Fall home sales continue to outpace 2023 in October as Indiana homebuyers respond to lower rates, more available listings

October closed sales finish 5% above 2023 at a median price of $258,000 

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Indiana real estate rallied to 6,670 home sales in October, up 5% from 2023, while new pending sales (6,669) finished 7% ahead of last year according to data released by the Indiana Association of REALTORS® (IAR). Mortgage rates inched higher in October but still remained more than a half-point below their 2024 peak, keeping more buyers in a market that also featured the most homes for sale statewide in nearly five years.

8,684 homes were also listed in October (up 8% versus 2023), so Indiana's overall supply of available homes increased for the seventh straight month to 15,410 average daily listings. More homes were for sale on a typical day than last October in 74 of 92 counties.

The state median sale price fell from $260,000 in September to $258,000 in October, in line with seasonal trends after Labor Day. A larger share of homes listed and sold above $350,000 over the past two months kept this median price 8% above October 2023.

"Mortgage rates ticked up last month but are still on the low end of what we've lived through the past two years," noted IAR president Jennifer Parham, managing broker of Lighthouse Realty of Northwest Indiana. "Homebuyers have more buying power than they did this summer and more options to choose from."

With higher inventory and many buyers still cautious about the market, homes took 17 days to go under contract in October, up from 13 days last year. As days from listing to pending sale began rising in late June, sellers began accepting less of their original listing price – falling below 96% (95.7%) in October.

Listing prices also dropped modestly in October, falling below $260,000 the last week of the month for the first time since February. Price reductions also continue to rise, hitting 49% of total listings by the end of October.

"The bottom line for Hoosiers listing a home is that sale prices are still rising – about 5% above 2023 year-to-date – and homes are still selling faster than 2018 or 2019," said Parham. "But we do see sellers adjusting expectations and buyers able to negotiate better deals even with healthy growth in property values."

Indiana's 92 counties were evenly split between counties with fewer sales than October 2023 (46 counties) and those with the same or more sales; the state's largest counties drove the positive statewide trend, including Marion (1,009 closed sales, +5% year-over-year), Hamilton (504 closings, +6%), Lake (474, +4%), Allen (471, +20%) and St. Joseph (292, +3%).

Indiana's total year-to-date home sales are less than five hundred closings behind 2023 through October.

SOURCE Indiana Association of REALTORS