Indiana Housing Market (real estate, apartment complexes, foreclosures)

[Chicago Bob]

Way to go Indiana..

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-...earch_headline

I remember in 2008 when the declines hit all across the country, Indiana registered on the decline as well but FAR less than other states. Slow and steady wins the race.

[rrah]

Can't read the story as it's behind a paywall. Indiana might not have seen the declines seen in other states in 2008, but they were ranked 9 or 10 in percentage of foreclosures.

[indy_317]

Indiana overall isn't a highly desirable state to move to. I'm sure the bulk of any growth is around the larger metro areas. For me, Indy metro area housing has increased so much over the last ten years, I no longer label this state as part of the "low cost-of-living" area. For me it is a moderate cost-of-living area. This is mostly because wages never really increased as much as the cost of rent and/or home ownership. So while we have seen some run-up in prices, it isn't like we were ever going to see huge spikes in housing costs because even metros with some growth aren't going to be drawing people like other metros were in other parts of the country. When people start overpaying for housing in areas like Boise, ID and Tampa, FL, it makes sense that once the cheap debt days are over, those places are going to see the fastest and biggest drops in prices. The only way red hot housing markets stay red hot is if the people buying have a continued, guaranteed income stream to pay for the property till full ownership and the vast majority never sell their homes for less than they paid for it.

[paintedeagle]

On the roads in Indiana, I see nothing but Illinois plates, New York plates, Missouri plates, and Wisconsin plates. Of course, not one actually currently registered. They all just scratch off the year and month. No letup in all these junk states invading. I was talking to a neighbor that moved in from Chicago. He says he'll save a fortune never having to register a plate. No kidding. You can fund retirements with that savings. Anyway, invaders are what is keeping Indiana housing prices up. In my area, houses don't last more than 3 days before buying bought by invaders.

[Gringo73]

Off topic a bit.
One would not last one day in California with expired/scratched off plate tags. I left that state in 2000. Back then California wanted you to get a Cali plate if you commuted to work from other state, regardless of residency. My neighbor had two plates on his car. That may have changed now, still, they want you to register a vehicle within 10 days of residency in Cali.

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by Gringo73

Off topic a bit.
One would not last one day in California with expired/scratched off plate tags. I left that state in 2000. Back then California wanted you to get a Cali plate if you commuted to work from other state, regardless of residency. My neighbor had two plates on his car. That may have changed now, still, they want you to register a vehicle within 10 days of residency in Cali.

10 days is ridiculous for car registration.

I wish the wages here would adjust a bit more for COL. Indiana is still fairly "cheap" to live in but the COL and housing costs have definitely gone up. Rent prices are significantly more than they were when we moved here in 2020.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by paintedeagle

On the roads in Indiana, I see nothing but Illinois plates, New York plates, Missouri plates, and Wisconsin plates. Of course, not one actually currently registered. They all just scratch off the year and month. No letup in all these junk states invading. I was talking to a neighbor that moved in from Chicago. He says he'll save a fortune never having to register a plate. No kidding. You can fund retirements with that savings. Anyway, invaders are what is keeping Indiana housing prices up. In my area, houses don't last more than 3 days before buying bought by invaders.

Investors are buying up more properties, driving prices up. People aren't moving much at all anymore, far lower percentage than decades ago. Large corporate REITs are buying up more parcels of land and building upscale apartment complexes all over southern Indiana north of Louisville, driving up rent prices 15-20% or more in less than five years.

[sweetana3]

Pockets have skyrocketed. We have million dollar homes all over downtown Indy. Affordable, in rental or purchase, is the market that is missing completely.

[LeisureSLarry]

Indiana has very low property taxes relative to other states in the region. This makes investment a much easier proposition especially for non-income producing real estate. A property in Indiana can run a fraction of property taxes that similarly located properties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan or Ohio would require.

1K a year vs. 3K + a year is a big deal when holding a non-homestead real estate asset for investment or recreation purposes. I was investing in Michigan and the taxes and regulations made it untenable. The entire SW region of Michigan is Illinois owned because they have tolerance for these fees and fund the rest of the state as a result. This includes acreage not on the lakeshore and so only a matter of time before they branch out into Indiana.

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by sweetana3

Pockets have skyrocketed. We have million dollar homes all over downtown Indy. Affordable, in rental or purchase, is the market that is missing completely.

So true. The thing is people coming from the coasts or other higher COL areas still find most of the housing market extremely affordable. The rest of us who are working for businesses within the state of Indiana are finding affordable housing fairly sparse. Reminds me of when we lived in Chicago, everyone still says it's a very affordable big city... which is true if you're coming from San Diego or NYC. If you're not upper middle class the tax burden there is just far too high. Indiana thankfully doesn't have that problem but wages haven't adjusted enough per inflation.