Aker’s Acres Real Estate Report

January 27, 2010

It has been a while since I have published anything so I thought it was time to give it to you straight. As always I report the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Fortunately it has not been as ugly for us as it has been for other areas of the country as far as real estate is concerned. Here are the numbers according to the Indiana Association of Realtors for Kosciusko and surrounding Counties:

Fourth Quarter Sold (October – December) 2009 vs. 2008

                        Units 2008      Units 2009      Median Price 08          Median Price 09

Statewide        12,623             15,140             96,000                         105,000

Kosciusko            149                  200           125,000                         109,000

Elkhart                 308                  399             94,450                           86,000

Fulton                    37                    37             65,000                           75,000

LaGrange               23                    41           127,000                           85,500

Marshall                 53                    90           105,000                         100,000

Noble                    60                    60              87,000                          76,750

St Joe                  631                  691              74,000                          89,900

Wabash                 63                    70              57,500                          75,250

Whitley                  58                    88              96,350                        105,500

Year to Date 2009

                        Units 2008      Units 2009      Median Price 09          Median Price 09

Statewide        61,141             57,001             107,009                       105,300

Kosciusko            711                  662             120,000                       110,162

Elkhart               1449                1361              109,000                         90,000

Fulton                  151                  135                74,000                         81,000

LaGrange            126                  154               109,300                        99,500

Marshall              296                  288               100,000                        98,700

Noble                 251                  205                  88,000                        78,500

St. Joe              3079                2599                  83,000                        85,000

Wabash              251                  199                  67,000                        67,500

Whitley               293                  311                105,000                      102,000

In General the number of units sold is up in the last quarter and the median sale price is down. Year to Date we were down statewide for 2009 by 6.8% for units sold and 2.4% for median price. The activity has picked up for lower priced homes, but the median prices have continued to fall due to buyers looking for lower priced homes. The quantity of buyers for homes over $150,000 is greatly reduced from prior years. I believe as the economy improves we will see these buyers get back into the market. In addition, the new Homebuyer Tax Credit embraces existing homebuyers and provides tax credit for existing homeowners looking to move until April 30, 2010. This credit will help motivate all buyers to take advantage of the current buyers market.

In addition to the tax credit, there are FHA, FANNIE MAE and down payment assistance programs available to many buyers. I have a 3% down payment assistance program that is available to all buyers regardless of income or loan type. If you would like to find out more about these programs, market information or current listings in your area Mark Aker can be reached at 1-888-457-8881, or email Mark at markaker@msn.com to view all homes listed in the Multiple Listing Service. Prudential One Realty is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.