-2090 or visit www.21alliance.com.

©2012 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. CENTURY 21® Is A Registered Trademark Licensed To Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 Office is Independently Owned and Operated.