Northwest Indiana Home Sales Stall, Fall Short of ‘05 Records

The Northwest Indiana Times reports that home sales stalled in December in that region of the Hoosier State, keeping year-end totals from matching a record number of sales in 2005.

Buyers came away with a total 558 new and existing homes in Lake and Porter counties for the month, a drop of 3.3 percent from December 2005, according to data from the Greater Northwest Indiana Realtors Association.

Home buyers typically have things besides Indiana mortgage costs on their minds in December, which contributes largely to the decline.

“Typically, the market slows down with the holidays,” said Pat Pullara of the local Realtors association. “The only people buying and selling were the ones who really needed to move.”

The sluggish month held 2006 sales to about 8,156, based on preliminary numbers from the association. A year earlier, buyers snapped up closer to a total 8,900 homes in the two Northwest Indiana counties.

December sales held steady in Lake County, hitting 445 compared to 443 a year ago. The median selling price for a home in Lake County fell to $100,000 for the month, a drop of 9 percent from last year.

In Porter County, buyers came away with 113 new and existing homes, down by 16 percent from December 2005 - the peak of mortgage loan activity in the area. The median selling price rose by 7 percent to $172,500.

Realtor Bufrod Eddy, whose Four Seasons Real Estate east of Crown Point nearly straddles the two counties, said sales there continue to be driven by buyers from Illinois and northern Lake County.

Illinois mortgage activity also fell off in 2006, with housing sales down by 16.3 percent for the first 11 months of 2006, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. Positive gains are expected around spring time.

On the other side of Indiana, Ohio mortgage holders encountered their own share of problems as 2006 proved to be a difficult year for real estate in the entire midwest.

The country as a whole didn’t fare much better. National sales are expected to drop in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors, with existing home sales falling to 6.42 million from 6.5 million in 2006, and new-home sales falling to 957,000 compared to 1.06 million.

The national association predicted a gradual rise in sales heading into 2008, with home prices expected to gain 3.4 percent, double the 2007 pace, as the economy improves. The forecast calls for the median price of a previously owned home to rise to $233,000 in 2008.