Real Estate Breakdown

The second largest area in Indiana, Fort Wayne lies in the state’s northeastern corner. The state has been hard hit by the larger U.S. recession, shedding thousands of jobs and putting many homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Meanwhile, other homeowners have seen the values of their houses fall, leaving many upside-down on their mortgages. But recently things in the Fort Wayne real estate housing market, at least, have shown signs of improvement.

According to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, assessed property values had fallen in nine of the county’s 20 districts this year. Nine more districts saw values rise less than 2%.  But sales have been up in the city. During November, the city saw a massive 54% increase in sales volume, from 397 to 612. Much of the increased volume can be attributed to buyers looking to take advantage of a recently extended government program that offers tax rebates up to $8,000 to qualified home buyers.

And unlike in many cities nationwide, real estate in Fort Wayne actually saw a bump up in its housing prices, a real reason for optimism that the market is improving. In November, the median price of a home sold was $92,700, up 9% from $84,900 last year. Additionally, the average price was up to $101,073 from $94,880, a 6.5% increase. Despite all the good news in November, however, the average days homes for sale in Fort Wayne spent on the market before closing was up in November – to 115 from just 104 last year, a 10% increase.

Though November showed significant signs of improvement, according to the Fort Wayne Area Association of Realtor’s data, the total for 2009 remains relatively steady compared with data from 2008, despite a few months of increased activity and sales prices. The total number of homes sold to date in 2009 is actually down 1.8% from 2008 at the same time. Prices are up, but just by 0.3% for average and 1.4% for median. It remains to be seen whether December’s figures can be positive enough to help 2009’s total outdo 2008.