INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana housing market is cooling off, and that’s creating new opportunities for buyers.
For the first time in over a decade, sellers now significantly outnumber buyers nationwide, according to new data from Redfin.
There are nearly 500,000 more homes for sale than there are buyers.
“There’s 20% more sellers than buyers,” said Doug McCoy, executive director of the Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies. “If buyers are patient, they should see prices come down.”
Taylor Larman, a first-time homebuyer in Indianapolis, just closed on a home this week. She says her experience was smoother than expected, thanks in part to the current market conditions.
“We were really scared that it was going to be really intimidating and that there weren’t going to be a lot of houses available for us,” Larman said. “It wasn’t as brutal as we thought.”
Larman worked with Central Indiana Realtor Summer Hudson, who’s starting to slowly see the shift firsthand.
“It’s starting to turn to a buyer’s market,” Hudson said. “It’s kind of slow, not a hard stop like people thought, but it’s happening.”
Hudson said sellers are beginning to offer more incentives, like price drops and closing cost coverage, to attract buyers.
“They’re going to have to start making some exceptions and maybe start offering home warranties or negotiating on terms they wouldn’t have before,” she said.
The median home price nationally is now just over $430,000, while Indiana remains below that average.
McCoy says sellers will need to adjust expectations, especially if they’ve been holding out for top dollar.
“You might not get a 48% gain on your home,” he said. “Maybe 20% is still a win and a more realistic one.”
McCoy also highlighted an important trend driving the imbalance: demographics.
Baby boomers who now make up about half of all sellers are downsizing or relocating in retirement. Meanwhile, millennials, the largest living generation, are delaying homeownership due to affordability and lifestyle changes.
Looking ahead, McCoy expects the market to continue adjusting over the next 12 to 24 months.
Until then, both buyers and sellers will need to stay flexible and grounded.
“Every neighborhood is different,” he added. “It can come down to which side of the street you’re on."
