TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — With the current condition of the housing market, there are way more people that want to purchase homes in Vigo County, than there are available.
This has created a seller’s dream, but a buyer’s nightmare.
“We have a very thin market for homes available so as a buyer, you definitely have to be prepared,” Amy Gordon with the Terre Haute Area Association of Realtors, said.
Gordon said there are 89 homes on the market right now in Vigo County, which she describes as a record low.
Gordon says she is unsure what is driving this amount of people to want to buy a house right now but said it could be attributed to the instability of the pandemic and the rise in rent.
“Their life has changed. You know, they have made major decisions via job, home, decided that less is more or I need a bigger yard,” Gordon said.
Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett said a part of the problem is that many of the houses that are available are outdated and may need upgrading.
According to a data set from the Purdue Extension, only 1.4% of houses in Vigo County were built after 2014. 25% of houses were built in 1939 or earlier.
“That’s a serious problem. We have an old housing stock here, we’re an older community. You know, we’ve torn down 700 houses in the last 12 years let’s say in the city of Terre Haute alone,” Mayor Bennett said.
Mayor Bennett said the cost of building and labor materials have gone up, which has driven up the price of some homes which now might be out of some people’s price range.
“We’re going to have to do some things to help subsidize them a little bit. Maybe allow us to put the sidewalk in front of the house, or we provide sewer tap at a reduced cost,” Mayor Bennett said.
Hayley Dorsett purchased a home in October of last year and is now in the process of buying and selling again because her family needs more room.
She said the process just months ago is much different than what she is experiencing now.
“But we were able to take our time. We went and looked at that house probably four or five times and we were able to go through it and see what we liked about it, what we didn’t, and compare it to others and it was just easier. It was a much more satisfying process than it is now buying a house,” Dorsett said.
Now that she has been through this process twice in less than a year, Dorsett has this piece of advice for a potential home buyer.
“I would just say be prepared. You know, be prepared to not get everything you want right off the jump. You have to be able to negotiate, you have to be patient, just because you find something that you like, don’t make a jump on it and make an offer just so nobody else gets it,” Dorsett said.
Gordon recommends being as competitive as you can, which she said involves your pre-approval process, making sure that you look good on paper and having things that set you aside from other buyers.
