July 2023 real estate report

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — According to a report from “Talk to Tucker Realtors,” the housing market is starting to slow a bit, in part due to rising mortgage rates.

F.C. Tucker Realtor, Dan Brown, joined Sunday’s Daybreak to share more information on the housing market. Brown says the housing market is returning to a more seasonable situation with a natural dip heading into the end of the summer.

Here are Brown’s key takeaways from the report:

• The average July 2023 home sale price for the 16-county central Indiana region was $314,321, which is a decrease of 5.4% compared to July 2022. 
• Available housing inventory decreased, down 11.4% compared to July 2022. 
• Pending home sales decreased, down 20% compared to July 2022.
• Sales prices continue to be flat for three months in a row, but they are still up modestly 5.2% over last year.
• The Days-On-Market has doubled from this time last year and is approaching a normal pace of around 30 days in the core metro counties.

Brown said consistent sale prices are good news for sellers and buyers, indicating there is no housing market bubble. While buyers may not be getting any discounted prices, they are getting a return to reasonable terms; inspections, possession, and appraisals.

“Compared to last year’s atypical seller’s market, the residential real estate market better reflected what we expect to see this time of year – especially with many central Indiana families focusing on children returning to school,” said Jim Litten, president of F.C. Tucker Company in the report. “In July, consumer confidence rose to its highest level since 2021 and home sale prices remain competitive, so we’ll continue to see a seller’s market through the end of summer.” 

According to CNN, U.S. mortgage rates rose for the third week in a row in August but stayed just under the 7% threshold. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.96% in the week ending August 10, up from 6.90% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate was 5.22%.