Sunday, July 29, 2018

August 2018 Newsletter

Well...sadly summer is about over for many kids around Indianapolis with school starting within the next two weeks. If this is your situation, we hope that you have enjoyed some down-time with your family and could enjoy some time together. For us, this meant flying over 4,500 miles to see Ana sing in Europe.

You may recall from past newsletters, that Ana was accepted into the International Choir for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp located north of Grand Haven, MI. She has been rehearsing on her own, with a vocal coach, and via several trips up to camp to practice with her group. This all culminated in a final intensive week of practice in June, a send-off concert at the end of the week for the families and then off to Europe for 3-weeks.

Ana returned about 3 weeks ago and this weekend we returned to camp one final time for a Homecoming concert and a final goodbye to Blue Lake and her choir. Ana had an absolutely AMAZING time touring France, Germany, Italy, & Belgium over 3-weeks and 7 stops with local host families. We met her in a small town about an hour east of Brussels named Genk. She stayed with us for 3-days and we were able to see one of her local concerts. The kids sound really, really good! Check out the following two links for a couple of their favorite songs they performed in Genk, Belgium. Click here to hear a spiritual. The soloist is nothing short of unbelievable. Click here to hear a selection from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. Here is a photo at Versailles for their Summer Spectacular with some guests wearing period closing in preparation for a costumed ball starting at midnight in the Palace. Here is a photo of Tali and Brigid in the gardens of Versailles. We stayed a week in Paris and then headed to Belgium with a day trip to Cologne, Germany. Absolutely beautiful weather our entire trip. The only negative was the train strike, but we were mostly able to avoid major disruptions.

During our trip to see Ana, Kylie and Julia were here working their butts off. Really, I couldn't ask for more from our team. They make me so proud!!! We work so well together. Their commitment to our clients and extremely high-quality work is unrivaled. I receive compliments weekly about them. If you are one of the sources of compliments-THANK YOU!! They love being recognized for going above and beyond.

If you haven't been to Europe, we highly recommend making plans to go there. So much history, architecture, & culture there. It gives Americans a different perspective, to be sure. Have you been to Europe? What was your favorite trip and why? We would love to hear about it and see some of your favorite photos.

Jack & Mary Anne are settling into their new home in Fishers and are still working their way through unpacking boxes. It seems to be an unending chore! They would love to show you their new home if you are ever in the neighborhood. Having a much smaller house and yard for which to care has been a real blessing.

The real estate market continues to sizzle. Inventory continues to be our biggest issue and the big reason why some people are talking about a recession. We need more houses to satisfy the demand. Employers need more qualified employees to fill literally millions of open jobs. Here are the latest stats that are available from MIBOR comparing June 2018 to June 2017

New Listings-UP 0.9% to 4,761 units
Pending Sales-UP 8.5% to 3,811 units
Closed Sales-DOWN 2.5%
Median Sales Price-UP 8.6%
Average Sales Price-UP 7.6%
Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale-UP 0.8% to 97.5%
Total Active Listings Available at Month End-DOWN 21.5%
Months Supply of Inventory-DOWN 22.6% to 2.4 months

It is interesting to note that all of the numbers here are shrinking from prior months. In other words, the gaps are narrowing, indicating that the economy is cooling a bit. So, if you haven't put your house on the market yet and are thinking about it, stop procrastinating as your unprecedented seller advantage may be coming to an end.

Enjoy your final weeks of summer and, as always feel comfortable contacting us whenever we can help you or someone you care about.

Click here to read our August newsletter full of fun and interesting articles and information.

Click here to watch our builder-series videos on how a home is built.

Click here for coupons & discounts at stores you shop every day.

Click here for the most powerful real estate app available.

Click here for a quick 60-second market update.

Click here to read what some of our clients have to say about us.

Click here to read about our Senior Advantage Program.

Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Jack, Kylie, & Julia

P.S. Please don't keep us a secret.

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