Three major metro areas in Indiana are marked as Improving Housing Markets.

The National Association of Home Builders has added 35 new metro areas to their list of 'Improving Housing Markets'. Three of those cities are in Indiana: Elkhart, Lafeyette and Indianapolis. The complete list of 76 cites are in only 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Though Bloomington is too small to be in the radar screen for this type of data, it is a great sign that our neighboring communities are starting to be noticed for healthy recovery.  The criteria that was used to compile the list: number of housing permits, home prices and employment monitored over six months.

2011 Market Report for Bloomington Indiana Sales 2011

Overall, the sales market in Bloomington continued to be strong during the 2011 calendar year. Here are some number based on sales of homes in Bloomington:

• Total homes sold: 897
• Average days on the market: 89
• Top selling priced bracket: $120,000 to $139,999
• Second top selling price bracket: $140,000 to $159,999
• The greatest number of homes sold in 30 days or less

How does that compare to 2010?  Here are the 2010 numbers:

• Total homes sold: 861
• Average days on the market: 74
• Top selling price bracket: Same as 2011
• The greatest number of homes sold in under 30 days as well.

Jumping back to the hot real estate market of 2007, here are the number:

• Total homes sold: 1240
• Average days on the market: 112
• Top selling price bracket: same as both 2010 and 2012
• The greatest number of homes sold in 31 to 60 days on the market.

Bloomington Home Sales for January 2011

And the numbers are in for Bloomington home sales for January. These figures are from the Bloomington Board of Realtors MLS system and are all residential sales in Bloomington for the month of January.

• A total of 60 homes/condos sold during the month
• Average sales price was $162,624
• Median days on the market was 88 (good)
• Homes sold for an average of 96% of their list price
• The most active price range for sales was $140,000 to $159,999
• The second most active price range was $160,000 to $179,000
• The third most active price range was $100,000 to $119,000

Here's how these numbers compare to January 2010:

• Total number of sales increased 11.11%
• Average sales price is down 6%
• Median days on the market is up 27%

More homes sold in 2011 but they had to work a little harder to get the job done. One has to keep in mind that the $8000 tax credit was in effect during January of 2010 which altered the standard real estate market.

RE/MAX is celebrating their 38th birthday with great successes!

The RE/MAX brand was established 38 years ago and forever changed the face of real estate by creating maximum commission based businesses for top producing professionals. RE/MAX Chairman Dave Liniger opened the first RE/MAX office in 1973.

This past year saw many great accomplishments:

1. Worldwide franchise sales were up nearly 30% in 2010
2. Two national surveys ranked top performing RE/MAX agents above all other national franchise agents in average transaction sides of sales.
3. Reader's Digest Canada named RE/MAX the Most Trusted Brand in Real Estate
4. RE/MAX became one of three companies to pass $100M in donations to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
5. RE/MAX was named Top Ten Military Spouse-Friendly Employer by Military Spouse Magazine for the 4th year in a row.

And in the Bloomington area, RE/MAX accounted for the greatest amount of real estate sales with RE/MAX Acclaimed having the greatest sales volume.

The Master Plan for the Indiana University Bloomington Campus is now online

I just attended an event today with guest speaker Lynn Coyne of IU. The master plan for IU is truly phenomenal and very progressive. You can see the entire master plan, along with great historical information about IU at http://www.indiana.edu/~uao/. Simply click on master plan logo (shown above) and you will be directed to a vast amount of information about the future of the IU Bloomington campus

Check out what's happening in the Indy real estate market this weekend

This weekend is the Parade of Homes for Indianapolis. So if you have some time and are curious about our neighboring city's real estate market, this is a super opportunity to get inside a collection of new homes.

Homes are open today and tomorrow from 1:00 to 5:00. Check out more information at the Indianapolis Parade of Homes website: http://www.paradeofhomesindy.com/

The Beauty and Diversity of Bloomington's Architecture

I usually walk 45 minutes to an hour every day. I have three primary routes that I take and all of them include passing by beautiful houses that showcase the diversity of Bloomington's architecture. So today I brought my camera and took pictures of a few of my favorite houses on this route. Some are unique, some are classic and some are simply sweet. What can I say, I love houses!