Living In Pike.com

This is an interesting indicator. Yes, we do have million dollar plus homes in Pike Township. Here is the history of sales for the past 5 years.

2004 – 1
2005 – 2
2006 – 4
2007 – 0
2008 – 0

So far in 2009 we have had 2 million dollar plus sales. Can you guess where most of the million dollar plus homes are in Pike Township? If you guessed on the water at Eagle Creek Resevoir, you are correct.

How does Pike compare to other Townships in Marion County? So far this year there have been a total of 10 million dollar plus homes sold. The breakdown follows;

Pike – 2
Washington – 4
Lawrence – 3
Center – 1

There have been no million dollar plus home sales in the southern Marion County Townships this year.

Is this an indicator that high end housing sales are rebounding? Time will tell.

Please Note…The above is a corrected chart. Real Estate companies have a tendency to record sales late. Some times months or even a year late. The above chart is accurate to this date BUT most likely I will have to correct the last few months the next time I post it. Also Feb. 2009 has been corrected. This was my clerical error. Sorry.

Although there are now 3 months where we have beat last years numbers (by 11, 7 and 3) we are still behind by 79. What is interesting is that typically sales start to slow down by May each year. This year sales have gone up since May.

I still fell like the $8,000 tax credit had a lot to do with sales we have had this year. That started in Feb. and will end Nov. 30th.

Traders Hollow is one of my favorite communities in Pike Township. I have a hard time comparing it to any other community. Very unique homes in a very unique setting. Most homes are worth between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and in my opinion well worth it. I had a buyer for one 2 years ago. The house sat on the side of a hill in a very wooded area and had the biggest deck on the back that I had ever seen. During that sale my interest in Traders Hollow peaked. I vowed to myself to see every home that I could. Since that time the market has not been kind to Traders Hollow. There was a 1.4 millon dollar sale where mortgage fraud was involved. It was back on the maket and just recently sold for $550,000. Someone got a true bargin with that house. There was a brand new house that got built in 2007. Nobody ever lived in it before it got listed as a short sale and was headed on it’s way to foreclosure. The list price was $995,000. I saw the house last year with Laura Heigl. It is what I call a “one breath house”. The finished basement had flooded and men were there pumping it out. The smell was so bad that you needed to step outside, take a deep breath, hold it and run inside the house to look and run back outside to exhale. Apparently the house was put back into shape because it recently sold for $445,000. A third house, also involved with mortgage fraud, which has been off the market for about 2 years was just listed in March this year and went pending in 30 days. I had vowed to see this house when it went on the market but missed my chance. When it went pending 4/1 it was priced at $315,000. I would say during it’s hay day it was probably worth something closer to $500,000. It has great curb appeal and the pictures on the listing look interesting. The listing sheet says it was suppose to close on 4/30/2009 and it has not. Maybe the transaction is falling apart and I will get a 2nd chance to see it.

Last year my dear Realtor friend Jean Long had a listing in Traders Hollow. I had seen the house before she got the listing. Jean had it for 98 days and it sold for $500,000. This was not a foreclosed on home. It was a regular sale. The house was very unique and well suited for a big family. When it sold, I got my faith back about Traders Hollow and what the houses were really worth. You go girl!

This year, because of foreclosures, it has been a wonderful time to buy higher end housing. Most people think foreclosed housing is in the $100,000 range. For the most part in the past, that has been true. Now because of the economy, many high end houses are going or have gone through foreclosure. As you can see above, there are deals to be had.

I am not picking on Traders Hollow. I could pick just about any community in Pike Township and tell you stories. As I said before, Traders Hollow is one of my favorite communities in Pike and it is just going through the economy cycle just like all other communities.

Looks like we are starting out pretty rocky this year. My guess is that when the $8000 tax credits for new home buyers were announced in Feb. this year, sales increased for March and April.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the tax credit, click here.

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From the charts and numbers below you might well assume that real estate has fallen flat in Pike Township. I can tell you for motivated sellers and buyers this is not the case. Daily I see new listings that are at prices I have never seen in my real estate career. They are not staying on the market long as savvy buyers are picking them up fast. Sellers that bought wisely 7 to 10 years ago and have lots of equity can beat the market and get the job done. HUD and bank owned sales are still a great buy for my investors. I have seen many in “move in” condition. Interest rates are also very low making payments very affordable.

My business has continued dispite the real estate climate. There are buyers and sellers on the sidelines waiting for better days. Once those days come, the compitition will be fierce and you won’t see the deals I am seeing today.

Do let the numbers fool you!