For the fourth month in a row this year, single-family existing homes sales and prices rose in both Lake and Porter Counties according to the latest real estate market data, reports Jeanne Sommer, broker/owner of CENTURY 21 Alliance Group in Valparaiso, IN.
The downtown Valparaiso-based agency had its busiest month in the last five years. “Last month we reported that March was the highest monthly sales of any month in the last five years for our office,” Sommer said, “In April, our agents doubled that number.”
According to the latest real estate data, both Lake and Porter Counties saw a continued increase in residential sales, up 24% for Lake and 22% for Porter over last year. Additionally, more homes sold for a higher price in less time in both counties during the first four months of 2013 when compared to the same months in 2012.
The number of single-family existing home sales increased from 1,203 in Lake County in 2012 to 1,491 in 2013 and from 460 in Porter County to 562. Meanwhile, the average sales price on single-family homes rose from $122,059 to $128,438 in Lake County and from $174,195 to $183,101 in Porter County.
In addition, the number of days a property was listed on the market was down from 145 last year in Lake County to 130 this year, while Porter County saw a decrease from 165 to 157. All data was provided by the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors and calculated from January 1 to April 30 in 2013 and compared to the same time period in 2012.