Carpenter Real Estate News

Doreen Leads Naptown Knitters

February 3rd, 2012

Doreen Tatnall, an agent in Carpenter Realtors’^® Eastside Office should be an inspiration to everyone in Indianapolis.  In October of 2010 she got an idea while attending a meeting of the Woodruff Place Civic League.  There, the Superintendent of the Indiana Re-Entry Facility (IREF) of the Indiana Department of Corrections (Prisons) was pleading for volunteer help from the community.  Her idea was to go into the IREF and teach the male prisoners how to knit.  Her specific goal was to teach them how to knit scarves for the Super Bowl Scarf project. She went to work on her idea.

Since then, Doreen has met with the inmates twice a week, taught them to knit, personally provided the blue and white yarn and needles, and led the group to complete 20 scarves for the Super Bowl volunteers.  Every time I see one of those scarves on television or spread across downtown this week, I wonder if that scarf is one from the Naptown Knitters and does that volunteer know where it can from.  At almost 5’ 3”, she is an inspiration to me and to those men at IREF as they prepare to re-enter society by giving back to the community outside those walls.

P.S.  Doreen and the Naptown Knitters are starting another knitting project...they are knitting stocking hats and scarves for breast cancer survivors and the Susan B. Komen Foundation. WOW!  You can click here to reach Doreen about opportunities to help.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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The Sweet Spot

February 1st, 2012

Ben Hess, founding partner and managing Director of Tidemark, Inc., recently wrote an article that references a point made by Tom Prall, our President, at Carpenter’s January Managers’ Meeting - NOW is the time for managers to be focused on recruiting agents into the real estate business.  You can read Ben’s entire post here.

Today, is the “tipping point” for people beginning (and sustaining) their career in real estate because there is a developing shift in the average number of transactions per agent from very few to significantly more as the market begins to emerge from the past recession.  Simply put, the market is improving while the number of professionals to service those transactions continues to decline or at least lag the improvement.  It won’t last forever, but the last time we witnessed this shift at the start of a recovery there were a number of bountiful years until the overall agent count caught up.

Increasing Sales + Less Agents = The Sweet Spot

If you want more information on this or would like to discuss how you can take advantage of this developing “sweet spot,” feel free to contact me or one of our managing brokers.  A list of Carpenter locations and mangers can be found on our website.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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The Housing Market is Getting Better. Consumer Confidence is the Drag.

November 8th, 2011

We’ve just published the latest edition of Carpenter Reports: The Central Indiana Real Estate Market, a quarterly review of central Indiana real estate market activity. For reasons you’ll see in the report, I’ve titled this edition “The Housing Market is Getting Better. Consumer Confidence is the Drag.”

Why? I believe this quarter’s report continues to illustrate that the central Indiana housing market is in a recovery. Any argument that now is a great time to buy a home is more compelling today and that this report supports that.

Over the last quarter almost every county in central Indiana saw lower inventories of single family homes for sale, a necessary and healthy sign of recovery. Six had double-digit declines. With that, we noted double digit increases in sales for the third quarter. With the exception of Shelby, Putnam and Madison Counties, all central Indiana counties experienced solid double digit increases. Again, evidence of a recovering market. Stabilization, and gradual improvement in the Average Sales Price of the homes sold is another key indicator. Compared to the third quarter of 2011, this quarter showed a healthy 2.7% increase in the Average Sales Price.

With these numbers, we anticipate positive comparisons for the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012 as the recovery continues to build momentum into Spring.

The biggest challenge to a sustained recovery in central Indiana’s housing market continues to be consumer confidence. The downward trend in the monthly Consumer Confidence Index continues to put a drag on the housing recovery. Despite favorable prices and interest rates, many prospective homebuyers simply lack the confidence in their personal situation to undertake such a major purchase.

At Carpenter, we believe there will be gradual improvement in our housing market over the next few quarters and for years to come. It won’t be a straight-line to recovery. There will be bumps along the way. It will take improving consumer confidence in what the future has to offer to assure us the sustained recovery we all need and want.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Carpenter Realtors' Report shows a slight improvement in Indiana housing

August 16th, 2011

In the spring of 2010, the second of two Federal Tax Credits for home purchases ended. During the spring of 2011, the lingering impact was still with us.

Carpenter Realtors^® has just published the latest Carpenter Reports, a quarterly review of central Indiana’s real estate market, covering home sales, prices, price per square foot and pended sales. As we track these statistics we see the tax credit’s impact in year-over-year comparisons. But don’t be fooled by comparing today’s housing data against the distortion caused by the Tax Credit. The current housing trends are positive and the local real estate market is improving.

In Carpenter Reports we see the signs: listing Inventory continues to decline and the trending numbers in pendings and sale prices during the second quarter of 2011 are positive, off very low levels throughout the second half of 2010 and early 2011.

The national and local economy continues to improve, albeit very slowly. That slow improvement will transfer to the housing market. With consumer confidence a critical element in home sales, the combination of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, along with the dysfunction of our government in Washington and its seeming inability to address our fiscal challenges was challenging. In April, consumer confidence showed slight improvement but suffered setbacks in May, June and July. As consumer confidence struggles to gain footing so too will the residential real estate market.

I have faith we’ll continue to see a gradual improvement in the local economy, in consumer confidence and in our real estate market. There will undoubtedly be bumps in the road but the improvement should be relatively steady going forward.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Ride the Recovery

August 1st, 2011

This Blog is the sixth and final installment in the series on The 6 Reasons Today May be the Best Time in 40 years to Buy a Home. Our focus today is Reason # 5: “Now is a Unique Time to Ride the Economic Recovery.”

Despite the chaos in Washington over addressing the nation’s fiscal health, the evidence being presented by economists is that our economy is in recovery; albeit anemic. As the national and local economies continue to slowly grow out of this recession, the housing market will begin to grow as well. There are still a number of economists who will argue the housing market will lead the economic recovery in the coming months and years. As the recovery takes shape, demand will become more balanced with supply. We’re seeing signs of that in our local central Indiana market today as listing inventories shrink. Home prices will begin to rise in response. Again, we are seeing that take shape in our local stats.

Those homebuyers who take advantage of the depressed housing market and purchase property now will experience greater growth in their equity over the coming years. Those buyers will have ridden the wave of economic recovery in housing.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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It IS a good time to buy a home for sale - home prices are down!

July 25th, 2011

Is now the best time for you to buy a home? For many, it is. For some, it is not. But the majority of families do have the confidence in their personal situation to pursue the “American Dream” of home ownership.

Carpenter Realtors® report, The 6 Reasons Today May be the Best Time in 40 years to Buy a Home outlines why today is a great time to buy a home. We have already addressed three of those reasons. Today, I want to focus on the fact that Home Prices are Down.

Many of us are seeing local and national articles and news shows telling us home prices are up. If home prices are down, how can they be up? It is important to understand they are touting that the average prices of homes that have sold are up... not that the individual prices of specific homes are actually up. What I’m trying to say is that it’s likely the value (reflected in the price someone is willing to pay) of a specific home is flat or down a few percentage points from the value of that same home in 2006. Nationally, that could be as much as 30% from the peak.

Generally, the news reports you hear and read are simply saying the average prices of homes that are selling now are higher than the average prices of homes sold last year or in years past. Those numbers are distorted due to the mix of homes being sold.

With the actual values of homes generally being down from 2006 or 2007, it means a homebuyer can acquire more house for the dollar today. As the economy continues to recover over the coming months and years, home values are expected to rise. We believe the values of specific homes are at or near the bottom and will begin to increase as well.

If your personal situation allows you to move forward with confidence and buy a home, you don’t want to be looking back at this moment in time 6, 12 or 18 months from now wishing you had taken advantage of the opportunity. Today is the best time in 40 years to buy a home, if you’re ready.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Best Time to Buy in 40 Years!

April 25th, 2011

This is the fourth blog in a series of six blogs based on my "Six Reasons TODAY may be the BEST TIME in 40 Years to BUY A HOME."

Today, I'm focused on Reason #3: Housing Inventories are High.  To update the original report the current inventory in the MIBOR BLC is 16,317 homes as of April 18, 2011.  That’s down a bit from last fall when the report was first drafted.  But, the premise is still solid.  There is an excellent selection of homes available in every price range.    And, just as we outlined in the report, the high inventory represents increased competition for those serious sellers.  Sellers who are motivated to move are forced to have their property in “move-in“ condition and to have it priced aggressively to attract buyers.  This is truly a great time to be a home-buyer in central Indiana!

If your personal situation allows you to move forward with confidence and buy a home, do it now, because TODAY is the best time in 40 years to buy a home.

Feel free to download the attached "The 6 Reasons TODAY May Be the BEST TIME in 40 Years to Buy a Home"  for the entire report.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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The True about the 3.8% Obama Tax on Real Estate Sales

March 16th, 2011

You may have heard about a federal tax on the sale of homes buried deep in the recent health care legislation. You may have heard rumors or seen internet stories about how this secret tax (3.8%) applies to every home sale starting now. It is important to understand that much of what you see and read on the internet about this element of the new law is exaggerated and/or inaccurate.

Here’s the truth:
·     There is a new federal tax on part of the gain; for some high income sellers; who have substantial dollar gains on the sale.
·     The new tax is 3.8% on the amount above the existing exemption of the first $250,000 in gain for single taxpayers and $500,000 for married (filing jointly) taxpayers. This exemption only applies if the taxpayers have lived in the home two out of the last five years. In addition, interest, dividends, net rents, net capital gains all fall into this category.
·     The new tax is applied only if the taxpayer has an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $200,000 for a single and $250,000 for married (filing jointly). And then, it only applies to the lesser of the qualified investment income amount or the excess of AGI over the $200,000 or $250,000.
·     The new tax starts for sales in 2013.
·     It is likely the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to decide if the new law stands before this portion ever takes effect.

This new tax was never introduced, discussed or reviewed by the real estate industry (NAR) and most legislators until just hours before the final debate and vote on the massive health care bill.

To learn more about the new tax law, click here and search “3.8% Tax." They have an excellent booklet with details on a variety of scenarios as well as FAQ’s.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Understanding the “Lost Equity Syndrome”

February 10th, 2011

This post is my second in a series relating to our white paper, The 6 Reasons Today May Be the Best Time in 40 Years to Buy a Home. I want to focus on Reason Number 6: Avoiding the “Lost Equity Syndrome.”  This is the “Reason” that is often the hardest for buyers to grasp.  It really speaks to why now is a good time to sell a home, and then turn around and buy another one…if you’re buying a more expensive home. Many potential “move up” buyers are paralyzed by the fear of losing some of the equity in their current home when selling now.  We call this fear the “Lost Equity Syndrome.” 

Sellers who want to be buyers are afraid to act now because they don’t want to “take a loss” on the home they have to sell. They don’t want to lose that equity. Here’s what they need to understand about the “Lost Equity Syndrome.”  Let’s assume they have a $150,000 home to sell. And, assume they are ”moving up” to a $250,000 home.  If they take a 10% “loss of equity” on the sale of their existing home…say $15,000…because of current market softness, doesn’t it make sense that the seller of the “move up” home they intend to buy will be taking a 10% haircut too? 10% of $250,000 is $25,000. The “move up” buyer gains the seller’s “lost equity”. A $25,000 gain net a $15,000 loss means the new “move up” buyer actually comes out $10,000 ahead. It’s critical that potential “move up” buyers really understand how the “Lost Equity Syndrome” works in their favor in today’s real estate market.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.  For a copy of our white paper, The 6 Reasons Today May Be the Best Time in 40 Years to Buy a Home, contact your local Carpenter office or visit our website, www.callcarpenter.com.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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The 6 Reasons Today May Be the Best Time in 40 Years to Buy a Home – Reason #1

February 4th, 2011

We recently published a white paper The 6 Reasons Today May Be the Best Time in 40 Years to Buy a Home.  I want to focus on only one of those reasons today. Mortgage interest rates. I want to focus on mortgage rates because this is the single “reason” that may be changing the fastest. In fact it might be going away as one of the six reasons. I don’t have a crystal ball and certainly can’t predict the future of mortgage rates, but common sense tells me that with the extent of government deficit spending and the resulting borrowing that is taking place at all levels of government, inflation has to start to surface in the economic picture. I predict sooner than later. As inflationary pressures begin to build in the economy, interest rates must rise. Mortgage rates are not immune to those pressures. They must rise too. As mortgage rates rise, the true cost of housing rises. It’s just a matter of time before one of the “six reasons” goes away. Spread the word, now is the best time!

If you’d like to receive a copy of our white paper, contact a Carpenter Realtors^® agent or visit our website.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Great Tools for your next open house

January 25th, 2011

At a Sales Meeting last week I was talking about our new GPS HomeSearch™ program and an Associate mentioned it would make a great conversation starter with visitors to an Open House.  What a great idea!  We built on that idea and suggested an agent might want to get a plexi-glass “take-one” stand at Office Mart to put copies of our new GPS HomeSearch flyer out on the kitchen counter as a reminder to the agent to talk about it…demonstrate it…and have the visitor leave with a copy of the personalized flyer to remind them how to access the GPS HomeSearch tool.  We all agreed today’s Open House visitors would love to learn about a high-tech tool like that.

If you’re not familiar with our GPS HomeSearch program, simply go to Carpenter’s website at callcarpenter.com using your smartphone and click on the “Find Nearby Properties” button at the top of the page.  By magic, your smartphone will show you all the homes for sale sorted by the nearest homes to you within a one mile radius.  Carpenter is the only local real estate firm to offer this tool.

In addition, another great idea is to have personalized copies of our “6 Reasons Today May Be the Best Time in 40 Years to Buy a Home” report on display in your next Open House.  This report outlines the 6 reasons your Open House visitor needs to become a homeowner TODAY!  The report is available to Carpenter agents through our Intranet and contact management system, i-Contact, and can be fully customized to the agent’s identity.  And like the GPS HomeSearch flyers, it can be displayed in one of those clear plexi-glass holders on the kitchen counter.  Another great “value-added” conversation starter.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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We were lucky

November 4th, 2010

At 2:18AM last Wednesday morning (October 27^th) I received a phone call, actually my wife Anne answered the call.  It was Vicki Kenworthy, managing broker of our West Suburban Office.  She was calling to tell me our West Office was on fire.  Anne felt lucky it wasn’t one of our daughters.  You know what I mean, if you have kids or grandkids living somewhere other than down the hall.  I got dressed and was on the scene by 3:15AM.  In route I called Tom Prall our Company President.  When I arrived, Vicki was already there.  MaDonna Meadows had already met and decided the best place to temporarily relocate the office would be to our Avon-East Office.  Dave Danz, our Avon East Manager was called at 3:30AM.  He got on it immediately.  He arrived on the scene by 4:15am to see what he could do to help.  George Christodoulou, our IT Manager was called by 4:00AM.  He had the West Office phones rerouted to Avon East by 8:30AM. By mid-morning, the West Office agents were notified about the fire and that that we were relocating to Avon-East.  By days-end, agents had been assigned a place to land at Avon-East.  As soon as the ashes had cooled and the fire investigators would allow, the Carpenter team was in the burnt-out building salvaging all of the currently active and pending files and hard-drives from the computers that survived. Within 48 hours files, computers, phones, desks, chairs, etc were in place for the West Office team at Avon. Luckily, we were back in business.

It was amazing.  Nobody had to tell anybody what needed to be done or how to get it done.  They just did what needed to get done and did it now!  Somebody’s son had a trailer.  Another manager had extra desks and chairs in their office.  Agents and managers had strong backs to load and unload stuff.  Another manager had extra telephones.  Somebody else had a computer they could spare.  Somebody thought to order yard-signs.

Everyone realized we were all very lucky.  We were lucky no one was in the building when the fire started.  We were lucky no one was injured.  We were lucky the alarm system worked on the building and luckily the IMPD Officer responded to the alarm run in 180 seconds!  We were lucky the Indianapolis Fire Department responded in less than 7 minutes.  We were lucky the fire took place at 2:00AM rather than 2:00PM.  It gave us a 6 hour head start on what ended up being a very long day.  You know, you can get a lot done from 2:00AM ‘til 8:00AM.  We were lucky Vicki and MaDonna took charge at 2:18AM.  We were lucky Dave Danz and his team at Avon-East were/are so welcoming and supportive.  We were lucky George got the phone company to respond so quickly in the middle of the night.  We were lucky everyone wanted to help any way they could…and did.  One week later, we are still getting lucky.  The West Office turned a new listing and a sale in on today’s Daily Activity Summary report.

How lucky can you be.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Robos-Signing scandal affects mortgage foreclosures. Read the FAQs

October 18th, 2010

It’s estimated that there will be a record 1.2 million foreclosures this year. In 2005, there were around 100,000. As a result, mortgage lenders have found themselves severely unprepared, or understaffed, for that huge increase in volume. How much do REALTORS®,  and homebuyers, know about the robo-signing scandal and how it could affect each of us personally?

Carpenter Realtors® has had a chance to research the latest information and news reports and talk to a number of professionals about the crisis. As a result, we’ve compiled this list of frequently-asked questions about the current foreclosure news. There’s no quiz later, but REALTORS® and homeowners alike should be aware of what’s happening, what to expect, how it might affect us and how long it might last. 

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Have You Heard About “The Unfolding”

July 29th, 2010

Have you heard about a 39 page book called “The Unfolding” by Price Pritchett?  If you haven’t read it, go out and buy it today and read it…twice…tonight.  It is self-described as “a handbook for living strong, being effective, and knowing happiness during uncertain times.”  It’s an easy read and I found it right on target for navigating through these uncertain times in the real estate business.  Pritchett does a great job of clarifying the impact of an uncertain future (much like we are currently facing in the Indianapolis real estate market) on the human mind and how to manage yourself rather than attempting to manage the uncertainty.

I have found “The Unfolding” to be helpful in keeping myself focused on those productive activities that I can control while waiting for the uncertainty in the real estate market to clarify itself. I encourage everyone with Carpenter Realtors^® to get a copy and read it.  You too will find it insightful and inspirational as you wait for the uncertainty to clear.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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Indianapolis Indians to Host "Carpenter Realtors® Night"

July 20th, 2010

Monday, August 9^th is “Carpenter Realtors^® Night” at Victory Field as the Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball team hosts our agents and their families and friends for a night at the Ol’ Ballgame.  In cooperation with the Indianapolis Star newspaper, Carpenter has challenged its agents to increase their activity levels and hold record numbers of Open Houses during the month of July.  For every Open House held, the agent receives a reserved box seat for the Monday night game.  Based on the results of the first three Open House Sundays in July, we are anticipating over 800 to attend the August 9^th game.

Flyers, posters and penants have been distributed to each Carpenter office to promote the challenge.  Individual branches as adding to the promotion with fun activities at their weekly sales meetings.  Some branches are passing out Crackerjacks™ or baseballs to agents for each Open House held.

The results speak for themselves.  Carpenter agents and managers are meeting the July Open House “challenge” with record Open House activity.

Posted by:  David Caveness

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