INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana REALTORS have closed the books on March, today releasing their summary of existing-home sales from the first quarter of 2020. Existing homes include single-family, townhomes, condos, and co-ops.

“The housing market is holding steady, and consumers are still purchasing and selling homes in Kosciusko County,” said Julie Hall, Managing Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

“Agents are being creative and using technology to drive the market forward while ensuring the overall safety of the community. Kosciusko REALTORS are taking all necessary precautions to keep the public safe, and techniques like ‘live virtual tours’ and ‘remote e-signing’ are being implemented to minimize direct person-to-person contact. I anticipate a strong surge of activity from both buyers and sellers once the COVID-19 situation is behind us.”

Statewide, here’s how Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019:

• Closed home sales increased 10.1 percent to 17,630
• The median sales price of homes increased 7.7 percent to $169,900
• The average sales price of homes increased 8.0 percent to $197,688
• The percent of original list price received at sale increased 0.4 percent to 95.8 percent
• Pending home sales increased 5.2 percent to 21,448
• New listings increased 5.0 percent to 23,396

• “Housing markets had a strong first quarter,” said Terre Haute’s Bernice Helman, 2020 President of the Indiana Association of REALTORS. “The drop in March pending sales is likely due to COVID-19, but closed sales and prices held with considerable increases.“It is impossible to predict how housing markets will perform over the next several months,” continued Helman. “What Realtors do know is, Hoosiers’ housing needs don’t stop because of a virus. Real estate remains an essential business in Indiana and Realtors have many tools to get our clients to the closing table in this time of social distancing.”