Here's a quick look at what happened in the real estate market in NWAC school district in Fort Wayne, Indiana in March of 2014. Homes sold:  51 Average list price:  $194,196 Average sales price:  $189,685 Median sales price:  $172,900 Average days on market:  68 Lowest sales price:  $15,000 - 2 bedroom bungaow in Huntertown.  This home was listed for $20,000 and was on the market for 100 days before selling. Highest sales price:  $413,000 - 3,000 square foot home in Twin Eagles.  This home was listed for 397,500 and sold in 44 days.   How does this compare to last March?  Homes sold:  41 Average list price:  $195,642 Average sales price:  $189,953 Average days on market:  58 I'm a little surprised to see that homes sold in March 2014 is up from March 2013.  It's the other way around in ... 04/05/2014

Here's a quick look at what happened in the real estate market in SWAC school district in Fort Wayne, Indiana in March of 2014. Homes sold:  50 Average list price:  $223,634 Average sales price:  $214, 224 Median sales price:  $156,500 Average days on market:  57 Lowest sales price:  $27,000 - 4 bedroom short sale off of Hadley Road.  This home was listed for $40,900 and was on the market for 320 days before selling. Highest sales price:  $696,000 - 6,000 square foot home on 3.5 acres in Covington Manor Farms.  This home was listed for $725,000 and sold in 5 days.   How does this compare to last March?  Homes sold:  64 Average list price:  $219,475 Average sales price:  $207,844 Average days on market:  95 A couple of things really stand out to me looking at March in 2013 and March in 2... 04/05/2014

Here is a quick look at what happened in the Fort Wayne real estate market in March, 2014. Homes sold:  305 Average list price:  $127,336 Average sales price:  $122,512 Median sales price:  $105,000 Average days on market:  77 Lowest sales price:  $10,000 - 2 bedroom short sale in southeast Fort Wayne. Highest sales price:  $696,000 - 5 bedroom luxury home in Covington Manner Farms in southwest Fort Wayne. How does this compare to March, 2013?   Homes sold:  354 Average list price:  $126,552 Average sales price:  $121,180 Median sales price:  $104,625 Average days on market:  80   As far as price and days on market goes, March 2013 and March 2014 are very similar.  Not a big surprise there.   What else isn't a big surprise is that the number of homes sold this March are way down from la... 04/04/2014

If there's one thing I love about real estate it's that there is no ONE right way to do things.   I've been here on ActiveRain since the beginning of my career in late 2008.  It was cool to be new to AR and to real estate at the same time.  To say that I've learned a lot here is an understatement.   I've learned what works for others as I was learning what worked for me.   I read a blog this morning that suggested that there is a benefit to previewing homes before you show them to your client.   1.  You know the home since you've already been in it.   2.  It helps you keep a pulse on the local market and on listings that may be competition to yours.   3.  It makes you look more confident and knowlegable to your clients.   While I do agree that previewing homes does all of these things, ... 03/29/2014

A few weeks ago I got a message from a Facebook friend.  He asked me if I would be willing to help him find a home here in Fort Wayne.   Of course I'd be willing!  It's what I do.   He went on to tell me that I shouldn't spend too much time with him because I won't make a lot of money on this deal.  He almost sounded apologetic when he told me that his price range was around $50,000.   I told him not to worry about what I'm going to make, because I'm not.  I asked him what he was looking for in a home to see if he was realistic. He told me that he needed a 2 bedroom, 1 bath "smaller" home in the Highland Hills/West State Street area.   That's 100% doable! It will be a month or so before he's ready to go, but the fact that he is realistic and reasonable on his expectations (and pre-appro... 03/27/2014

I believe that some of the general public would believe that statement.   I've had neighbors tell me that they envy me because I just go out and sell a few homes and make the big bucks.   I've been accused by parents of my younger buyers (seconds after meeting them) of being nothing but a salesman that only cares about his commission checks.   Heck, we've even had family members make comments about us "living large" and how it must be nice to have the freedoms what we do.   1.  I didn't feel the need to explain anything to my neighbors.  I just smiled and changed the subject.  I wouldn't be able to convince them differently even if I tried.   2.  I know exactly what to say to these parents to calm their fears.  I gently explain that I'm not a "pusher" and that I'm going to guide their k... 03/25/2014

My short answer?  It depends.   Those of you that know me realize that I rarely share just my short answers...   Fort Wayne has three major rivers running through it.  The St. Marys, St. Joseph, and Maumee Rivers meet downtown.   There has been a history of flooding issues in certain areas of Fort Wayne, so over the last 10 years or so the city has done extensive work on the river banks to contain most of it.   That said, there are still a handful of neighborhoods in Fort Wayne that are in a flood zone, even though they haven't flooded in years. One of the neighborhoods in a flood zone is the Belle Vista area in Waynedale.  There are about 3-4 streets in this neighborhood that are in the flood zone and require flood insurance.   To my knowledge (I've lived near there for 8 years now) th... 03/24/2014

Here's what happened last month in the Fort Wayne real estate market for homes sold in the Northwest Allen County School District:   Homes sold:  26 Average list price:  $201,358 Average sales price:  $201,562 Median sales price:  $156,250 Average days one market:  147 Lowest sales price:  $82,500 (194 year old home in Huntertown) Highest sales price:  $666,088 (New construction luxury home in The Villas of Twin Eagles) What does that tell us about the real estate market last month in the Northwest Allen County School District?   It wasn't really that good in February. The average sell to list price was over 100%, but that was because of one home that was listed for $505,396 selling for $666,088.  It was a build job that stared in July of 2013 and ended up selling in February of 2014.  ... 03/23/2014

Here's what happened last month in the Fort Wayne real estate market for homes sold in the Southwest Allen County School District:   Homes sold:  50 Average list price:  $198,010 Average sales price:  $191,371 Median sales price:  $151,500 Average days one market:  79 Lowest sales price:  $48,000 (2 bedroom Fannie Mae foreclosure that needed major work) Highest sales price:  $427,500 (New construction luxury home in Grey Oaks Subdivision) What does that tell us about the real estate market last month in the Southwest Allen County School District?   It's good, but not great.  97% of list price to sold price is decent, but it's been higher.  Average days on market at 79 isn't very good either.  During the prime months it's been closer to 50 over the past few years.   Inventory is down as ... 03/23/2014

As a Realtor in Fort Wayne, I get asked certain questions by my buyers a LOT.   One of them is always "What did the seller pay for the home when they bought it?"   It's obvious why my buyers ask this question so much.  They don't want to over pay for a home.  It's that simple.   Here is my response to every buyer that has ever asked me that question:   It doesn't matter.   Gasp!  What?  What do you mean it doesn't matter???     Buyer 1:  The home in question was a flipped home.  The owner bought it as a foreclosure for $35,000.  He put X amount into it, and put it on the market in amazing condition at fair market value at $89,900.   My buyer was concerned that she may be over paying for the home based on the $35,000 purchase price.  I understand her concern, but explained it to her and ... 03/23/2014

As a Realtor here in the Fort Wayne area, I (Jared) work with a lot of home buyers.  Some are first timers, some experienced.   Many times I am contacted by buyers that are still working on financing or don't quite have the entire down payment yet.  These buyers are often 45-60 days away from being ready to write an offer.   A common questions I get is "When can we start looking at homes?" I totally get it.  Folks are excited to get out there and find their dream home.  Looking at homes is fun!   I couldn't agree more.   But...  is now too early to start looking if you're 60 days away from being able to actually write an offer?   In my opinion, YES.   Let's say that I schedule 5 homes for us to see this coming weekend.  We get out there and you absolutely fall in love with a home.  That... 03/20/2014

May 15, 2012.   That is a date that Amanda and I will never forget.   That is the day that we left the little company we were with and joined Century 21 Bradley Realty in Fort Wayne, Indiana.   We were nervous and excited at the same time.   It took a few short months for us to realize that we had joined an amazing company with an incredible broker/owner and staff.   Once we got comfortable here, things just took off.   Our business and sales grew and we took it to the next level.     This morning I logged on to Facebook to see a picture that my broker put up that shows that our office is the #2 selling Century 21 office in the entire COUNTRY! That in itself is impressive.  Then I think about the size of Fort Wayne.  We're about 1/4 the size of Indianapolis.  We're big enough to be call... 03/18/2014

A few short months into my real estate career I got a call from Crystal.  She needed to buy a home and wanted me to help her.   SWEET! She was pre-approved, knew what she wanted, and she was ready to go.   I took her out and showed her 3-4 homes that Saturday, but none of them were the right one.  We planned to go out again the following Saturday.   The next day I was with another client and my phone rang.  It was Crystal.   I declined the call because I needed to focus on the task at hand.  She left a brief messsage but I didn't listen to it until I was done with my current client.   An hour later I listened to the message.  Here's what it said...   "OMG Jared!  I am sitting in front of a house here in Indian Village.  I LOVE IT!!!  You must be busy right now.  I'll go ahead and call t... 03/17/2014

Steve called me one day and asked if I would consider taking him on my real estate team and mentoring him.  He's a pretty popular guy around town and knows a lot of people.  Oh, and he's super nice.   I laid out my expectations and told him what he could expect from me and our Century 21 Bradley office here in Fort Wayne.   We agreed to terms, and off he went to get his real estate license.   9 days later he called me back and told me he was ready to go.   I laughed because I thought he was joking.   He wasn't.   He found a place online that had an accelerated real estate course.  He signed up and devoured the course, and then passed his test.   So...  9 days after he decided to become a Realtor, he became one.  He had his real estate license.  He was now able to help someone with the l... 03/16/2014

I recently received a pretty low offer on one of my listings.  The buyer's agent seemed to have it in his head that my sellers needed to sell.   They didn't.   They wanted to sell.   My sellers came down a little bit in their counter, but not much.   The buyer's agent huffed and puffed and said that if my sellers were needing to sell, they should come down quite a bit more.   But they don't NEED to sell.  They WANT to sell.   Needless to say, the deal didn't come together.  My sellers are willing to wait for the buyer that will pay their price before they sell.     Then there are my sellers that took a job in another part of the country.   They NEEDED to sell, and they needed to sell quickly.   Thankfully they were in a position to list the property at a competitive price.  We got an of... 03/13/2014

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog called 10 mistakes buyers make when purchasing a home.  Today, I decided to write one for the sellers.  Here are 10 mistakes sellers make when selling their home.   10.  Over pricing your home.  Some Realtors will say that this is okay, as long as there is a strategy for price reductions.  I say they're wrong.  If you price your home too high, other agents won't show it.  Buyers will be turned off.  It's simply a waste of time.  If you want to price it 5% higher than market value for negotiating purposes, I think that's okay.  Anything more than that is not okay.    9.  Not staging your home.  I don't always recommend hiring a professional stager, but I do recommend decluttering, taking down the 800 pictures of your dog, and making the home appeal to the m... 03/11/2014

How's the real estate market in Fort Wayne right now?   My answer in short:  It's good.  Now here's my long answer...   Inventory is pretty low in most parts of Fort Wayne.   In Northwest Allen County and Southwest Allen County school districts inventory is very low.   Amanda and I have several buyers looking in those areas, and when something pops up, we have to jump on it.   There is more inventory if you are looking for homes in Fort Wayne Community School District.  Homes are also a lot more affordable in that area.   As of Tuesday, March 11, 2014, I would consider the real estate market in Fort Wayne more of a seller's market than a buyer's market.   There are some decent deals out there for investors as well.   We have two "flippers" that we work with and both of them have been pr... 03/11/2014

To be successful in real estate, you must ALWAYS answer your phone.   Or so they say.   I get crap from people all the time because I sometimes miss calls.   Sometimes my friends give me a hard time, sometimes my neighbors give me a hard time, and then there's my mom.   She always give me a hard time about not answering my phone, God love her.   Here's the deal...   A good portion of my day consists of meetings with clients.  I'm usually showing homes, at listing appointments or inspections, networking with my sphere, or attending closings.   Could you imagine me answering a phone call when I'm talking with YOU about listing and selling YOUR home?  You'd probably fire me on the spot! I was in a closing once where the other agent got a call from a prospective client while sitting at the ... 03/09/2014

Here's what happened in the Fort Wayne real estate market in February, 2014. Homes sold:  189 Average list price:  $120,418 Average sales price:  $115,669 Median sales price:  $95,000 Average days on market:  73 Lowest sales price:  $8,000  (Major fixer upper in Southeast Fort Wayne) Highest sales price:  $427,500 (Luxury home in Grey Oaks Subdivision in Southwest Fort Wayne) What does this tell us about the real estate market in Fort Wayne?   It's not as good as January was.   Average days on market is fair at 73.   Homes selling for 96% of list price is very good for sellers today. Overall things are pretty good in our market.  That surprises us just a little bit because of the ridiculous amoount of snow we've gotten and the bitter cold that has followed that.   So...  is it a good ti... 03/03/2014

Step 1:  Refer that client out!   Okay.  Just kidding on that one.   I was out this morning showing vacant foreclosures to an investor of mine.  He and I have been working together for years, and have seen plenty of foreclosures in the bad weather.   Last night we got about 4-5 more inches of snow here in the Fort Wayne area. This just adds on a little more snow to the existing snow on the ground.   This also adds on more snow to the unplowed driveways and sidewalks of said foreclosures.   I know it may sound like I'm complaining, but I am.   Here's a short list of things that every Realtor needs while showing foreclosures in the snow and cold:   1.  A Jeep or some other four wheel drive.   2.  Big ole boots.   3.  A flashight.  (Duh) 4.  A super duper heavy coat.  I prefer something NO... 03/02/2014