Higher loan rates are slowing the housing market in central Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana – Just like winter, the Indianapolis region’s housing market has begun to cool.

Dan Brown, a local realtor, appeared on “Daybreak” on Sunday to discuss recent developments in the housing market.

First vice president of the residential division of F.C. Tucker Co. and branch manager Brown discussed the impact of increasing interest rates and gauged market sentiment for 2023.

Here is a quick summary of the December data:

• Closed home sales (units) dropped another 4% from November and are down almost 29% for the year.
• New listings plunged 27% from November (season due to holidays) but the total inventory of homes for sale nearly doubled from this time last year.
• But with all of that, sales prices remained almost unchanged from November and are still up over 11% over last year!

The overheated housing market both nationally and in the Indianapolis metro region has been completely quieted by the doubling of mortgage interest rates since last spring. Though demand has kept prices roughly steady since late last summer and on average 10% higher than a year ago, our market is historically considerably more stable than other parts of the nation, such as the Sun Belt. The only things that have changed are the terms and the time on the market.

Rates are anticipated to increase gradually before declining later in the year. With newfound optimism, buyers are returning to the market. They are sophisticated shoppers looking for deals. Although sellers will continue to receive strong equities gains, they should exercise caution and avoid overestimating the power of the markets.