A Daily Shot of News

Along the banks of Geist Reservoir in northeast Indianapolis is some of the most spectacular and sought-after real estate in all of Central Indiana. Spanning the Marion County, Hamilton County and Hancock County borders, Geist waterfront homes are found in the cities of Fishers, McCordsville, and Lawrence. Geist real estate includes the Hamilton Southeastern, Mount Vernon, and Lawrence Township school districts.

Homes in the Geist area range from multi-million dollar mansions with incredible water views and multiple boat docks, to more modest, but equally beautiful, homes within walking distance to the shops and restaurants at Geist Marina. Bella Vita Ristorante on Geist is a favorite summer dining and entertainment destination. Elegant indoor and outdoor dining areas overlooking the waters of Geist, dock-side service, and an outdoor lounge and a summer beach bar give patrons a carefree, vacation vibe year-round.  Just across the bridge is the Indianapolis Yacht Club, where water enthusiasts can take sailing lessons or host a fabulous social event in the club’s castle-like setting.

Geist residents benefit from the best of two worlds: a waterfront lifestyle that feels a lot like permanent vacation, as well as easy access to shopping, restaurants, museums, professional sporting events, and all that the Indianapolis area has to offer.

Popular Geist neighborhoods include Masthead, Bridgewater, Springs of Cambridge and Tamenend, Feather Cove, and Admirals Bay. Of the 142 homes currently for sale in these neighborhoods, the median list price is $491,450. High list price is $3,740,000 for an 11,000+ stunner on a private island with 9 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 5 fireplaces, a pool, and a boat house in the Hamilton Southeastern school district. Low list price is $174,900 for a possible short sale with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2623 square feet, and a finished walkout basement in the Lawrence Township school district.

If you’ve ever dreamed of buying a Geist waterfront home, the time is now. The Geist real estate market has suffered the same setbacks as other markets throughout the country, and there are good deals to be found on these beautiful Indianapolis properties.

Geist Reservoir was constructed in 1943 as a convenient location for Indianapolis residents to build vacation homes. Today, the real estate around the reservoir tends to be permanent homes for many commuters who work in Indianapolis and Hamilton County. Geist homes can be found in Fishers, McCordsville, and Indianpolis. The recreational lifestyle of living on this beautiful lake, combined with the close conveniences of Indianapolis, make this area of Central Indiana a popular place for luxury homes as well as more modest Indianapolis real estate.

The Ocean Beach real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger San Diego County housing market, continued to rally in the past several months. According to a May 25, 2010 article in the Voice of San Diego, “There’s no doubt housing prices have come roaring back this year. New numbers released this morning showed San Diego County home prices rose again in March – marking the 11^th straight month they’ve been headed up.” The piece, composed by Kelly Bennett, went on to state that “Local prices rose 10.8 percent between March last year and this March – when buyers scrambled into the market to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit. That was the second largest increase in any of the 20 cities measured in the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index, a closely watched indicator for the housing market. On a month-to-month basis, March’s prices showed an increase of 1.5 percent from February.”

The increase in median price for Ocean Beach homes for sale sent the average price to the highest level in more than a year and a half. According to a June 14, 2010 article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, “San Diego County home prices, which were falling at double-digit rates a year ago, are now rising rapidly as investors grab the last remaining bargains and upper-end buyers find deals to their liking: MDA DataQuick reported Monday that the May median price stood at $340,000, up 4.5 percent from April and up 15.3 percent from a year ago.” The piece, composed by Roger Showley, continued to note that “It as the eighth straight month of year-over-year increases. ‘Across the board, it looks like almost everything is off the bottom,’ said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. ‘A lot of places are up a little from a year ago.’”

The improving economy of the state of California should provide an additional boost to the Ocean Beach housing market. According to a June 15, 2010 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, “The California economy is headed for a two-track recovery, with San Diego and the coastal regions coming out of the recession far ahead of the rest of the state, according to a report released Monday by UCLA’s Anderson Forecast.”

The Kahala real estate market, an upscale portion of the larger Oahu and Hawaii housing markets, started to stage a strong recovery in the most recent tracking period. According to a June 8, 2010 article from Pacific Business News, “Home sales on Oahu rose considerably in May, while prices for single-family homes and condominiums posted modest gains compared to the same month last year. The median price of a single-family home in May was $606,000, which was a 12 percent boost over May 2009, when the median price was $542,000, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.” The piece went on to say that “That was based on 284 home sales, which was a 31.5 percent increase over 216 sales in May 2009. Condo sales on Oahu soared 35.5 percent in May to 355 units sold, up from 262 units sold in 2009.”

The number of Kahala homes for sale which were actually purchased, along with housing units in the rest of the island, increased substantially in the month of May. According to a June 8, 2010 article in the Hawaii News Now, “Honolulu home sales are picking up, prices are mostly higher, and two other metrics show the strength of the market is growing. In May on Oahu, 284 homes went to closing, about a third more than in May of last year, for a median price of $606,000 that was up $64,0000 from back then.” The piece, written by Howard Dicus, went on to state that “The Honolulu Board of Realtors reported Tuesday that 355 condos went to closing for a median price of $312,500 that was up more than $12,000 from last year at the same time. This continues a trend of some months, but deep detail in the version of the report transmitted to real estate agents themselves showed not two but four factors that point towards economic recovery.”

This good news for Kahala real estate was echoed in a June 8, 2010 article from KITV 4 News, which reported that “The median prices for resold single-family homes and condominiums in May climbed while the number of units sold dipped slightly, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.”

The Balboa Island real estate market, part of the larger Newport Beach and Orange County housing markets, is showing generally positive indicators despite a lukewarm jobs forecast. According to a June 3, 2010 article from the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County isn’t expected to start adding jobs until 2011, according to a midyear economic forecast update released by Chapman University Thursday. Economists at the university in Orange now expect a 1.2% drop in employment for nearly 18,000 jobs lost in 2010, a sharp pullback from the 1,000 job gain it predicted in December.” The piece, written by Julie Leupold, continued to note that “Job losses are expected to give way to hiring in 2011 with a ‘weak but sustained recovery, according to Chapman. The report projects 1.5% job growth, or 21,000 new workers, by the end of next year.”

The average price of a Balboa island home for sale is projected to increase within the same time period, according to a June 3, 2010 article from the Orange County Register. This piece noted that “Chapman U. professors are out with their semiannual economic forecast for Orange County! Here’s what they said about home prices: After price losses for Orange County single-family homes – by their math that’s tied to resale medians – of 0.9% in 2007; 23.2% in 2008; and 12.3% in 2009…O.C. prices will rise 6% in 2010 and 5.3% in 2011. (Or a combined 11.6% gain in 2 years!).” The piece, posted by Jon Lansner, continued to say that “Homebuyer earning the median family income and buying a median-priced single-family home in 2009 needed to spend 30.5% of income to pay for the interest, principal and property taxes vs. 51.3% in 2007.”

This strength in the Balboa Island market was reflected in more than two-thirds of the rest of Orange County, according to a June 4, 2010 article in the Orange County Register. This piece noted that “For the 22 business days ending May 18 – DataQuick’s freshest stats – Orange County homebuying patterns showed: 59 of O.C.’s 83 ZIP codes had gains in their respective median selling prices. Overall, prices were +12.8% vs. a year ago.”

Some sectors of the Santa Cruz real estate market are starting to rebound from record lows, although there remain significant weaknesses in the region’s economic climate. According to a May 3, 2010 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “The county’s once hot commercial real estate market has cooled considerably, with nearly a million square feet of office space empty at the start of the year and asking rates dropping compared to a year ago. The market hasn’t hit the 1 million mark since 2004, according to Cassidy Turley BT Commercial, which reviews the data for Santa Cruz County quarterly.” The piece by Jondi Gumz went on to say that “University of the Pacific economist Jeffrey Michael predicts a slow five-year recovery for the state, with Silicon Valley showing early signs of growth. His forecast says sustained business investment is needed to sustain the recovery against forces such as state and local government cuts, foreclosures, and tight credit conditions.”

One important indicator of the health of the market, the average price of a Santa Cruz home for sale, rallied strongly in the month of April. According to a May 24, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “Santa Cruz County saw fewer single-family homes sold in April compared to a year ago, but the median price rebounded from $420,000 to $553,000, the highest in 20 months, as distress sales dipped. Two years ago, the midpoint of what sold was $661,000.” The article by Jondi Gumz went on to say that “There were 121 sales in April, with 43 percent selling for under $500,000, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers.”

One general indicator of the entire Santa Cruz economy, not just the Santa Cruz real estate market, the jobless rate, recovered somewhat in April 2010. According to a May 21, 2010 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Santa Cruz County added 2,000 jobs in April, cutting unemployment from 15.2 percent to 13.5 percent, the state Employment Development Department said Friday, but job growth was less than usual for this time of year. The local jobless rate is higher than California’s, which is 12.3 percent, and the nation’s 9.5 percent.”

An unincorporated community in San Diego County, 4S Ranch, California, is east of Santa Fe Valley and home to some high-profile residents, like pro sports stars. The community has miles of paths and trails connecting it to shops, parks and schools, attracting those looking for a more secluded lifestyle, and leading 4S Ranch real estate to be rather expensive since it is in high demand but with only a limited supply.

In March, according to the San Diego Union Tribute Zip Code Real Estate Chart, there were 26 resell homes sold in 4S Ranch, and the homes were sold for a median price of $720,000, up 2.9% from a year prior. The market for resell condos in the community was much more robust: There were 20 condos sold in the community during March at a median price of $311,000, an improvement of 54.5% year-over-year.

The median price per square foot in March of 4S Ranch homes for sale was $239 per square foot, up 8.3% from just $221 per square foot in 2009. The price per square foot for condos saw an annual improvement as well. It stood at $262 per square foot, up 13.7% from March 2009, when it was just $231 per square foot.

For all of the year 2009, 4S Ranch saw 342 resell single-family homes sold, at a median price of $700,000, down a slight 6.7% year-over-year. There were 243 condo sales on the year at a median price of $288,000, up 2.9% from the previous year, and there were even 124 sales of new homes, which came in at a median price of $539,000, down 11.1% annually. All total, there were 709 residential properties sold in 4S Ranch, and altogether they had a median price of $510,000, down nearly 18% from the end of 2008, showing that the year 2010 has left plenty of room for the market to improve and rebound from 2009.