WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Bloomington’s housing market continues to outpace the rest of the state.
The city already has the most expensive housing market in Indiana, and recent economic data shows housing market growth at double the state average.
Property values in Monroe County jumped 12% in the last year, nearly double the average property value increase across the state.
According to the Indiana Association of Realtors, the average sales price of a home in Monroe County was $229,657 in May of last year. That increased by three percent over the last year, to $237,511, as of last month.
Matt Kinghorn is the Senior Demographer for the Indiana Business Research Center, or IBRC, at IU. He said that, while the value surge is a boon for homeowners, it creates a substantial barrier-to-entry for first-time homeowners.
According to a new study by the IBRC, the average property value is increasing across the state. Last year, the average home value in Indiana increased nearly seven percent. The cause, according to Kinghorn, is a matter of supply and demand—an increasing population is competing for a limited amount of homes.
According to the IBRC, Indiana’s population grew by 32,800 last year, and residents purchased 88,500 new homes, an all-time high for the state. The population expansion is also driving new construction; The state issued 21,664 new residential building permits last year, up 16% from 2016.
But, according to Kinghorn, the benefits-and burden- of surging property values are being felt acutely in Bloomington and Monroe County.
In addition to the increasing home values and sale prices, Indiana foreclosure rates dropped to 1.4% at the end of last year.
