Indy Realtor's Blog: All Categories

I just received this email from Trulia “affording me the opportunity” to help millions of homeowners in need by helping Trulia create their foreclosure glossary:

“More home buyers and owners are going through the complex foreclosure process today than ever before.  That's why we're asking real estate experts (like you) from the Trulia Voices community to help create a Foreclosure Glossary. 

What's in it for you?  The Foreclosure Glossary is a great opportunity to showcase your foreclosure expertise and help millions of homeowners in need.

Take a minute to share your foreclosure expertise here!”

The part that seems to be omitted is “What’s in it for Trulia???”

Let me put this email through my Trulia Translation Machine and tell you what it…

I wanted to highlight two different and contrasting areas of the Indianapolis real estate market today: Broad Ripple and Meridian Kessler.

Broad Ripple: Broad Ripple is arguably one the “coolest” areas in all Indianapolis and offers the areas best nightlife.  Butler University is right around the corner and the college atmosphere overflows into the streets of Broad Ripple. However, Broad Ripple is one of Indianapolis’ “cultural districts” and has more to offer than just a great nightlife and a young atmosphere.  I actually thing the discover Broad Ripple website sums it up quite well “Diverse street life, quaint shops and hot night life are set to the back drop of public arts, graffiti murals and beautiful greenway.  Art galleries,…

The area of Geist in Indianapolis is one of the only areas in the metro area where you can find true waterfront living.  Geist is not a town or a city, but more of a community in the northeast portion of Indianapolis and it shares its borders with several other cities including Fishers, McCordsville and Fortville.  Geist is centered around the areas most popular body of water, Geist Reservoir.  Geist reservoir is a man made lake that has seen a boom in construction of past decades.  As a result, both new homes and existing older homes can be found in the Geist area.   

Geist real estate comes in all shapes, sizes, and price ranges.  Modest condos can be found in the low 100’s while waterfront homes can easily run into the millions.  The Geist area also…

Well, not quite but almost.  According the most recent PMI Risk Index there are some areas of the country where there is over a 99% chance that home prices will decline in the next two years.  However, Indianapolis along with several other metro areas in the country are at the complete opposite side of the spectrum.  According to this index, Indianapolis has less than 1% chance that home prices will be lower in the next two years.  That is a number worth betting on.

This really drives home the point that all real estate is local.  While some parts of the country are all but guaranteed to see declines in home prices, others are likely to see price increases in the same time frame. 

Here is the full list with their corresponding risk indexes:

   …

I am quite sure Benjamin Dona will write a much more insightful post about this, but the FHA has clamped down guidelines again in order to stem the “buy and bail” buyers. Essentially buy and bail is when a person purchases a new home, vacates their old house and claim that they will be renting it out to offset their debt to income ratio. They then let the old home go to foreclosure with no intention of renting it out.

Until now, all that was required for FHA in this situation was a lease agreement. No more. FHA has instituted new underwriting guidelines that require the borrower to qualify for both mortgages. Lenders are now NOT allowed to consider any rental income from a property being vacated by the buyer.

There are however 2 exceptions that do…

This coming weekend Carmel celebrates the 11th Annual Carmel International Arts Festival in the Arts District on Main Street and Rangeline.  There will be 155 artists exhibiting their art, music, food, and all types of entertainment for the whole family.  The festival admission is free and the festival runs both Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

If you have never been to the Carmel International Arts Festival, this would be a great to go and enjoy being a Carmel resident. It looks like the weather is going to cooperate and provide two beautiful days for the festival.  Last year, the festival drew over 30,000 visitors over the two day event.  There will be a variety of local food vendors to choose from in additional to the arts and…

If you look at my last post on Indianapolis condos, I mentioned how supply was outpacing demand.  Well, while that is true, the average sales price for condos in downtown is up, way up. 

Despite the fact the number of Indianapolis condominiums sold is down by more than 100 or 36% since last year, the average selling price rose to $324,541 in 2008.  This price jump represents an increase of almost $50,000 or 18% over the previous year’s numbers.  Obviously, this means despite the decrease in units sold there are higher priced units selling in downtown Indianapolis. 

My best guess is that more and more people are finding that downtown living is more attractive with gas prices and the general cost of living increasing on a daily basis.  In addition,…

Local home builder Hansen and Horn has been selected as THE home builder for the much anticipated Anson project located just outside of Zionsville Indiana.  Prices, floor plans, and all the details have not been released yet, but the initial phase of the residential development will include 168 homes with the whole project slated for 680 homes over 8 – 10 years. 

The Anson project, being developed by Duke Realty, initially was behind schedule and was slow to pick up steam.  However, after Medco announced they will be opening their largest warehouse in Anson a whirlwind of activity has surrounded the project.  Anson is a 1,700 acre mixed use project of residential, commercial, retail, and light industrial on the borders of Zionsville.  Although Anson is…