With people sheltered in place during the pandemic in recent weeks, Realtors expected the crisis to lead to a drop in sales of existing homes during April.
Across Indiana, sales of existing homes dropped 11.9% in April when compared to the same month last year, the Indiana Association of Realtors reported. There were 6,585 closed sales in Indiana in April.
The Indiana Association of Realtors said year-to-date comparisons show Indiana’s existing-home sales are running 3.1% ahead of the 2019 pace. Nationwide, the number of existing-home sales dropped by nearly 18% in April.
“Because of the time it takes to close a sale, we’re just now seeing the impact of the coronavirus in our monthly housing data reports,” said Terre Haute’s Bernice Helman, 2020 President of the Indiana Association of Realtors. “We knew sales would wane in April due to stay-at-home recommendations and we expect that to continue for the next couple months with fewer sellers listing homes.”
In the area covered by the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, which includes Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski and Stake counties, closed sales fell 6.7% in April when compared to April 2019. There were 808 closed sales for the month, compared to 866 in April 2019.
March closed home sales in the Region totaled 828, which was a 13% increase from 733 closed sales in March 2019.
New listings also dropped in April across Northwest Indiana. New listings in April totaled 833, down 38.1% from 1,345 when compared to April 2019.
Those who sold homes received more money in April when compared to the same month last year. The median sales price in Northwest Indiana was $185,000, up 10.1% from $168,000 in April 2019.
The average sales prices in the Region was $206,218, up 8.2% from $190,547 in April 2019.
