First-time home buyer Stacy Eiler had never even stepped foot inside the house when she offered $7,000 more than asking price.
There was going to be a bidding war. She knew that. She had already been through the process a couple times.
She is not alone. Local real estate agents say the housing market in Johnson County has been a frenzy of quick buys and sells this summer, with houses even selling within hours of being put on the market.
The number of houses sold and price continued to rise through the summer. Home sales increased 7 percent from April to June this year compared to the same time last year, according to MIBOR Realtor Association. And the average sales price in Johnson County was $210,930, up from $197,995 last year, and up 36 percent since 2013, when the average sales price in the county was just $154,745.
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Homes in the prized $175,000 to $200,000 price range are few and far between and go quickly. And data shows that people who have homes in that price range keep them. Central Indiana had 25 percent fewer listings in that range in June 2018 than in June 2017, according to F.C. Tucker Co., an Indianapolis-area real estate firm.
But sellers are taking note of the market. Seventeen percent more homes were listed for sale from April to June this year compared to the same time last year in Johnson County. But although they may get more money for their house, the current market is not an easy one for them either.
One problem sellers are seeing is even though they may accept an offer well over asking price, the house may not appraise for that amount, which means banks will not approve the loan.
At that point, the sellers can either accept the appraised amount or put the house back on the market. But the outcome will likely be the same.
Pending sales in central Indiana were up nearly 19 percent in May compared to the same month last year, and up 9 percent in June, according to MIBOR. Closed sales, however, were down 2.5 percent.
Real estate experts are predicting the market will ease up a little bit in the next year though. According to Zillow, an online real estate database company, home sales are expected to decrease by 1.7 percent between now and June 2019.
Center Grove boom
The reason most buyers look in the northwest part of the county is Center Grove schools, real estate agents say. More than a third of all home sales this summer in Johnson County were in the Center Grove school district, according to MIBOR.
Eiler, 25, doesn’t have kids yet. But she went to Center Grove, her younger brother is on the football team there and her parents still live in the area. She worked as a nurse in Louisville the past couple years and liked it, but she wanted to get back home, she said.
She would make the 100-mile drive every weekend to look at houses, scheduling six or seven showings throughout the week. But by the time Saturday came, most of those houses would be sold already. It became a trend – a frustrating one, she said.
Everyday, she scoured the web for listings within the Center Grove school district, so when the Bargersville house popped up, she knew she had to jump at it.
“It was a Thursday, I think, so of course I was in Louisville and wouldn’t have been able to get home until the weekend. My parents actually went to the house that night and FaceTimed me,” Eiler said.
She offered $162,000 the next day – $7,000 more than the $155,000 asking price. Still, she knew from experience that may not be enough. To stand out, she wrote a letter to the owners telling them about herself and why she so desperately wanted to live in their home. Although her bid wasn’t the highest, the letter sealed the deal.
The house appraised for $161,000, she said, which is what she ended up paying for it.
The house wasn’t exactly what she wanted, she said. It was a fixer-upper, and she was hoping to be in Greenwood. But it was in Center Grove, and she likes that her lot backs up to a farm, which provides a nice country feel, she said.
Eiler knows she is lucky. After a while, most buyers have to expand either their search area or budget – in some cases both.
Her real estate agent, Ron Rose, has been working for 35 years in Johnson County and has never seen anything like the current housing market, he said.
He noticed an uptick in interested buyers in May, he said. The frenzy lasted through June and July. But he agreed, it is starting to slow down, he said.
Rose’s Greenwood office has gradually gotten busier the past couple years. They sold $43 million total in 2017, up from $27 million in 2016, and the market has gotten a whole lot more competitive, he said.
In one case, he encouraged a client to offer $375,000 for a house in Center Grove that was listed for $330,000, and they still didn’t get it.
“It’s taking a lot of extra work hours – unconventional work hours,” Rose said. “Speed to respond is really important now because people have this fear of missing out.”
For example, with Eiler, they were working on her proposal at 11 p.m. to make sure she got a bid in on time. That is not uncommon these days, Rose said.
‘The urgency is insane’
Roger Webb, another southside real estate agent, has had to show some houses with flashlights because it was dark and the electricity was not turned on, he said.
“People think if you don’t see it that first day, they aren’t getting it, and in some cases they’re right,” Webb said. “The urgency is insane. It used to be I’d schedule four or five houses for, say, next Thursday and show them. Now it’s, ‘This house came on the market and I need to see it tonight.’ And you can’t really put off a client or somebody else is going to get them. So you just have to be more available and flexible.”
As a result, he said, real estate agents are stretched thin, and their families are feeling the effects.
In addition to the unconventional hours, the competitive market adds to the workload, too. With every rejected offer, a real estate agent has to start the process all over again.
“It’s grueling. It really is. Anything under $200,000 is really tough for anybody to get,” Webb said. “Everything in that price range is going to have multiple offers on it.”
“The buyers, they feel tormented. They’re excited. They love the house. They offer well over asking for it, and they still don’t get it.”
The other option of building isn’t always ideal either, real estate agents said.
A lot of people don’t want to or can’t wait months for a house to be built. And builders are struggling to keep up with the demand. In an effort to keep up, Westport Homes, a local builder, has started selling homes before they’re ready to start building.
Buyers have fewer options, and the competition for existing homes is greater.
Just two summers ago, nearly 700 homes were on the market in Johnson County. This summer, that number hovered between 300 and 400.
More people want houses in established neighborhoods, Greenwood real estate agent Noah Barrow said.
“Older neighborhoods are going to have those prized half-acre lots, and they don’t (go up for sale) as often,” Barrow said.
The market in the Center Grove area is extremely competitive right now. With one recent sale, Webb stuck a “For Sale” sign in the yard, went inside to take some photos, and when he came back out was approached by a couple offering $10,000 more than asking price.
“Your schools drive everything,” Webb said. “All of us want our kids to have the best education possible, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to get into them.”
Those quick sales can leave sellers in a bind. Most don’t expect to have to move out within days, although they should, he said.
“I mean, you put your house on the market and it’s gone in two days. If you’re looking to stay in the area, now you’re left with whatever houses are left,” Webb said.
“It’s all a big mad rush.”
Webb’s client Jason Clemons, 43, knows the rush well. He and his partner Sam spent months looking for a home. They started their house hunt in January, and after several rejected offers were ready to give up, Clemons said.
That is when Webb encouraged them to look outside their preferred area.
They lived in an apartment on the southside of Indianapolis and were hoping to stay in that area, Clemons said. But ultimately – 14 offers later – they ended up in Franklin.
They were looking for houses in the $125,000 to $145,000 range initially, but had to expand their budget and search area to find a house that fit their needs and wants, he said.
“It was extremely frustrating,” Clemons said. “There were multiple times we just thought about living in an apartment for another year. We had zero faith we were going to find anything.”
But they did once they were willing to budge a little.
Clemons’ advice for buyers is simple: Stick with it.
“It’s going to be frustrating, particularly right now,” he said. “But if you stick with it, it’ll happen.”
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Here is a look at home sales in recent months:
Homes sold
Johnson County
July 2018;332
July 2017;392
Center Grove
July 2018;112
July 2017;103
Sold within 24 hours on the market
July 2018;252
July 2017;107
Average sales price
2018;$210,930
2017;$197,995
SOURCES: F.C. Tucker Co., MIBOR
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