Tag Archives: indianapolis

Instead of “State of the Union”, how about the state of Indiana Real Estate?

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The Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) announced yesterday that Indianapolis home sales in 2012 are up 18.5% over 2011!  Fellow agents in my Keller Williams Realty office are complaining that homes are moving so fast that their appointments are being cancelled before they can see the properties because the home sellers have accepted an offer!  Click here for the full Indianapolis Star article and here for the MIBOR press release…NOW IS THE TIME!!!!

Are you interested in Buying a new home?  Inventory is lower, prices are heading higher, and interest rates are still really low…NOW IS THE TIME to get pre-qualified (click here to start the process with a lender I trust) and let’s start shopping!

Are you interested in Selling then Buying a new home?  Get the best of both markets by selling and up-sizing or down sizing NOW!  Not sure what today’s market value is for your home?  Contact me for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis and let’s discuss your options…just because we meet doesn’t mean you have to sell, it is part of weighing your options to make sure we do exactly what you need done.  Have plenty of equity in your current home?  I work with Don Allen at US Savings Bank who offers “bridge” loans to help you get into your next home.

I am here to help you reach whatever your home dreams are…buying, selling or both.  Your priorities are mine, I work very hard to get the absolute best deal for you and to Turn your Dream into an Address…visit my website VLR Real Estate for more information on who I am and what I can do for you.

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Vicki Reed

Home Inventory??? Why?

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The Richmond Hills tragedy (click here if you want to know more about this senseless act) and a recent home invasion robbery in my own neighborhood reminds me why it is important to know exactly what you own.  I know, we’ve always been told…take pictures, keep your receipts, yada, yada, yada…do you have all of those things?  What about the new IPad you just got for Christmas?  The engagement ring when he proposed at New Year‘s?  The family silver you inherited from your Grandmother when she passed last year?

I have a solution for you!  Please let me introduce you to The Inventory Lady – Jo Soard.  Jo is a bonded, insured and certified third party Inventory Professional who will document your home and business assets, provide you written and digital documentation as well as secure a copy off site for future needs and will update your inventory annually at minimal cost.  A member of American Home Inventory Professionals (not in the Indianapolis area?  Click here to find someone in you area!), Jo is professional, efficient and one of the nicest people I know!  Use The Inventory Lady to help you know just what you own!

Now…how about a new home for all of those things to live?

Home Sellers, now is the time to put your home on the market!  Prices are edging higher, inventory is down and days on market decreasing, check out my website to see what’s happening on your side of town, sign up and let’s talk about the value of your home!

Ready to buy your first home?  Let’s pre-qualify you for your mortgage and talk about what your needs are in a new home.  Why should you pre-qualify?  Check out this earlier blog post, then click this link to complete a preliminary application to see exactly where you stand then let’s go shopping!  Rates are still historically low and prices are edging up….let’s do this!

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Vicki Reed

What do you do for fun in the Winter?

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The major winter holidays are behind us…what do we do for the rest of the winter???  Besides my job as a Realtor (yes, I consider it a lot of fun…even in winter!) my favorite pastime is watching Men’s College Basketball!  The problem is that Indy isn’t hosting a major men’s college basketball event until the Midwest Regional of the Men’s Basketball 2013 NCAA Tournament the last weekend in March!

Okay, so we have Butler Basketball here in the city, always a great time and if you can get tickets, Bloomington isn’t that far away to see my FAV and …okay, we also have…well…Purdue.

So what else is there to do, and if you are like me, not spend a lot of money!  Indianapolis is such a great city with tons of things to do ALL seasons, but for Winter, how about…

Ice Skating – My youngest nieces (ages 10 and 11) love to go ice skating!  When they visit we go to the Indiana/World Skating Academy at the Pan Am Plaza – for under $15, they can skate for 2 hours and have a great time.  I generally follow that up with a treat like Chocolate Nachos at Cheeseburger in Paradise – great way to spend an afternoon.

Museums – One of my favorite things is to simply visit and enjoy the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  It is $5 to park and unless you are going to a special exhibit, it’s free to walk through and enjoy.  I spend a lot of time in the textile exhibits, right now they have An American Legacy: Norell, Blass, Halston & Sprouse spanning more than 50 years of fashion history, the exhibition presents the work of four innovative designers, their individual styles and lasting influence on American fashion.  We also have the world class Indianapolis Children’s Museum, The Indiana State Museum and the Eitlejorg, all a great adventure and all priced well for a great, relaxed visit.

Check back next week for more ideas!  While you are waiting…click here to sign up on my website for all the Indianapolis Real Estate Market News!

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Vicki Reed

Do you Entertain?

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As a Realtor, many of my clients talk about having an open concept home, looking for a great “entertainment” space, but how many of us really entertain?  I have a great home for entertaining, very open concept with great room and kitchen/dinning to each other, with a fireplace and plenty of room to move around and a large deck facing a wooded area – great for indoor/outdoor parties – but I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a party or just friends over for a casual dinner!

Do you entertain?  I believe we all “intend” to entertain, but most of us find it easier to meet at restaurants, let someone else do the cooking and cleaning!

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Each January, Kate Marvel and her husband, Connie Martin host a party at their home for their clients and friends.  I’ve been going for at least 6 years, it’s a lot of fun!  Kate owns Advantage Financial Group in Indianapolis and this is her “thank you” to her clients and they know how to throw a party!  The food and drink are abundant, much of which Kate prepares herself.  One thing…they do not have an “open concept” home, but the home works for this party!  It’s a lovely, older home with is a kitchen, dining room, living room, den, and sun porch on the main floor as well as a finished basement – there are groups of people in each room and Kate and Connie make the rounds.

So my friends, when you are looking for a new home, do not rule out older homes with a “choppier” floor plan, make sure you are being true to how you really live, not how you think you should live because of HGTV!  Want to start looking for that new home?  Click here to search for properties on my website!

Vicki Reed

 

 

Discover the IFD Museum

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Did you even know we had one?  I discovered it in November and had the honor to visit it again yesterday.  Located at 748 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204 and is housed in the oldest standing firehouse in Marion County.  The Indianapolis Fire Department Museum is a historical treasure trove for those interested in Indianapolis history as well as a great place to take those little boys and girls interested in dedicating their lives in service.

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In addition to the museum, the IFD Memorial stands on the grounds and consists of five descending columns that spiral out from the front of the firehouse to the centerpiece column. Each column is inscribed with the names of fallen heroes and atop the center column sits a Phoenix, the mythical bird of fire..”Just as it rises from its ashes, so too do the souls of our heroes, drawn upward to heaven.”

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You might be wondering why I’ve had occasion to visit this great museum twice in as many months…well, Keller Williams hosted it’s city wide agent Thanksgiving event there and yesterday…was BOLD!!!!  Business Objective:  Life by Design!  Over seven weeks, BOLD conditions agents with powerful mindset exercises, language techniques, business-building strategies and live lead generation activities.  Click here to learn more about this amazing class and the KW culture!

Vicki Reed

What a way to start the year…

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During the wee hours of Sunday morning, at least 2 people (possibly more) took it upon themselves to break into our KW Realty office!  This is not a stand alone building, we are on the second floor of a really nice building at Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis!  Ocean Prime is right downstairs and Distinctive Diamonds is in the parking lot!  Our office is really nice – we have Smart TV‘s throughout, shared desktop computers as well as others behind locked doors and the office had just purchased our last Sony Smart TV, 55″ with a webcam…very nice right?

Not much was taken, some cash, a few cameras, an expensive watch…oh and that brand new 55″ Sony Smart TV that was still in the box.  What bothers me the most was the ransacking of the space…every office that was locked was broken in to, chairs were overturned, files scattered, locked cabinets forced open, doors broken, they even took two imported beers from the fridge!  As Realtors, we are in and out of the office all the time, odd hours, odd days, now it feels unsafe.  What a mess!

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My question is…why?  I told my Mom about it and her outraged response was “why couldn’t they just get a job like everyone else?”  I think it is a great question!  Can you imagine our society if those who put so much effort into getting “money for nothing” actually took all that effort and put it into working for a living!  What do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Vicki Reed

 

# 3 on the 10 most affordable cities for homebuying list!

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According to CNN Money, Indianapolis ranks # 3 in the 10 most affordable cities for homebuyers (click here for the whole list)…here’s what they have to say about us:

Median income: $62,600
% of homes sold that are “affordable”*: 92.6%

The capital of Indiana is an important auto industry supplier, with transmissions, starters, gaskets and other parts still manufactured here.

As the auto industry has revived, so has the local economy. The city also has benefited from having diverse industries: Pharmaceutical makers (Eli Lilly), financial services firms (Conseco), the state government, and communications companies (Brightpoint) are all major employers. And the job market is improving: Unemployment fell in September to 6.4%, 1.5 percentage points below the national rate of 7.9%.

That’s great news for job seekers, but home buyers may not be quite as happy. A few years ago, Indianapolis regularly led the affordability index; it’s since slipped a couple notches. Still, Indianapolis is the largest metro area of the 10 most affordable cities.

Ready to buy or sell?  Let me help!  Click here for my website and let’s get started!

Ladies, want auto service and not be made to feel “stupid”…

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…because you don’t know anything about cars except how to fill your tank?  Take your vehicle to the guys at Indy Tire NW, Ron and the other gentlemen who work there are so fantastic that even though I no longer work in their area, I make the trek from Beech Grove for my tires, rotations, oil changes and just about anything else my car needs.  When I had transmission problems (which they don’t handle), they directed me to the another shop and I was treated with the same respect I receive from them.

I recently needed new tires and called and spoke directly with Ron (the manager) and we discussed options – I’ve been taking my car to them for a long time and he knows I’m a Realtor (click here for my website!) – he presented me with 2 options and we discussed everything allowing me to make the best decision for myself.  Never once in my dealing with this shop has anyone made me feel “stupid”, my budget, time and safety are always taken into consideration.  Need to leave your car? they will take you to your office and pick you up later in the day.  They’ve even driven me to an appointment and picked me up after…now that is service!

Please everyone, if you want great auto service, visit the shop of Indy Tire NW!

 

Have you ever seen…

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a car traveling on the highway with a raccoon tail hanging from the trunk?  I did!  Yesterday driving northbound on I-65 from the southside, now before I start hearing snarky comments about people from the Southern side of the city/state, the car did have Marion County plates so you don’t really know where they live!

It did remind of a “What Not To Wear” episode when a former exotic dancer worn a raccoon tail on the back of EVERYTHING she wore!  Great episode and fantastic makeover, click here to see details!

So tell me, do you notice the other cars on the highway?  What have you seen that makes you go HUH?

MIBOR Releases 3rd Quarter Numbers…

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And September sales increased 11.3% over 2011!  Read below for full article…
Local housing performance in the third quarter of 2012 played out much like the first half of the year with impressive amounts of consumer interest and slow, steady price gains. The September Monthly Indicators Report of BLC® listing service data released by MIBOR today reveals that pending sales were up 14.9 percent and closed sales increased by 13.1 percent for the three months ending in September. Closed sales for September alone increase 11.3 percent over last September and pendeds jumped 11.8 percent. Prices were stable but not dramatically higher, reinforcing the slow and steady gains seen throughout 2012. In the third quarter, the median sales price increased 2.0 percent to $131,500. Average sales price inched by 1.2 percent to $166,211. The balance of housing stock continue to stabilize with the months supply of inventory figure down 23.1 percent to 7.6 months.

Along with the Monthly Indicators Report, a one-page report of each county within the service area is also provided. In total, these data sets are intended to be a snapshot of the market, providing historical comparisons whenever possible. The data was pulled from the BLC® listing service on October 17. To download the Monthly Indicators report, click here. To view the one-page county reports, click here. Please note, due to the length of the reports, it may take a few minutes to download. If you have questions regarding the data, please click here.

Want to talk about what this means to you?  want to receive monthly emails regarding the market?  Click here to sign up on my website!