NWI home sales hold their own

Northwest Indiana existing single-family home sales continue to plug along, logging another year-over-year increase in October but still nowhere near levels that would signal the end of the housing slump.

Homes sales increased almost 12 percent in October compared to sales in October 2010, with Porter County again leading the way with an almost 23 percent increase, according to sales figures from the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.

It was the fourth straight month home sales have increased in Northwest Indiana, after a disappointing 14.3 percent decline in the first half of the year.

"There are positive signs out there at this point," said Pete Novak, executive director of the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors. "But it's nothing to shout about just yet."

A high-volume of distressed properties, due to foreclosures and short sales, are still weighing on the market, Novak said. Appraisers often use those properties as comparables even when valuing non-distressed properties. That has them assigning values to homes that are lower than the negotiated price, causing sales to fall through.

"It's the No. 1 comment I get from my members when I ask them how things are going," Novak said.

Nationally, existing single-family home sales increased 13.8 percent in October as compared to one year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

"Home sales have been stuck in a narrow range despite several improving factors that generally lead to higher home sales such as job creation, rising rents and high affordability conditions," said Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist.

Yun echoed Novak's comments, saying "contract failures" continue to weight on the market. In addition to appraisals coming in at less than the negotiated price, factors like mortgage denials and even employment losses are thwarting closings.

Contract failures reported by Realtors jumped to 33 percent in October from 18 percent in September, according to National Association of Realtors data. The rate one year ago was only 8 percent.

The median existing single-family homes sales price nationally in October was $161,600, which was 5.8 percent below the median sales price in October 2010.

In Northwest Indiana, the median sales price was $122,750 in October, just 1.8 percent lower than the year before, according to the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors.

The association reports on home sales in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper and Newton Counties.

In Lake County the median sales price in October was 5.3 percent lower than one year ago and in Porter County it was 3.1 percent lower than one year ago.

In Lake County in October, sales were closed on 331 single-family homes, as compared to 286 the year before, which represents a 15.7 percent increase.

In Porter County, 129 single-family homes were sold, as compared to 105 in October 2010, representing a 22.9 percent increase.