Throughout 2020, many businesses suffered from the torrent of issues brought on by COVID-19, but Real Estate Broker and Owner of Century 21 Alliance Group Jeanne Sommer saw the housing market improve from 2019 to 2020.
“As we look back on 2020, there were 2,900 homes that sold in Porter County,” Sommer said. “Single family, condo, and townhomes are included in this number. This is up 16 percent from 2019 when 2,499 homes sold. Average prices are up as well. In 2020, the average sales price was $272,118, which is up compared to 2019 when the average sales price was $241,950.”
“If you look at Chesterton, it went from $243,000 to $306,000,” she continued. “That’s incredible. The year before, it had only increased by $9,000. Chesterton had this big jump due to lack of inventory and because of Easton Park, the new neighborhood by Sand Creek which is conveniently located by the expressway.”
Sommer believes that inventory and interest rates will remain low, and even with the new subdivisions, she thinks the demand will continue to rise.
Aside from new developments, like the new neighborhood in Chesterton, Sommer thinks that the pandemic has led to an influx of people moving to Northwest Indiana from Chicago and Illinois in general. With many working from home and craving a quieter lifestyle, 50% of buyers in 2020 came from these areas.
“We are still experiencing the exodus out of the cities, especially Chicago, since people are wanting a more rural setting and don’t have to commute as much since many are working from their homes. I also think even more people will start working from home or at least doing a hybrid of that,” Sommer said.
The low-interest rates, low inventory, and influx of Illinois residents moving to Northwest Indiana led to a great year for the staff at Century 21 Alliance Group.
“We had a stellar year,” Sommer said. “My manager and I went through the roster the other day, and I think of the 45 agents we have, all but about three or four had a better year than 2019. We also had a lot of repeat clients, which is just a compliment because that means people are coming back and referring us to others.”
Sommer believes that there is still pent-up demand from buyers who have delayed purchasing a new home because of the pandemic. Once the pandemic starts to become more controlled, Sommer believes these buyers who have been holding off will flock to the housing market. She also noted that millennials made-up the largest share of homebuyers in the previous year and thinks that will be the case again this year.
To keep the ball rolling after the successes in 2020, Sommer is excited for her staff to take on the new year and continue to make strides in their already phenomenal performances.
“Now that the new year is on its way, it appears that the real estate market will be better than ever,” she said. “Interest rates remain low, and even though we are still experiencing lower inventories, there are several new subdivisions going-up in Porter County with many new construction homes that will be ready for occupancy in 2021.”
To learn more about Century 21 Alliance Group, visit https://www.21alliance.com/.