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AUBURN — Indiana’s October home sales increased 20.9 percent, and median prices, statewide, saw an increase of 3.3 percent from the same month last year.
Indiana Association of Realtors chief executive officer Karl Berron believes these numbers show the importance of the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit in 2009.
“This is positive news for Indiana housing markets,” Berron said in a recent news release. “It has been some time since we have seen an increase in sales, and I think these numbers highlight the kind of impact the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has had and the importance that it was not only extended but expanded.”
Locally, however, home sales and median home prices are down across the board, according to the IAR. Year to date, home sales fell 9.3 percent in DeKalb County — from 290 in 2008 to 263 in 2009. The median home price is up slightly to $83,000, from $81,900 in 2008.
Realtor Dave Stafford of Indiana Real Estate said most of the homes his office sold in 2009 were under $150,000.
“Sales are off. Everybody has to tell you that if they’re being honest,” Stafford said. “Personally, I had a decent year, but the office — total sales are off. I didn’t set the world on fire or anything, but I had a decent year, and I’m thankful for that.”
Stafford added that he feels the homebuyer tax credit helped keep his sales afloat this year.
“The last three months of 2008 and first six months of this year were a little lean,” Stafford said. “We’ve seen it pick up a little, and when they extended (the tax credit), we seemed to pick up a little more.”
Stafford said he was glad to learn in November that Congress extended the homebuyer tax credit through April 2010 and made current homeowners eligible. In addition to new homeowners receiving up to an $8,000 tax credit, people who have been residents of their homes for more than five years can receive a $6,500 tax credit for moving to a new home.
Realtor Cheryl Carnahan of Mike Thomas Realtor said the tax credit has been a boost — if people have jobs and good credit.
“Has it (the tax credit) helped in leaps and bounds? No,” Carnahan said. “I wish we would have had the $6,500 tax credit this year for the people who were selling a home and going to the next one.”
Carnahan said she sold homes at a variety of values this year.
“We saw less of over $250,000, but we saw a lot of the foreclosures — but just not in the numbers that we have in previous years. There are $9,000 houses. There are $15,000 houses,” Carnahan said.
She added that these “bargains” would require a lot of work because some have been vacant for more than a year. Most of the owners of these homes were foreclosed on when they couldn’t pay their mortgages.
“The whole foreclosure thing is a process. A house could be vacant a year or two by the time the people have missed six months to a year in payments,” Carnahan said.
Home inspector Frank Nester of Auburn said vacant homes tend to be an issue because utilities are shut off. Issues to watch for in vacant homes include mold, burst pipes, water in the basement and rodents.
“If it wasn’t properly winterized — meaning draining the water heater, blow all the lines out, shut off water to the house, antifreeze into traps and toilets — that’s a problem,” Nester said.
Mold is not always a serious problem in homes, Nester said. Sometimes, homeowners just need to clean surfaces with special chemicals. Other times, however, the presence of mold may require a home to be gutted.
“There are water issues, especially a lot of homes in Auburn. Basements get water, and then you can get mold on floor joists,” Nester said. “If you have a house that’s been sitting empty for a year and then water comes and sits in there for a month-and-a-half … it is going to create a mold issue in the basement.”
Nester warned potential home buyers that if a home has a low price tag, they should be aware that it may have issues and require work and money.
He added that he’s seen more vandalism in vacant homes in the last year.
“You always get some vandalism when they’re empty — people are stealing wiring, stealing plumbing and selling it for scrap,” Nester said.
Before a home even goes into foreclosure, Stafford suggested homeowners call a Realtor for free advice.
“If somebody is falling behind on their payments, and they can’t make their payments — let us see if we could do a short sale, sell it flat out and get you out of that,” Stafford said. “Those are two options. Maybe we can save their credit. A foreclosure is the worst thing you can have on your credit. It hangs around your neck credit-wise.”
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