May 2021 newsletter

Welcome to the month of May! For Indianapolis, that usually means a busy month centered around the IMS. While as of this writing the race will go on, just with limited attendance, we can start to feel a return to some kind of normalcy that so many of us have craved for over a year now. It also means Mother’s Day!!! We hope you have something special planned to celebrate mom next weekend.

COVID has been rough on everyone. I got it in October 2020. It was a mild case, but not fun. Fortunately, my family somehow escaped it, thank goodness. However, many people have not been so lucky. In fact, I have lost two friends due to COVID. Fortunately, I was able to see both of them shortly before they passed, but it really hits home. Brigid and I received our 2nd vaccine over one week ago. Less than one week until we hit the ‘fully vaccinated’ status. We can’t wait! We hope you and your loved ones have been able to get vaccinated so we all can put the worst part of this behind us.

Two weeks ago, our family was finally able to take a much needed vacation. Like most of us, being cooped up for the past year has taken a toll on us. Brigid and Tali went to Miami, FL for a few days to see some former neighbors as Tali and their daughter are still best friends. They had a blast! Ana was finishing school that week, so she and I stayed home and joined them on Friday where we all drove to Marco Island for several days and spent time with Brigid’s parents, laid by the pool and played on the beach. Absolutely, medicine for the soul! We finished with five days at Universal Studios. We had never been, so it was a real treat. Brigid found an amazing deal allowing us to stay on property, get admission tickets to the park AND get the Unlimited Express Pass as well!! Let me tell you, that was AMAZING. We stood in line no more than 10-minutes the entire time and rode some coasters as many as eight times! Harry Potter World is unbelievable and the kids absolutely LOVED every minute of it. If you have kids and like thrill rides and/or Harry Potter, we highly recommend going, especially during this time of reduced capacity.

Last week was extremely busy for our team. We hope you were able to take advantage of some/all of our events we hosted to celebrate you. We brought back our smashingly successful Shred/Recycle Day on Earth Day last Thursday. We had over 200 cars come through. Hope you were able to stop by. Later that day we hosted our monthly Happy Hour at Matt The Miller’s. We had a great group of clients and referral partners and we are grateful for Rojas Roofing for sponsoring this month. Finally, on Saturday, we hosted about 80 clients at our annual Spring Client Appreciation event at Sundown Gardens in Westfield. We had workshops and gave away free flowers and everyone got a discount on everything in the store!! Hope you were able to join us!

Upcoming events for May-lots going on!!! On Tuesday, May 11th from 7-8:30pm, I am hosting the next step in our 3-part series on How to Best Prepare Your Home for Sale. This is specifically geared to sellers who have lived in their home a long time and don’t know where to start. Regardless of your situation, come and join us. Send me an e-mail to RSVP by May 10th-Events@Welcome2Indy.com.

On Thursday, May 20th from 5-6:30pm is our next Happy Hour at Matt The Miller’s again. Come join us!! Free food and drink! RSVP to Events@Welcome2Indy.com.

On Wednesday, May 26th, we are hosting our Quarterly Prize Giveaway. Call in from 10AM-3PM that day to register to win an amazing racing-themed prize package. Call 317-426-6108. You are playing for laps around the IMS in a 2-seater IndyCar with a professional race car driver, a Karting racing experience at Sarah Fisher’s SIK facility, axe throwing games, mini-bowling games, and lots of swag. If you like speed and adrenaline, you do NOT want to miss this prize package…and right before the Indy 500!! Join us for our May Happy Hour on Thursday, May 20th from 5-6:30pm at Matt The Miller’s in Carmel. Please RSVP by 5pm on May 18th to Events@Welcome2Indy.com. Drinks/food provided and guests are welcome!

You are going to start noticing information we are sending out regarding our ‘What’s Your Home Worth’ campaign. We are getting quite a few calls from clients asking what their home is worth now in this crazy market. The on-line home values like Zillow, etc. are not remotely accurate-some values are super high and others super low. Use this link to schedule a quick 15-minute call with me to find out what your house is truly worth right now https://calendly.com/steverupp/15min. There is a short form to complete and provide some basic info so we can be prepared for our conversation.

What is YOUR number??? If I were to show up on your door step with a cash buyer who wanted to buy your house, what number would have to be on the offer to make YOU move? Send me an e-mail (or schedule a meeting-see link above) and tell me what your ‘make me move’ number is. We will make a note of it and tell our many buyers that if they are interested in your house, the conversation starts at that number. We already have many clients in our database who have given us their number. E-mail me today at steve@Welcome2Indy.com to give me yours!

Check out our new video series Raw and Real where I talk about commonly-asked questions and relevant real estate topics in a short and fun video. Check out our first one here. I discuss what fair market value is and how it directly impacts our market and the price of your house.

Finally, our market update for March compared to February 2021. Our market is WHITE HOT. Inventory continues to shrink and builders can’t keep up with demand. Some builders sold ALL of their 2021 inventory in January!!! There are still more homes selling than are coming on the market, even though there were more than 1,100 additional homes that came on the market in March versus February, so that is good. Below are the numbers from MIBOR comparing March 2021 to February 2021:

Median Sales Price-$226,500-UP 1.6%
Closed Sales-2,775 units-UP 21.7%
New Listings-3,351-UP 52.0%
Pending Sales-3,509 units-UP 42.1%
Days on Market-23 days-DOWN 25.8%
Price per s.f.-$133-UP 2.3%
% of Ask Received-99.7%-UP 0.9%
Active Inventory-1,562 units-DOWN 1.5%
Absorption Rate-0.6 months-DOWN 14.3%

As you can see, inventory is getting worse, not better. Interest rates are helping to keep housing affordable still at around 13%. This means 13% of people’s gross monthly income is going toward their mortgage payment. This is still the 2nd lowest of all time. As long as interest rates stay low, we will continue to see this hot market. I do not see a contraction for some time. Most experts agree that 2023 is the earliest we will start to see a contraction. On average, homeowners have seen a 12% increase in their appreciation YTD. This is unprecedented. If you have ever given ANY thought to moving, NOW is your window to CASH OUT on the equity in your house. We have some effective options/strategies many of our clients have successfully used regarding their next home, so give us a call TODAY to talk through your options to see if NOW is a good time for you to take advantage of this historic housing market-317-573-1880.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! We hope you are loved on and pampered on your special day. We truly appreciate you and everything you do for us!!!

Click below to read our fun May newsletter as well as some other fun links:

Click here to watch a short video from Steve discussing events this month

Click here to read our May newsletter

Click here to read what clients have to say about us

Click here to get access to coupons and discounts at places you shop every day

Click here to download the most powerful real estate app available to search any home anywhere

Your Friends in Real Estate,

Steve, Kylie, Thea, and Patti

P.S. Please don’t keep us a secret!! Who is the next person you care about who needs our help? Give us a call TODAY at 317-573-1880 so we can get in touch with them and consult with them about their options. Thank you!