FORT WAYNE – Existing home sales in northeast Indiana continued a disturbing trend as the number of houses sold in October dropped nearly 34 percent compared with a year ago.
The local Realtors association reported Monday that the region saw 438 homes sold last month. In October 2009, it said 661 homes sold. The average sale price for the first 10 months of the year is $112,721, up 4.5 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
The Indiana Association of Realtors on Monday said the number of closed sales statewide in October decreased 32.8 percent to 4,211 compared with 6,265 a year ago.
Indiana’s year-to-date home sales through October dipped 3.9 percent to 49,616 compared with 51,652 in the same period of 2009.
The October home sales were released the same day that the Fort Wayne Area Association of Realtors announced it changed its name to Upstate Alliance of Realtors.
Alliance officials blamed the home sales decline on lagging consumer confidence, slow job growth, new leadership in Washington and a foreclosure moratorium, which has federal agencies investigating errors in foreclosure documents.
Jim Torres, alliance president, said there are still reasons to feel confident about the housing market.
“The average sale price is higher, the days on the market are less and the affordability index is better,” Torres said.
Rena Black, president of the alliance’s Multiple Listing Service, sounded a positive tone as well.
“Despite the declines in sales volume over the past few months, the silver lining this period is the appreciation in prices,” Black said in a statement. The MLS tabulates housing information for Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley counties. “Stability in home prices is great news for sellers and with interest rates at historical lows buyers can make their dollar go farther. These are comforting prospects on all accounts.”
As for the Realtors association name change, Torres said the process began about two years ago and became final last month, even though the switch was not publicly announced until Monday. The association made the change because of recent mergers with regional Realtor organizations in Huntington, Adams, Jay and Wells counties.
“Our new name better reflects the geographic area we serve,” Torres said in a statement.
“As a larger association, we can offer enhanced benefits to members, giving Realtors access to more tools in which to represent their clients in real estate transactions.”
The Fort Wayne Area Multiple Listing Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of Upstate Alliance, will be known as the Upstate Alliance of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
