Living In Pike.com

I was there for a little over 2 hours yesterday afternoon…long enough to get sunburn. The weather was perfect. I thought the attendance was good for the first annual. Intech Park was a great place to have Taste Of Pike. It was easy to access, plenty of parking and no long lines. Anyone who was traveling past on 465 could get a good view of what was going on. The first person I ran into that I knew was Ike Randolph who is a City County Council Member representing most of Pike Township and was instrumental in setting up Taste Of Pike. I saw a lot of familiar people. There was a good selection of food vendors from Pike. Booth space was taken up by a wide range of businesses. There were 2 stages set up for musical and dance entertainment that was continuous all day. I took several pictures of the happenings.

The money raised from this event will go to support the Pike Performing Arts Center, located on Zionsville Rd.

The following were sponsors of the event:

Have you ever heard of someone asking for a CMA of their house? Do you know what it is? For those of you that don’t know…a CMA is a Comparable Market Analysis. When a seller is getting ready to sell their house or wants to know what their house would sell for on the market today, they have a Realtor® prepare a CMA for them. This is a free service from Realtors®. The following are the steps I take to prepare a CMA…

1. Look up the property tax record of the homeowner and make sure it belongs to who is asking for the service. The property tax record will also give me the year that the house was built, the breakdown of square footage and the last transaction date (this usually tells me when the homeowner bought the house).

2. Go to IndyGov.org/gis and get an aerial view of the property. This shows me where the house is located in the community (location, location, location…), if the owner has any amenities like a deck, fenced yard, swimming pool, etc. The aerial will also tell me if the house is on a cul-de-sac, corner lot, next to a busy street or railroad, next to a factory or in the perfect community location.

3. I then go to the MLS system and look for like houses (same/close square footage, bedrooms, baths and amenities) that have sold in the community in the past year. This tells me what buyers are willing to pay for the same configuration of house in that community. I try to pick at least 2 houses that are the same or close.
Another method I use is dollars per square foot. First I see what the average dollars per square foot is for all the houses that have sold in the community in the past year. Then I see what the average dollars per square foot are for the above two comparables. If the two figures (community and comparables) are close, I take this into consideration. If the two figures are extremely different, then I look for reasons why or place less importance on the numbers.

4. I also look at withdrawn and expired listings. These are houses that were on the market and the seller either decided to take it off the market or the listing contract expired without a sale. In both cases this could be an indication that the house was priced to high to begin with.

5. Lastly I look at what is currently on the market today in the community. This is your competition. You have to be aware of like houses that are priced above and below the market. Like houses priced above market give you an advantage. Above market pricing means, all things considered, that these houses probably will be the last to sell. Below market pricing means, all things considered, that these houses probably will be the first to sell. You also have to remember that in Pike Township during off season that the list price/sell price ratio is about 97 percent. During season it is about 98 percent. This mean that if a house is priced at $100,000 the seller will be willing to take $97,000 off season and $98,000 during the selling season. In a community where there are only a few houses for sale, pricing to beat your competition is not as important. When the supply is low and the demand is high, houses will tend to sell. If the community has 10 or more houses for sale, pricing to beat the competition becomes more important.

6. By taking the selling prices of the comparables, the average dollars per square foot, the prices of like houses of expired or withdrawn listings and the listing prices of like houses on the market today, I will have developed a “RANGE” of prices. The spread will probably end up between $5,000 and $15,000. The smaller the spread the easier it is to determine “market price”. The larger the spread the more research you have to do.

He is an example:

A homeowner asks me to do a CMA on his 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch home. It has 1,200 square feet and was built in 1999. The community where it is located happens to be a popular one and has a healthy turnover rate (number of houses that sell every year on average).

Comparables
3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1150 square feet, built in 1997, listed for $125,000 and sold for $123,000 ($107/SF)

3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1300 square feet, built in 2000, listed for $130,000 and sold for $125,000 ($96/SF)

Expired and Withdrawn
3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200 square feet, built in 1999, listed for $135,000, expired after 6 months

3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1350 square feet, built in 2001, listed for $137,000, withdrawn after 4 months

Currently For Sale
3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200 square feet, built in 2000, listed for $130,000

3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1100 square feet, built in 1998, listed for $125,000

The Range;
Comparable – $123,000
Comparable – $125,000
Expired – $135,000
Withdrawn – $137,000
Active – $130,000
Active – $135,000
Square Footage Price – $125,567 (based on a average square footage price of $101.50 and a list price/sale price ratio of .97)
1200 square feet X $101.50 = $121,800 / .97 (list price/sale price ratio) = $125,567.

$123,000 to $137,000 = $12,000 spread

7. I make an appointment with the seller to see the house. As I tour the house I am taking notes as to what are the good points and bad. If the house had numerous updates, was in great condition and needed nothing, I would suggest that the home be marketed at the higher end of the spread. If the house needed new carpeting, paint and repairs, then I would suggest that the house be marketed at the lower end of the spread. How much higher or lower is a judgment call and depends on how motivated the seller is.

8. I would show the seller all my research and documentation. I would then suggest a market price. Sellers always price their own homes. It is my job to give them as much information as I can to help them make that decision. If a seller thinks that their house is worth much more and I think that I can’t sell it for what they want, then it is my choice to not take that listing and wish the seller “good luck”.

A CMA is not an appraisal. Appraisals in the State of Indiana require licensed Appraisers. Appraisals usually cost about $300 and are much more detailed in information.

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A Taste of Pike will be July 30th at Intech Park.

Check out the flyer – Click Here

I heard last night from a reliable source that the old K Mart at 86th and Michigan has been leased to a big box company. It’s about time that something was done with that building. The new company was not named.

A Taste of Pike will be July 30th at Intech Park.

Celebrating Pike Township’s diversity through art, food and fellowship.

There will be approximately 20 restaurants representing the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Pike Township area. The ToP will also include live entertainment, cultural and art exhibits, and a fun zone for kids, all emphasizing the cultural diversity of Pike Township. The money raised from this event will go to support the Pike Performing Arts Center, located on Zionsville Rd.

Last week I looked at 4 HUD foreclosed properties in Pike Township. All 4 were quite different from each other. Usually you can tell the property condition by how long it has been on the market. 3 out of 4 of these had just been put on the market. The first was a home built in 1968. It was a tri-level with over 2000 square-feet. It is rare that you find a HUD forclosure that old. It was in a community called Shady Hills, located close to Lafayette Road and Traders Lane. Deep in the community at the end of a cul-de-sac on almost 1/2 acre, sat this 37 year old house. It was in fairly good condition although it needed some updating. The downside to this house was that the backyard was very small and it backed up to a large church driveway. I am not saying that is bad, only that you would not be sleeping late on Sunday. The house was priced at $161,000. I thought it was a little high. How long it stays on the market will tell if I am right. The second house was in Bayswater built in 1995. A 1152 suare-foot 2 story with only one full bath on the second floor. I suppose the reason being was that it only had 2 bedrooms. It seemed to be in good shape priced at $75,000. The 3rd house was at Falcon Run. This cluster home had 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2 car garage with 1623 square-feet built in 2000. It needed some updating (carpet and paint) but seemed to be a good buy at $85,000. The last house I saw was at 6500 Georgetown. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with 2 car garage built in 1999. You enter this condo from the first floor and have two choices. Either go into the garage or up the staircase to the unit. An open floorplan with split bedrooms and a balcony. It was priced at $72,000. I am still undecided on this one. Time will tell.

There are currently 19 HUD forclosed homes for sale in Pike. There are currently 62 HUD forclosed homes pending in Pike. It is interesting that the average days on the market for a HUD home is 26 days. Average days on the market for a regular home in Pike is 80. Data is for YTD. 47 HUD properties have been sold in Pike this year…so far.

Sterling American Property Inc.(based in New York), has bought the Pyramids at College Park. They are now in the process of renovating the 34 year old structure. Currently work is being done on the dated lobbies, restoring office quality, reworking the heating and air-conditioning systems, renovating the 69 restrooms, repaving the 1,300 parking spaces and installing a conference center and cafe. It appears that the millions of dollars of renovations are paying off. The buildings which recently had a vacancy rate of 50 percent are catching the eyes of potential tenants.

Espon America Inc. is moving it’s main distribution center to Plainfield. They are now located in a 462,000 square-foot building in Park 100 at 5355 W 76th St. They are taking 370 jobs with them. The digital imaging company specializes in computer printers, scanners and digital cameras.

My name is Tim Lord and I am a long time (16 years) resident of Pike Township. It has been in the last 16 years that I have developed strong ties to Pike. My 23 year old son went through and graduated in the Pike school system. My last job was in Park 100. I was there for 23 years. I have been President of my Community Association for the past 8 years. I closely follow zoning changes/variences, construction and trends in Pike Township.

Today I am a Realtor. I specialize in Pike Township with over 85 percent of my sales/listings being here. I do extensive research on housing trends, house sales, popular communities, new construction, foreclosures and buying/selling patterns. You will eventually see a lot of my research on this website. If you have a specific real estate question, don’t hesitate to ask. I will be happy to answer all questions.

My mission with livinginpike.com is to keep you informed as to what is happening in Pike Township today with events, education and Real Estate news. I welcome comments, questions and suggestions. Enjoy!