Indianapolis/Fishers Real Estate

This is the 20th featured Fishers neighborhood in the two years of writing this Fishers Real Estate blog!  Today I wanted to tell you about Charleston Crossing that is just east of Allisonville Road on 116th. 

There are currently three homes for sale and six that have sold since 1/1/10.  This is a three month absorption rate which is excellent; a balanced absorption rate is 5-6 months.  This particular neighborhood in Fishers would be characterized as a seller’s market because it is only three months.

Most of the homes were built in 1988 and 1989 and are three bedroom and 2 or 2 1/2 baths with between 1400 sq ft and 1800 sq ft.  All of the homes will have two car garages and no basements.  There is a variety of ranch and two story homes in the neighborhood.

On average they sell for about $100 a sq ft and their days on market are a mere 24 days.  You can expect to pay between $155,000 and $170,000 for a home in Charleston Crossing.

One of the benefits of living in this neighborhood is the proximity to restaurants and shopping and easy access to 465 via Allisonville Road.  The Castleton Mall is also very close to this area.

If you would like to view homes for sale in any neighborhood in Fishers, we have created the link for you.  Just click on the neighborhood and any active listings will be shown.  As your Fishers Realtor expert, please send me any questions about neighborhoods or let me know about highlighing yours!

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

My Fishers Real Estate blog often covers Fishers market reports and great Fishers neighborhoods, but I love to share the events in Fishers Indiana too!  Coming up on July 31st is the Flavor of Fishers 2010.  The event runs from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m. at the USA Parkway Circle; the only entrance will be via the Sallie Mae Parking Lot.

Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $7.00 at the door; children under 12 are free.  You can get tickets at Marsh or the Chamber office.  Food, beer and wine tickets are extra.  Remember the food vendors can only accept tickets, no cash.

There are so many great restaurants that will be participating including Cheeseburger in Paradise, Encore Desserts, Paradise Bakery (if you want a coconut and chocolate chip cookie, get there early because last year they ran out!), Qdoba, Sahm’s, Scotty’s, Shebella’s Pizza (new on 96th and Masters), Wolfie’s and so many more. 

There will be a beer and wine garden as well as great entertainment.  On the main stage will be Ribs n Bone from 12-3; Toy Factory from 3:30 to 6:30 and Band Wagon from 7-10p.m.  For the kids in the Family Fun Zone, there will be Silly Safari, Radio Disney and a Magician!

With over 15,000 people expected, you are bound to see someone you know.  It is a great community event and I look forward to seeing you there! 

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

I have been the recent Ambassador to Indy!  I have been working with clients from Plano, Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago, New York and Seattle lately.

I love giving the Tour of Indy that includes Conner Prairie, Geist Reservoir, downtown Fishers, Carmel and Zionsville, Meridian Kessler and Broad Ripple and of course downtown Indy with Conseco, Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indians ballpark and White River State Park.  And I of course show them a few homes for sale in Fishers and other areas to give them an idea of the cost of living here.

Out of town clients are consistently amazed by our low property taxes, our lack of fences (we actually like each other here in metro Indy!), and the textured ceilings.  It is fun to watch their amazement when they see all that they can buy and do here.

It helps that Fishers was named yet again as one of the Top 10 places to live by Money Magazine as well as Carmel being named 14th!

One thing that relocation clients to the Fishers area like to know is the salary and cost of living comparison  I have a relocation cost of living guide on my website where you put in your current salary in “x” city and it converts it to what would be needed here in the Indy area to maintain your style of living.

For example, if you put in that you make $112,000 in Arizona, you will only need to make $100,000 in Indy.  It will also tell you that Groceries will cost 11% less, housing will cost 15% less, etc.  It is a really cool tool brought to my website from CNN Money Magazine.

If you are relocating to the Indianapolis area and would like a relocation book, send me an email.  It has tons of great information about our city that includes how much snow we usually get, how we got the name “Hoosiers” and more!

And if you are relocating specifically to Fishers, I would love to show you homes for sale in Fishers and all the great things that have contributed to the accolades it has received!

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

We are at the end of the 2nd quarter for Fishers Real Estate sold and the analysis has some highs and lows.  The number of solds is down to 154 for June compared with 179 a year ago.  This is the 2nd straight month that the number of sold homes has been below those from a year ago. 

The days on market, however has improved quite a bit from 77 DOM a year ago to 59 this month.  And if we look at the YTD number, Fishers has had 817 homes sold since 1/1/10 compared with 783 for the first six months of 2009.

Additional good news is that the neighborhoods who saw the most sold are what I would term “starter” neighborhoods such as Brooks Chase, Limestone Springs, or Sunblest Farms.  When those first time buyer or starter home neighborhoods are selling that means move up buyers will benefit and start the whole process. 

The number of homes sold over $500,000 were 8 with the most expensive in Hamilton Proper (Thorpe Creek).  It sold for $668,000; the lowest was in Limestone for $80,000.

The average price per square foot remainded stable from a year ago at about $95/sq ft.  This of course varies by neighborhood, so be sure to contact your Fishers Realtor for your specific neighborhood stats.

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I think all of us use acroymns in our business and spout them off without thinking about whether the other person knows what it is.  Real Estate is no exception.  I thought I would explain one that is used all the time.

DOM is days on market.  It is the number of days that a particular home has been on the market.  This is a tricky one because at first glance you would think the list date on the MLS/BLC sheet to the current date would be the DOM.  But here’s the catch.  Some properties expire or some have a mutual release (they didn’t like their Realtor or some other reason) and they are then “re-listed” so that a new “list date” is the starting point. 

When my clients want to know how long a listing has been on the market, my response is, “from the MLS sheet it says “x”, but I would need to check the history to be sure”.    A home may look like it has just recently been listed, but in actuality it may have been on the market for years and just keeps getting relisted.   

This is important because the DOM is a motivation factor.  If they have been on the market a long time, they may be more motivated than if they just came on the market.  A good Fishers Realtor will definitely run the history/archive on the property to ensure their buyer has full discloure of the DOM.

Be sure to look at all of the definitions of Real Estate terminology.

As an update on the Fishers Real Estate market, there are currently 872 homes for sale in Fishers and 191 of those are under $150,000.  Interest rates are well below 5%; this might be the time to buy a home!

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With the holiday weekend, your Fishers Realtor is taking some time off.  This is a guest post from James Kelly, a VA lender.  James blogs on veteran’s issues and real estate across the United States and proudly serves American military families as the nation’s premier VA Lender.

This Sunday is Independence Day, and as you celebrate our nation’s independence this weekend, remember to thank the men and women who serve this great country and keep it alive.

If you are in the military or if you who know someone who is, there is some good news that you should be aware of: Service men and women can still purchase a home and receive the $6,500 or $8,000 tax credit that, for everyone else, expired on April 30. Also a good point: you can use a VA Loan to purchase the home, which has many benefits of its own, and still receive the credit.  

To be eligible for the tax credit, you must have served at least 90 days overseas between Jan. 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010.

The credit is commonly referred to as the “$8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit,” but do know that the credit isn’t automatically $8000; rather it is 10 percent of the home price up to $8,000. Also, a “first-time homebuyer” means that neither you nor your spouse has owned a home within the past three years. If you are not considered a first-time home buyer, you are still eligible to receive up to $6,500 as a repeat buyer.  There are a few additional VA home loan requirements, along with the service time, that you must meet in order to qualify for the credit (both for first-time and repeat buyers): 

1.  The purchase price cannot be more than $800,000
2.  For single men and women, your annual income cannot be more than $125,000 annually
3.  Married couples who file jointly cannot have a combine annual income of more than $225,000
4.  You must be under contract by April 30, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011 

Some have voiced concerns over the chance that they will have to relocate because of deployment, but feel safe in knowing that the bill states that they cannot reclaim the credit if you need to sell or rent your home. 

While the credit is gone for the general public, it is great to see it is available for those that serve our country!

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It is that time of the year and with all the rain we have had, surely the 4th of July will be perfect weather.  Here a brief list of fireworks in the Indianapolis area:

Geist Blast from the Bridge is Sunday July 4th at 9:45 p.m.  The Lawrence Township fireworks are also on the 4th at dusk.

The Downtown fireworks sponsored by Regions Bank are also on the 4th of July at 9:45.  The Indians play baseball at home on both Friday night and Sunday night and both nights have fireworks; great place to enjoy an evening!

Symphony on the Prairie and the Star Spangled Symphony is July 2-July 4th, fireworks are each night.

Carmel Fest has their fireworks on July 5th at 9:45 p.m.  At first I thought why on the 5th, but with so many firework displays on the 4th; I think it will be great to have one on the 5th.

Brownsburg and Noblesville have their events on July 4th too.

Once the 4th of July has past, the Fishers Real Estate and other Indianapolis area Real Estate markets pick up the pace.  So if you have been waiting to put your home on the market, this may be the time to do it.  We have so many people relocating into the Indianapolis area, one of them may want to buy your home!

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

Today, I want to highlight the neighborhood at 106th and just west of Cumberland.  Pine Bluff Overlook has hills and winding streets and is fairly small with just 98 homes in the subdivision making it a favored choice for many.

There have been four homes that have sold in the last year; almost all of them in the $93/sq ft range.  Pine Bluff Overlook does have some homes that back up to Cumberland and there is a fire station across the street (east side of Cumberland) so sometimes you will find homes selling for less than the average.  On the flip side, often some homes located on the hills can have walkout basements getting more than the average price per square foot.

In reviewing all of the tax records, over 75% of the homes have basements ranging from just 600 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft. There is about a 50/50 mix on two car versus three car garages.  Most are four bedrooms but there are a few with five bedrooms.  Pine Bluff Overlook offers many different types of homes.

You can expect to pay about $250,000 to $275,000 for a home in this neighborhood depending on the above criteria. The dues run $275 annually.  There are currently four active homes for sale in Pine Bluff today.  They do sale relatively quickly, usually in less than 90 days so great neighborhood for resale in Fishers.

Be sure to check out our other Fishers Neighborhood reports and email or call your Fishers Realtor with any questions.  I’ve love the opportunity to exceed your expectations.

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

There are currently 720 homes for sale in Fishers (I have excluded condo/townhouses).  Of those 32% or 229 have been on the market more than 90 days. 

The longest has been over 1,000 days!  When people search for a home for sale in Fishers and see one that has been on the market that long, do you think they will chose it to see?  Even a Realtor® may wonder what is wrong with the property.  This particular listing has the first two digits of 27XXXXX; those first two digits tell us what year it was listed.  At a minimum, why doesn’t the Realtor® relist it rather than extend the expiration date?  That way it will get a new listing number, 210XXXXX and refresh it to all people searching for a home in that price point or neighborhood.

I guess the bigger question is why are these homes still for sale?  There are some reasonable answers, for example the home is over $1,000,000.  There are 14 of those for sale.  The pool of buyers is just smaller for those types of homes.

But what about the other 200 plus homes?

Several do not even have pictures and many more do not have virtual tours.  In this day and age, buyers are searching the internet for their next home.  They will and they do move right past the homes without pictures and without virtual tours.  A couple even have pictures with SNOW in them.  You want a Fishers Realtor that used a full toolkit of professional pictures, virtual tours, floor plans, staging, etc. to showcase your home.

Over 50 of these homes have not had a price reduction since they were listed.   I have a strategy based on days and number of showings to make the most of each price reduction.  Sometimes based on feedback and current market statistics, a price reduction is necessary. 

I cannot look at the Internet exposure of each of these listings, but I can almost assure you they do not have the Internet exposure that my listings have.  I pay premium dollars to Realtor.com and Trulia to give my listings more exposure in the form of placement and use of carousels.  Your home needs to be everywhere on the Internet because that is where the buyers are. 

Selling a home in Fishers does requires a Realtor® who has experienced success and is willing to put a lot of effort into selling your home.  It is more than putting a sign in your yard! It is getting the listing traffic, tweeking the home based on feedback, and negotiating the best price. The Marchant Team stats for 2009 show their homes sold on average in 62 days for 97% of list price.  Experience matters.

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 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775

Alliteration fun with the Title!  The Fishers Freedom Festival is next weekend, June 26th and 27th!  Can you believe this is the 22nd annual?  The event begins at (yawn) 6:15 A.M. with the 5K event registration, actual event is at 8:00 a.m.  It is anticipated that there will be at least 1,000 people at this 5K event.

Riley hospital will be sponsoring a parade where kids will decorate their bikes, wagons or strollers; this event will be on Sunday the 27th at 9:30 a.m.  The main parade will be at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday and will begin at Lantern Road and 116th and will proceed west on 116th to Holland Drive. 

Some of the really cool events are the “Discover Scuba” sponsored by Indy MPH Watersports.  This will be at the far north end of Roy Holland Memorial Park.  You also might want to catch the Why Stop Now street dancers at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.  And only in Indiana…corn hole tournament at 9:00 a.m. in the southeast baseball diamond area on Sunday!

The fireworks will be at about 10:00 on Sunday; Big Daddy Caddy will begin playing at about 6:30.  The entire event is FREE!

The Freedom Festival is quite an event for Fishers Real Estate residents; those living in Sunblest can just walk over and enjoy the weekend events.  It is not a surprise to those of us living and working in Fishers that it continues to receive so many awards.  There is always something happening in Fishers from free Tuesday night concerts, to great restaurants to Symphony on the Prairie!  If you are visiting the blog as you prepare to make a move to Fishers, let me be the first to welcome you!

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Other Northside Blogs (Carmel, Noblesville, and Geist)

 Cindy “in Indy” Marchant - Fishers Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams Realty Indy Metro NE
Fishers IN Real Estate Website
317-290-7775