Northwest Indiana Real Estate and Community News

April 21, 2016

What Can We Expect Out of the NW Indiana Real Estate Market?

 


Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here
Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a Home Price Evaluation


I have something special, and it's meant specifically for you. What am I talking about? A market update for the Northwest Indiana area!

From 2015 to 2016, home sales increased by 9%, which is excellent news for our local economy, and we can only expect this increase to continue. Our average sale price was $143,785 in 2015, and in 2016 it is now $155,931. That’s an increase of 7.81%, which is great news for you, your neighbors, and everyone else in this area!


It’s a stellar time to sell a home in Indiana.


Homeowners all over Northwest Indiana can rejoice over this news. We are expecting 2016 to be a great year to sell if you want to ride this wave of equity. It’s also a good time to buy because interest rates are still so incredibly low.

If you need help buying or selling in 2016, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Posted in Real Estate Market
April 7, 2016

How Can You Get Our Good Life Newsletter?

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here 
Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a Home Price Evaluation

 

Today, I just want to give a quick shout out to all those in law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, and other school employees!
If you are one of these people, or if you know one of these people, please get in touch with me so I can add your name to my Good Life Newsletter.

It is mailed to your doorstep once a month and includes special offers for people in law enforcement and firefighters (those who protect us) and people in education (those who take care of our kids)!
Send me the names, numbers, and mailing addresses of anyone who works in these fields! I promise you will not regret it.

 

Northwest Indiana is a fantastic community and I'm just trying to give back where I can. Give me a call or shoot me an email at any time! I'm always here to help.
Posted in Blog
March 16, 2016

We Are Number One in Northwest Indiana Real Estate

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here 
Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today, I have some exciting news for you. For the fourth out of the last five years, Bart Vickrey & Co. has been named the #1 real estate sales team for Northwest Indiana. This is exciting news!

Thank you so much to all of our past and current clients, as well as to our friends and family members. We really appreciate it. I want to say a special thanks to my incredible team. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you!

We sold more real estate in Northwest Indiana than anyone else. We sold more Northwest Indiana homes than those Property Brothers, and even more than Donald Trump! We sold 268 homes last year. To put that in perspective, the average full time agent sells approximately 8 homes a year.

Once again, thank you so much for your support. If you have any real estate questions, please contact me. I would be happy to help you!

Posted in Real Estate Market
Feb. 25, 2016

Write Me a Review!

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here
Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

I have a quick favor to ask you today, and this is aimed at my past clients. I have a Zillow profile, and it's very important that I get some reviews up there in order to let people know that I have a great service.

It's very easy and I'd appreciate it so much if you left a review. All you have to do is visit here and write me a review.

So, what's in it for you? A gift card to Family Express or Starbucks!

It's simple: You leave reviews, and I send you gift cards.


Once you've left a review just send me an email and I'll be sure to send you a gift card of your choice right away.

Thanks again! I appreciate all of your patronage. I wouldn't be here without your help!

Posted in Blog
Feb. 11, 2016

Don't Miss Out on The Good Life

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here
Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

If you haven't been receiving my free newsletter, The Good Life, then I recommend that you sign up. It's packed with great real estate information, coupons to all sorts of local businesses, and great articles written by yours truly!

The best part about this newsletter is that it is all free of charge! Simply email me with your name and the address to which you'd like the newsletter delivered.



If you can find people who want my newsletter, or if you know someone who may benefit from watching these videos on my blog, then I have some gift cards waiting for you. So please, shoot me an email or give me a call and I can get you set up to receive the newsletter. It's a great resource to have at your fingertips, and it's absolutely free!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you need help buying or selling real estate in Northwest Indiana!

 

Posted in Blog
Jan. 25, 2016

A Special Offer for New Northwest Indiana Clients

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here 

Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a Home Price Evaluation

 

I have an incredible offer for you! Today, I will offer three new clients a brand new iPad and a year's worth of Dairy Queen. That's right: a new iPad and free ice cream for a year!

 

 

This offer is only available to the first three clients to contact me. If you're interested, give me a call or send me an email. If you know anyone interested in buying a home, forward this email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Posted in Blog
Jan. 7, 2016

What Are the Three Most Important Things in Real Estate?

Buying a Northwest Indiana home? Get a full home search here 

Selling your Northwest Indiana home? Get a Home Price Evaluation

 

First off, here's three of my favorite things for you right now: 

My three favorite songs are "Hotel California" by the Eagles, "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" by The Gap Band, and "The Twist" by Chubby Checker.

The three best movies (in my opinion) are A Few Good Men, Pulp Fiction, and Friday.

And now, here are the three most important things about real estate. I know what you're thinking: the three most important things are "Location, location, location!"

Actually, that's not true! The three most important things in real estate are price, price, price!

I could sell a house in the middle of a swamp as long as it was priced correctly. Your home might be in a terrible location, but as long as it's priced right, it will sell.

We're going to get you top dollar for your home, and we do that by pricing correctly. Keep in mind that most homes are priced incorrectly. Usually, homes are priced too high. The homes that sell quickly are priced properly.

If you have any questions about today's video or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

Posted in Real Estate Market
Dec. 7, 2015

Are You Looking for a Home Builder?

A lot of people ask me, "Do you have a home builder you recommend?" As a matter of fact, I do, and they are Nardo Builders. I have worked with Nick and others at Nardo Builders for about 12 years now.

What impresses me the most about Nardo Builders is they actually listen to the client. They take what a client needs in a home, and then they go and build it!

I've worked with many builders over the years, and what's amazing to me is that Nardo has never once missed a closing date. There is somewhat of an epidemic in the building community of builders giving a closing date and then not being able to close anywhere near that date. I had a friend who worked with a different building company, and they were told by the builder that they could get into the home before Thanksgiving. My friend wasn't able to move in until February! That won't happen to you if you work with Nardo.

My friends over at Nardo Builders are doing a fantastic job. 

They have been in the community for many years, and can build a home anywhere you'd like.

If you take Route 6 out to Meridian Road, you'll be able to see 7 of their model homes in Timberland Estates. These homes have granite counter-tops, hardwood floors, and beautiful back-splashes.

Head on over to NardoBuilders.com to learn more. If you're thinking of building a home, just tell Nick that Bart sent you!

As always, if you have any real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you!

Posted in Blog
Nov. 11, 2015

Four Reasons Why Right Now is the Best Time to Buy a Home in Northwest Indiana

Today I'd like to briefly explain why now is a great time to buy a home. There are a lot of great reasons to become a homeowner, but these are four of the best that I can come up with.

 

1. Interest rates are low: Interest rates aren't always going to be this low. If you buy a home right now, while we have historically low interest rates, you stand to save thousands and thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your loan.

2. Mortgage Insurance Premium Rates are down as well: If you can't afford to put 20% down on a home, then you will be happy to hear that you won't have to pay so much for mortgage insurance. Thanks to our pal Obama, the rates declined from 1.35% to .85%. This is also making mortgages more affordable, so  weight: bold;">even if you can't quite afford a down payment, now is still a good time to buy.

3. Home prices continue to rise: If you buy a home now, you can ride the wave of appreciation and make a lot of money off of your home investment. Home prices in the area have increased by 5% in the last year. That is a very healthy amount of appreciation!

4. Rent prices are continuing to rise: You can probably find a cheaper place to live by purchasing a home right now than you can when you rent.Plus, the money you pay will be a direct investment into your wealth.There's no reason to rent right now!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you're looking to buy a home in Northwest Indiana!

Posted in Home Buying
Oct. 2, 2015

Four Home Buying Tips for Northwest Indiana

1. Determine your budget: Before you even start looking, you need to know how much you can comfortably afford. Don't waste your time looking at homes that you can't buy - that's a terrible way to disappoint yourself in the end.

2. Get Pre-approved: This relates to tip #1 but it's also a way to boost your standing in the eyes of a home seller. Buyers that are pre-approved are nearly as good as people paying cash.

3. Differentiate between your wants and needs: What do you really NEED in a home? It might be storage space, or it might be three bedrooms. You may only WANT granite countertops and walk-in closets. Be sure to know what you need versus things that you simply want. I see couples argue about these things all the time, so be on the same page with everyone involved in the transaction.

4. Call me: I'm the best possible person you could talk to when you're looking to buy a home in Northwest Indiana. I will provide you with the best real estate experience possible! I'll listen to your wants and needs and do everything within my power to satisfy you.

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Posted in Blog