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STATEWIDE–The housing market is experiencing a shortage of houses along with higher demand from buyers with the pandemic playing a role.

Yet, there has been a shift in the last year, said Greg Cooper, real estate broker for the Cooper Group in an interview with Inside Indiana Business.

“What we have gone from is a fear of COVID, why people weren’t putting their homes on the market, to a true fear of oh my goodness, where am I going to go, my home’s going to sell in an hour and a half,” said Cooper. He said the conditions aren’t that different in markets around the state. “It’s really this way if you’re in Jeffersonville, South Bend, or wherever.”

A recent report from F.C. Tucker Co. showed inventory in Central Indiana plummeted by 61.1% in March, compared to the same period a year ago, with home prices increasing 10.6%. Every county in the region saw home inventory decreases of 23.3 percent or higher, and 12 of the 16 counties had inventory decreases of 62.5% or higher.

“A random township in central Indiana three years ago on April 1 might have had 200 homes for sale. Today they have 48. Basically, you have 100 people trying to buy 25 homes right now in most places in the state of Indiana,” said Cooper.

Cooper urges you not to get discouraged if you’re a buyer.

“Keep at it. Because if you can buy a home within the next few months to the latter part of the summer, a year from now we’re going to see the same thing and you’ll have put equity in your pocket. So be patient,” said Cooper.

If you’re a seller, you’re facing a different kind of challenge. Cooper says it’s imperative that you get the details of the sale right.

“You must understand how to structure the appraisal. You must understand all of the things that give you leverage. It’s best to put everything in a proper equation that gives you the most leverage and the safest path to a closing. It’s not as easy as it sounds,” said Cooper.