TWO INDIANA COUNTIES REPORT INCREASED SALES IN FEBRUARY

I would like to thank Laura Gillis for contributing this article.

As you read this report,remember the basic principal of supply and demand. As supply decreases, price increases. We are still in the market where supply is decreasing, but prices have not yet increased in all areas.

More than 1,600 Central Indiana homes pended in February, with two counties reporting significant increases compared to the same period last year, according to pending sales statistics compiled by F.C. Tucker Company. Madison County posted a 14.7 percent increase, and Boone County sales rose 11.4 percent.

Availiable homes for sale in the nine-county region dropped 14.3 percent in February 2009 with 15,377 homes on the market, 2566 fewer homes than in February 2008. Three counties experienced significant inventory declines. Shelby County experienced the greatest decrease in inventory at -23.4 percent, followed by Marion County with -20.4 percent and Hendricks county at -17.2 percent.

The continual drop in inventory is a good sign for the overall market," said H. James Litten, president of F.C. Tucker Company's Residential Real Estate Services Division. "It's a strong signal that our local market is strengthening."

Tucker's data also indicates that one Central Indiana county - Johnson County - saw an increase in average home prices for the second consecutive month, compared to January and February of last year. Homes in Johnson County sold for an average of $141,208 in February 2009, compared to $135,178 in February 2008, a 4.5 percent increase in the average home sales price.

Conditions have been improving for home buyers," said Litton, " Improved affordability, low interest rates and the first-time buyer tax credits are catching the attention of buyers who may have otherwise waited on the sidelines".