Central Indiana Has Reasons To Celebrate National Homeownership Month
With most affordable housing in U.S. and no bubble, Indianapolis is homeowner friendly

June is National Homeownership Month and in central Indiana, homeowners have something to smile about. While housing affordability across the U.S. remained virtually unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2005 through the first quarter of this year, Indianapolis was ranked as having the most affordable housing in the nation for the third straight quarter.

Housing affordability indices are determined by an area’s median home sales price and median household income. According to the latest National Association of Home Builders'/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, Circle City homes sold at a median price of $113,000; median income came in at $65,100.

And, while other major metropolitan areas such as San Francisco, Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas are reeling from a quickly cooling housing market, the Indianapolis area and its historically steady home sales growth has remained impervious to the dreaded “bubble.”

Despite a slight dip in pended home sales in April of this year, home sales were still up nearly 2 percent. What’s more, May through August is the most active time for buying and selling homes. In central Indiana, the four-month summer period has accounted for an average of 40 percent of yearly home sales over the past three years, according to data complied by F.C. Tucker Company.

“The economy in central Indiana is strong, and residential real estate in our area continues to be a great indicator of that,” said H. James Litten, president of F.C. Tucker’s Residential Real Estate Services Division. “The National Association of REALTORS® has chosen June as National Homeowners Month, but around here any month of the year would be appropriate. We have good, steady growth and as recent reports have pointed out, we have a wealth of affordable housing.”

Litten added that increased corporate relocations and the influx of Generation X and young first-time homebuyers into the market should continue to maintain Indianapolis’ strong real estate market.

Mortgage rates also have played a critical factor in home buying activity in Indianapolis. Tucker Mortgage president Ron McGuire said, despite recent incremental increases in 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates are still low by historical standards. “There’s some uneasiness on Wall Street about overall interest rates right now, but fortunately the bond market is what dictates 30-year fixed-rate mortgages,” added McGuire. “So, while we’ll continue to see some fluctuations to mortgage rates, they should continue to hover around 6.5 to 6.75 percent this year.”

>>Back to News Room