November Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome Fall!!! With the much-lower temperatures come the changing of leaves and greener grass along with more rain. It also marks the end of many sports, such as baseball and soccer. Such is the case with our family. Ana finished her last soccer game on Saturday, and while it frees up three days/week, it is bitter-sweet as I always look forward to watching Ana play. Brigid enjoys coaching, but is ready for a break as well.

We are looking forward to enjoying some time in the Smokies for Fall Break with Jack and Mary Anne later this month. Mary Anne had eye surgery a few weeks ago, which necessitated her having to keep her head down for 10 consecutive days! While not fun, she completed her recovery a week ago Saturday last. Now, she has another 4 or more weeks before she can expect full vision to be restored, but it beats going blind!

We are looking forward to going to some pumpkin patches and our annual Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood. Ana has decided she is going to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Tali is going to be her favorite cartoon character Scooby Doo. Hopefully, you are looking forward to Trick-or-Treaters, Halloween parties and/or Fall Break plans.

Our real estate market continues to improve and has received quite a bit of great press lately. Here is why:
Quarter-over-Quarter Change in Closed Sales +14.5%
Quarter-over-Quarter Change in Median Sales Price +4.2%
Quarter-over-Quarter Change in Inventory -11.2%
Months Supply of Inventory 7.8 months -21.7%

Happy Fall!!!

Save the date for our annual Santa Night at our office on Thursday, December 6th from 5-7PM. Santa will be there with on of his Elfs, refreshments will be served and professional photos will be taken, suitable for Christmas Cards. More details will be coming soon!!!

Some of the fun articles you will find this month:
• Don't Doubt The Power of A Dream
• Notable in November
• November Quiz Question
• Furnace Readiness Tips
• Oldest Bird, Not A Bird?
• Knowledge Is A Matter of Perspective
• Caring for An Elderly Relative While Working
• Facts about Factoids
• 5 Tricks Theaters Use
• Remodel with A Financial Blueprint
• Lost Jobs Lead to New Opportunities
• Girls, Ask Your Guys

Click here to read our November Newsletter:


Click here to access our exclusive coupon & discount site:


Click here for the most advanced real estate app available, including sold listings!
or TEXT: HOME21 to 87778

Buyer Facts & Trends

Some great insight into buyer trends.

First-Time Buyer Facts

October Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome to Fall! After such a hot and dry summer, fall has hit us hard with much lower temperatures and one of the wettest Septembers on record. We hope that you have gotten back into the rhythm of fall with school back in session, sports in full swing, a multitude of activities to attend, and don't forget this week started new episodes of our favorite TV shows. And...the NFL refs are coming back!!



I attended a class last week hosted by our lender, which focused on business planning for next year already! It was a shock to start thinking about next year, but in order to prepare it is essential. Have you begun planning for next year? Are you good about extablishing goals and committing them to writing? A study once found that over 90% of people accomplished their goals when they were clearly written down and broken down into small tasks. What would your life look like if you accomplished 90% of what you wanted to do?



A coach of mine calls these 'shoulds'. I should do this and I should do that. He asked me to write down 100 'shoulds'. I had to work hard to come up with 100, but eventually was able to do so. After 1 year, I re-visited the list to find that over 80% of my 'shoulds' were completed. That brings up another thought, what would happen if you could dream a goal and you knew that you couldn't fail? What would that goal be? What would happen if you started approaching that goal as if you couldn't fail? In what ways would your life be different? What is the worst that could happen if you didn't accomplish your goal? I'm curious to know what your dream goal is. Would you share your dream goal with me if I shared my dream goal with you?



My dream goal or Ultimate Scenario is to be able to send both Ana & Natalia to Notre Dame by having a business so strong, which creates raving fans by providing magical service to clients that we are able to help 50 clients each year buy, sell, or build a new home. Additionally, my dream goal is to have our systems so tight and have help with our clients, which allows Brigid and me to travel to Europe for 6-weeks, which is our dream vacation. I have already written this goal down and broken it down into small steps and am on my way to accomplishing it. The most important thing is that I can visualize myself having accomplished this goal. I know what it looks like and how I feel having accomplished it. That is my dream goal. Everyone has a different one. What is yours?



While you ponder that, take a gander at this month's newsletter. Here are some of the acticles you will enjoy:

*The Reward That Keeps on Giving
*Fall into October
*Halloween Tongue Twisters
*6 Weird Facts about Technology
*The Cold Facts
*Personal Productivity Trick
*Pumpkin Carving Tips
*Avoid 'Vicarious' Success
*Liking Living Alone
*Your Body Is A Laser
*One-Liners



Click here to read our October Newsletter.

Enjoy your Fall and the amazing colors that it brings!

Excellent News on Housing Prices!!!

Updated Morgage Stats-Did You Know This?

Updated Seller Stats & Trends

Great Real Estate Stats

Check out these great stats on the recovering real estate market:

Graphic courtesy of Brian Buffini

September 2012 Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome to the end of summer! With school starting earlier and earlier, it seems like summer is getting shorter and shorter. Ana started 2nd grade last Tuesday and Talia started in the TOTS program at Ana's school last week as well. Both absolutely LOVE their teachers and classmates. We are so fortunate to have such amazing schools! They both attend Maple Glen Elementary in Westfield and we couldn't be happier. Hopefully, if you have school-age children, they had a smooth transition as well going back to school.

With the new school year comes new activities. Ana has taken an interest in voice and piano and has been taking lessons weekly to encourage and improve her skills in both. We have been very happy with her progress, but getting her to practice is not always easy... Ana has also started soccer again and Brigid is her coach once again. Both enjoy it and Ana is also taking an additional developmental practice session for 5-weeks to sharpen her skills. She seems to enjoy that as well. Finally, we signed Ana up (at her request) to sing in the Indianapolis Childrens' Choir. If she likes it, we will probably continue it, but Ana knows she can't do any more activities without discontinuing a current one. Mom and dad have run out of time!!!

Earlier this month our family traveled to Tampa, FL to visit Brigid's parents for a few days and then we took our first Carnival cruise. Over the years, we have taken a couple Disney cruises, a Costa cruise and I took a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises with my family while in college. We were interested to see how our experience would be with Carnival.

Overall, it was quite good and we would recommend Carnival to others. It was a smaller ship and an older ship celebrating its 10-year anniversary while we were on board. We were able to get a good deal and secured a stateroom with a balcony for Brigid and me and then got an adjoining inside stateroom for the girls. That arrangement worked great allowing us to relax on the balcony at night after they went to bed and during Talia's naps.

The food was surprisingly good, except for the last night. The dining room service was extremely slow, however. The shows at night were a disaster and even the crew admitted they were terrible! We enjoyed the family comedy shows early each evening. The Carnival Kids Club was amazing and was actually rated higher than Disney!!! The girls both loved it so much, they didn't want to hang out with us the rest of the cruise! We enjoyed several relaxing dinners and comedy shows, as a result. Our ports of call were Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, & Grand Cayman. We swam with the dolphins in Cozumel, stayed on the ship in Belize as there wasn't much we wanted to do there, took a zip line tour through the forest in Roatan (without the girls, of course), and enjoyed a pirate ship ride in Grand Cayman.

We were lucky that we missed both hurricanes, which came through there the weeks prior and following our trip. Carnival is trying really hard to kick its reputation of being a 'booze cruise' and instead is more of a family cruise now. We had a great time and will probably do it again. If you get the chance to take their 'Behind The Fun' tour, do it!! It was fascinating to see areas of the ship guests never see.

Jack and Mary Anne are both doing well and enjoying taking some trips and playing lots of bridge. I was fortunate that Jack was able to cover for me while we were gone. That is quite a relief knowing your clients are in great hands while you are away.

As for the real estate market, it is still going strong! Closed sales are UP 16.6%, the median home sales price is UP 5.3%, and inventory is DOWN 11.6% to 7.8 months. These are all great numbers and are contributing to one of the strongest years in real estate that we have seen in years.

Enjoy the end of summer and feel comfortable calling us anytime we can help.

Here is a sneak peek into this month's newsletter:
• Better Write It Down
• September Quiz Question
• Have A Peaceful September
• Are You in The Cloud?
• Six Innovative Questions
• Movie Homes for Sale
• Four Interesting Food Facts
• Thrifty Car Management
• You Probably Suspected...
• Early Signs of Diabetes
• Why So Many Zippers Say YKK

Click here to read the September newsletter.

August Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome to the Drought of 2012! We don't know about you, but the lack of rain is certainly making it very difficult for us to keep our gardens and flower and newly planted trees alive. A couple of weeks ago, we were struck a second time in two years by lighting! It was a direct hit to our roof. Fortunately, no major damage occurred, however we did have to replace a few things...again. Our furnace kicked on and heated the house up to 80-degrees before we knew what was happening.

After two direct strikes in two years, we bit the bullet and are having a lightning rod system and surge protection system installed and attached to all of our lines to the house (gas, both electric panels, phone lines, satellite boxes, irrigation system, etc.). The company is Capitol Lightning Protection based in Fishers and is the only certified lightning protection company in the state. We have been very happy with them so far. According to the stats, we have a 99+% chance of either not getting hit again or absorbing and grounding the lightning such that we don't even know we got hit! Those are pretty good odds!! If you want the contact info for Capitol, let me know and I'm happy to give it to you. With all of the news reports lately of houses getting struck by lightning and us getting struck twice, it was time to do something as next time we might not be so lucky.

August 6th is a big birthday for me, the big 4-0. Brigid's birthday is two day's earlier, but she has a few years before having to emotionally deal with this milestone. It is hard to believe I am going to be 40. Brigid and I are going out to eat to celebrate and then we embark on a cruise to the Caribbean for a week with the kids later in the month. We are very much looking forward to that.

Jack and Mary Anne returned safely from their trip to Italy and, after having a few mishaps (broken glasses, lost luggage for 4 days by the airline, and a stolen wallet), it was a great dream vacation for them. They even had an audience with the Pope! They are happy to be home, however.

Real estate has been extremely busy the past several months. Interest rates have continued to fall and are now around 3.5%!! If you still haven't re-financed and think you might benefit from it, it would make a lot of sense to contact a local lender to see if makes sense for you. I have some names of some excellent lenders if you would like them.

Enjoy the rest of your summer, and please do a few rain dances for us. We need it!!!

Click here to read our August newsletter.

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Click here for a safe download to our real estate app for information on every home for sale and sold in the Indy-area.

July Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Independence Day!!!

We hope you are planning to enjoy some fun festivities over the next week. With the dry weather, it is making personal fireworks' displays more and more dangerous. Should you decide to enjoy some personal fireworks at home, PLEASE be extra careful since the grass is so dry, it can ignite with the smallest of sparks. Have a hose and bucket of water nearby.

We always enjoy attending the Carmel Parade, fair and fireworks show each year. It is always well-organized and has so many entrants in the parade it lasts about two hours! With the heat, it will be interesting to see how long we last.

It goes without saying how thankful, grateful, and appreciative we are of our servicemen and women who have fought for our freedom we have enjoyed for over 200 years now. Freedom certainly isn't free. Thank you to everyone who has sacrificed for each of us to live as we do-servicemen and women, their families, and their friends. We are forever grateful and could never adequately convey that gratefulness through any words, so THANK YOU will have to suffice...

Our family is anxiously awaiting the start of the Olympics. We enjoy watching it every year. What a fantastic show of true sportsmanship and coming together as a global community to support our athletes and nations.

Brigid just finished a HUGE project in re-finishing a dresser and bunk bed for Ana. She didn't just re-finish it, but also added bead board, trim, and decorations. In addition, she built, yes built from scratch by herself a desk for Ana complete with a bookcase, drawers, and a hutch over the desk with lighting, bead board, trim, and routed all of the corners. It looks amazing!!! I am so proud of her!

Ana and Natalia are attending summer camp at Maple Glen this year and they both absolutely love it!! It is a great program and we have been so pleased with how well-organized it is. As an update to Natalia and her potty training, she is pretty much potty trained and has very few accidents. We are so excited and appreciate all of the suggestions you sent last month. Thank you!!

As for the market, it continues to improve. Indy was named again as the Most Affordable City in the Nation! Our Hamilton County Schools are all ranked in the Top 10 in the state. Closed sales are up 15.8%, pending sales are up 9.1%, new listings are down 1.7%, median sales price is up 6.1%, % of original list price received at sale is up 0.3%, months supply of inventory is DOWN 20.3%!! Every single one of these statistics is OUTSTANDING! Interest rates today for a 30-year fixed conventional loan is around 3.687%! If you have a rate in the 4.5% or higher range, you would do good to talk with a lender to see if it makes sense to re-finance. If you needs some names of some great lenders in the area, please let me know.

Enjoy this month's newsletter with some of the articles being:
*Count Your Blessings
*July Quiz Question
*Running of The Bulls
*Invention of The Popsicle
*Vitality Makes Life Easier
*Olympic History
*Bizarre Vacation Ideas
*How to Not Get Hired (very funny!)
*Remove Wax from Carpet
*Tips on Homeowner's Insurance
*The Art of Scrambling Eggs

Click here to read the July newsletter.

Happy July!!!

June Steve & Jack's Home News

Welcome to summer!!! Whether it is or isn't officially, it certainly feels like it-no rain, 90-degree days, staying light until 9:30PM, kids out of school. It is summer. Our precocious 6-year old, however argues with Brigid every day about it not being summer yet technically. Geez!! Since when did she become Miss Know-It-All? Which leads me to my next topic...


Happy Father's Day!!! As an old friend once told me, 'Being a parent is the toughest job you will ever love'. Boy, was he right on both accounts!! Lately, Ana has been arguing with us on just about anything and everything (see paragraph above), and we have become so tired of her attitude. After talking with friends, we apparently are in good company. However, even with the arguing, I love being a daddy to my two beautiful girls. Sure, it is trying but I always feel a little sad when I drop my girls off to school and am always happy to see them in the afternoon when they return home. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be? I have no idea what my girls will make me for Father's Day, but I know whatever it is, it will be perfect and I will love it! Just seeing how happy they are to have made it is the most important part.


We are very much looking forward a most-needed vacation at the end of the summer taking a cruise with our girls. It should be a lot of fun and will be our major vacation of the year.


As for the market, it has taken off like a rocket!!! There is actually a shortage of good homes out there right now. I am seeing and writing multiple offers on the same property in under a week! Sometimes, they are even selling for above list price! This is becoming more and more common. If you are considering re-financing, good news!! I am also seeing appraisals come in much higher than they have historically. Most people I know who have re-financed are pleasantly surprised with the value.


Closed sales are up 16.1%, median sales price is up 6%, and inventory is down 11.8% for all of MIBOR. Distressed sales are also going down. Bottom line, our market is healing!


Take a quick spin through our Father's Day edition of our newsletter. Try and guess the answer to the trivia question. It is tricky! Enjoy the summer and Happy Father's Day!!!


Click here for our June newsletter.


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Click here to download our premiere real estate app.

May Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out there!!! Without them none of us would be here. My mom Mary Anne will be in Italy for Mother's Day, as you will remember from last month's newsletter taking the vacation of a lifetime with Jack for 3-weeks. They are so excited and they were able to secure a tour of the Vatican. Michelle and I are so excited for them and can't wait to see some photos of their trip. If you have ever been to Italy, please e-mail or call Jack as he would love to have some more tips on what to do and NOT do while there. Steve remains exceptionally busy during this spring selling season. This has turned out to be one of the absolute busiest springs we have seen in 6 years! Houses are selling in days with multiple offers for above listing price in many instances. In fact, the numbers are unreal. In Central Indiana,.3% increase in closed sales, a 4.9% increase in median sales price, and an 11.7% decrease in inventory, which is excellent. Our inventory is down to 7.8% from over 13% just over a year ago. Distressed sales make up less than 25% of our total market, too. Anyway you slice it our market has improved 11 of the past 15 months. Interest rates are still at or below record lows at 4%. Looking into our crystal ball, home prices will continue to increase over the next several years, interest rates will have to go up, and we will officially enter a 'sellers' market next year sometime, which is defined as having <6 months of inventory. We have steadily been moving in that direction for months. Bottom line, if you are thinking of moving, do it NOW. On a personal note, Ana is having a great time playing soccer and is the star of the team consistently scoring 5-6 goals/game with multiple assists (technically we don't keep score, but every parent knows how many goals his child scores each week). We are so proud of her and she is truly having fun. Watching Ana play soccer is one of our favorite things to do each week. Brigid is having a great time coaching Ana again this year. Ana has also expressed an interest in joining the Indianapolis Childrens' Choir. Several people have told her she has a good voice and she constantly is singing. In fact, that is one way she memorizes things for school is by making up songs. Pretty clever. Ana still enjoys tumbling at Speed Athletics, too. And she continues to do well at school. Natalia is also doing very well at school and enjoys watching her big sister play soccer. She can dribble a ball better than most of the kids on Ana's team already. So, Ana, watch out!! Natalia is still very much of a bull in a china shop and has no fear of anything. Our one struggle with her right now is potty training. She is past being ready and has made progress, but it is very, very slow. We are frustrated since Ana was fully potty-trained by 18-months. Each child progresses differently, but it is still frustrating... We are open to suggestions... Brigid is still doing well at Merck and enjoys coaching Ana. We are looking forward to the Carmel Farmer's Market as we ride our bikes down there each Saturday morning. This year, Ana will be able to ride on her own as she recently learned to ride without training wheels. For spring break this year, we went to Edisto Beach, SC. It is about an hour SE of Charleston. We stayed in a time-share and were met mid-week by Brigid's family. We had a great time and Steve was even able to see his college roommate John Parker as well a few times. Don't miss out on some very interesting articles this month in the newsletter, such as: • A Good Example Goes A Long Way • May Quiz Question • What Mother's Know • May's Other Days • Charisma Can Be Developed • The Art of The Cheap Road Trip • Gas Waste • Thermogenic Foods Burn Fat • The Importance of Advertising Happy Mother's Day!! Thank you, moms for all of the sacrifices you have made and continue to make for us!!! Click here for a link to our May Newsletter, our blog, and our exclusive discount savings site. Click here to visit our website full of information on real estate and Indy: http://welcome2indy.com/ For the absolute BEST and brand new mobile real estate app in the state, text the following. You will be one of the very first to own this cutting-edge technology: TEXT: HOME21 to 87778

April Steve & Jack's Home News

Dear Steve & Brigid, Happy April Fools' Day!!! More importantly, Happy Spring! We hope this spring brings with it a renewed energy and optimism for the year ahead. I have already gotten my first sunburn of the year working in the yard this past weekend! With spring also comes Spring Break. What are your plans? We are driving to Charleston, SC to meet up with an old college roommate of Steve's and then off to Edisto Beach to spend some time with Brigid's family for part of the week. Jack and Mary Anne are taking a life-long dream trip to Italy in May. They are extremely excited and will have lots of pictures and stories to share upon their return. Have you ever been to Italy? Do you have any suggestions? Please e-mail them to Jack. This warm spring has brought out a recovering real estate market as well. Inman News-the pre-eminent real estate news source states that 2012 will be the best year for real estate in 5 years!! Pending home sales and closed sales are up double digits and inventory is nearing a 'balanced market'-something we have seen for years!!! Click here to read our April edition of our newsletter as well as to view exclusive coupons and discounts at places you shop every day! Enjoy the beautiful weather and safe travels to those traveling on Spring Break!

Indianapolis Housing Market EXPLODING!

With all of the warm weather, we can almost 'taste' Spring. This has been especially true of the real estate market with activity we haven't seen in years! I'll get to some great stats in a moment. Ash Wednesday was yesterday and 'Fat Tuesday' was the day before. For Catholics, that means Lent is here. I noticed quite a few 'good' Catholics with the ubiquitous crosses on their foreheads yesterday. Unlike the wind and the type of religion one practices, real estate seems to be very visible all of the time. It is nice to be able to report some good news. Click here to read our March 2012 newsletter and access our VIP Savings Site. The Indy real estate market, as mentioned earlier is quickly heating up, seeing gains we haven't seen in years. Our Months Supply of Inventory is down to 7.6 months (down 12.8% from last year). Active listings are down 10.4%, which is great as we need to reduce our oversupply of housing inventory. Median sales price is up 4.7%. Closed sales are up 28%!! Pending sales are up 18.3% and new listings are down 8.8%, which is also good as we need to reduce inventory more. Distressed sales are <20% of the overall housing marketing for the first time in years. Bottom line-the housing market is markedly improving!

February Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Enjoy some fun and light reading in our February edition of our newsletter. Click here to read it along with links to our VIP Client Savings Site and our other blog entries. The Indy real estate market is heating up and the Spring Market has already started. We are seeing multiple showings/day on listings and, can you believe it, multiple offers as well!!! Inventory in down, buyers are up, sales price is up, and distressed sales are the lowest in years. Don't forget those historically low interest rates, too!!! This is a great time to buy or sell a house. Don't take my word for it, just Google real estate and you will find article after article extolling the virtues of this market, how it has hit bottom in many markets and is on its way back. No one can predict the future, but this sure is a good start!!!

January 2012 Steve & Jack's Home News

Happy 2012!! Click here for a link to our first newsletter of the new year as well as a link to our Indy-area real estate blog, & VIP savings site. Enjoy!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our loyal clients, friends, and colleagues who have been so supportive this past year!!! While many agents have struggled, we continue to have a strong business and it is because of you. May your 2012 be exciting, prosperous, and fun and feel comfortable knowing we are always here for you and those you care about for your real estate needs. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

December Steve & Jack's Home News

Click here for our latest newsletter full of fun articles and entertaining articles, learn about little-known facts and take a quiz. Also, take a look at the coupons and discounts you can use at places you shop every day! Enjoy!!!

Housing Numbers Up in Hamilton County

The following article appeared in the Current Newspaper on November 8, 2011 in an interview of Steve Rupp by the editor Jordan Fischer: According to the MIBOR third quarter report, the number of closed sales in Hamilton County increased by 27.7% compared to 2010. Steve Rupp, REALTOR for Prudential Indiana Realty Group spoke with Jordan Fischer from The Current Newspaper about these figures. “The third quarter is turning out to be the best quarter of the year so far,” Rupp said. “new listings are down, and that’s excellent. We need those numbers to come down. And part of that is that foreclosures are down.” The monthly supply of housing inventory for Hamilton County dropped 3.5% in September to 8.3 months. That’s lower, Rupp said, than MIBOR’s average inventory, which is hovering around 9.5 months. The median sales price did drop 3.9% compared to this period last year, however, which Rupp said is a sign homeowners are still having to negotiate “pretty hard” to sell their homes (homeowners on average received 90.4% of their original list price sale in September). Rupp said he was optimistic MIBOR numbers were signs of an upward trend for the market. “It will be interesting to see where we are in February-March-April of next year, relative to 2011. My guess...is that we’re going to continue the trend of pretty good numbers. If you couple that with still significantly-lower than historical average interest rates, you’re going to have some pretty strong numbers...and you’re not going to have anything holding it back.” In fact, November's numbers just came in and they are even better!! Now is a great time to buy a home, especially in Hamilton County!!