You know the saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”? Well, nothing could be more opposite when it comes to the housing market in Tippecanoe County in 2021. WOWZERS. Noticeably, the new listing count in Tippecanoe County has been insanely low the last week or two, which I can only credit to exhausted Realtors finally taking some time off. HA!
Let’s recap the numbers. (All are specific to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, as per the IRMLS from 1/1/2020 to 12/27/2021).
Price Growth isn’t Going Anywhere
In 2020, more than 2,400 homes were sold for a total of more than $538 million in total sales volume. While total sales in 2021 were around the same, the total sales volume went up to $585 million.
This was due to the insane growth of the average sale price, which increased about 12% from $218,672 in 2020 to $249,418 in 2021. If you’re a homeowner, this is great news! Over and over in 2021 we were able to surprise home sellers with how much equity they had in their home! (This was not the case back in 2008, when we gave sellers bad news over and over again.)
For the sake of comparison, the lowest-priced home to sell in 2020 was $30,500, while in 2021 someone snagged a property for just $23,300. The highest in 2020 was $1.275 million, while 2021 brought the highest sales price of $1.255 million.
There was noticeable growth in our luxury market. (Luxury is defined as the top 10% price tier of sold homes.) In Tippecanoe County, we jumped from the luxury threshold of $349k up to $410k. That’s a 15% increase, which is just a little ahead of our average sales price across the market.
Average Days on Market Down
In 2021, our average days on market also dropped substantially. (Surely you heard horror stories from friends and co-workers you know who were just trying to buy a property in 2021.) We went from an average of 21 days on market down to just 13 days on market. That’s the AVERAGE for the ENTIRE county, for the ENTIRE year, for EVERY price range. This is insane. (See the bit about tired Realtors above.) It’s hard to keep up the breakneck pace for an extended period.
What’s Ahead for the Housing Market in 2022?
So, what does 2022 look like for the Tippecanoe County housing market? Well, let me get out my crystal ball. (Kidding!) Interest rates are predicted to stay fairly low (though I believe we will see small, incremental increases in the months ahead.) However, with so many people locking in low rates over the past several years, movement from existing homes will likely stay tight.
It’s never been more important to have a local Realtor working for you in the place you hope to live, shop, educate, and worship. Local Realtors have market knowledge, but they also have local connections. Many brokers sold homes in 2021 without even putting them on the market. This can be advantageous to fearful sellers and weary buyers alike. Then again, some people like the mayhem!
So, what are you thinking about the real estate market in 2022? Ready to get in on the fun as a buyer or seller? I mentioned in my goal-setting blog post (link here) that my ambitious goal for 2022 is to list 100 homes, so if you’re a seller, I’m your gal. However, I’m always here for my buyers, too, so let’s chat if buying or selling a home is in your future. It’s never too early to start planning, especially in a market like this!
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