With more people flooding into Indiana than people parting ways with the state, housing is an increasingly high demand market. This high demand has depleted the usual reservoir of houses on the market.
Century 21 Alliance Group Real Estate Broker Julie Johnson recalled recently searching the market for a single-family home between $180,000-$250,000 in Valparaiso for an interested buyer, and there were no active listings. The combination of high demand and low inventory makes now a great time to put a house on the market.
“It’s a great time to sell. It’s definitely a seller’s market,” Johnson said. “They have to be aware that when they do sell, sometimes the prices get driven up because there are so many buyers that you still have to worry about appraising now.”
“As far as sellers, they have to be ready if their house sells to have somewhere to go in between before they can find something,” Johnson continued. “I’ve had several people that have had to stay with their folks or find a rental for a short term until they can find their home.”
While Johnson mentioned that the demand may be slightly higher in Valparaiso and Chesterton, she said there is nearly equal demand throughout Northwest Indiana. The interest rates in Northwest Indiana have been decreasing over the years, and 2021 has continued that downward trend. In her 23 years with Century 21 Alliance Group, Johnson said that interest rates are the lowest they have been since she first started.
Despite the inevitable instances where high demand increases the expense of purchasing a house, low interest rates help compensate for that difference.
“The rates are low, so yes, you may pay more for a house, but with the rates being lower, you could afford a little more house. It kind of makes up for it a little bit,” Johnson said.
Buyers should be willing to make offers on several homes and be prepared to come in with strong, clean offers. Throughout the Region, buyers need to be proactive and make any offers within a short time frame.
“When the listings come up, you might have 10 or 12 people in a matter of a day that want to look at that listing. Supply and demand are what the bottom line is.”
With the non-stop action in the housing market, Johnson and other real estate agents from Century 21 Alliance Group have their hands full, but they approach each day with a positive attitude.
“We go along with it. We just do what we’ve got to do,” Johnson said. “When customers come up and want to see the houses, we take them out to see them. We do the best we can on the offers.”
Regardless of the state of the housing market, Johnson is passionate about working for Century 21 Alliance Group and looks forward to continuing to work for and with the people there.
“It’s a great place to work. Jeanne and Nick are awesome as bosses, so I would never go anywhere else,” said Johnson.
For more information about Century 21 Alliance Group, visit their website at https://www.21alliance.com/.