The Future of Bloomington-Normal's Real Estate Market

We all know the news about Bloomington's major employer State Farm relocating 1000's of people to other parts of the country.  How will this impact the housing market? That's the major question I continue to be asked. I don't have a crystal ball to look into the Bloomington-Normal real estate future but I do have some thoughts/observations/questions on the subject.
My first observation is most families that are relocating or have already moved are both husband and wife are employed by State Farm. This means we are not talking about 7,000 homes. We are talking about a much more manageable number. My next thought is we have been at this for several months with 100's of people already gone and the market is still performing very well. I know a major concern is Bloomington's housing market will turn into a buyers market and values will plunge. That is not what has happened as of now. My expectations are the 250,000 to 350,000 price range will not see much growth untill the dust settles. My question is how long of a time period will this take. The Bloomington-Normal housing market functions in balance when we have between 700-750 homes for sale at any one time. If this plan is over a quick time frame we will see that inventory swell up. At this moment we have 686 homes on the market which low for this time of the year. I for one still believe in the Bloomington market as a good long term investment. We have a safe community with good schools. We are located in a great spot for people who need access to highways and airports for their work. When families are deciding where to relocate those factors don't go unnoticed. 

Online Real Estate Shopping

Happy Black Friday to you all. I hope all the additional weight we gained yesterday is burned off hustling to get great deals today. Which raises the question, when did Black Friday become a holiday? I don't have an answer for that. I do have an answer for where is the best place to stay in your pajamas  and find real estate in the Bloomington- Normal area. There are a few things to consider. 1) How up to date do you want your information? 2) Would you like to store your search so you can easily refer back to it? 3) How much information would you like to find on the area? Let's start with #1 first. 2 sites that I recommend are JohnArmstrongHomes.com and BNListings.com. Both of these sites are updated frequently from The Bloomington Normal Association of Realtors website. Once a Bloomington Normal house sells it is updated quickly on those sites. It's very frustrating when you find your dream house only to later learn it's already sold. #2 On both JohnArmstrongHomes.com and BNListings.com you have the ability to create your personal account with your criteria. This makes it easy to refer back and see what is new to the market. The Bloomington Normal housing market moves very quickly so frequent check ins are recommended so you don't miss that dream home.#3 Once you have located a couple of properties and you want additional information on ie area values, what the home sold for last, what the market is like in that area I would recommend Trulia.com and Zillow.com. You can also find what Realtors have sold a lot in that city and what their clients say about them. Happy Hunting. And of course if you'd like to hear more about the Bloomington area real estate market, tune in on Saturday mornings at 8:00 to my weekly radio show call "On The House" on Cities 92.9.

The Bloomington Area Housing Market Has a Lot to Be Thankful For

As many parts of the country's housing markets continue to struggle, we in Bloomington have turned the corner. It really began in 2012 with a large improvement in home sales. Which led to a reduced inventory of homes for sale in the Bloomington-Normal area. We all remember back to the economics course we were forced to take back in high school. For me that was Mrs. Berry's class in 1983 (shhh don't tell anybody I'm that old). It's all about supply and demand. The supply of available homes in the Bloomington housing market dwindled as the demand continued to increase. Naturally prices were impacted as we saw a slight jump in price. This allowed some of our home owners that were ready to "move up" but their pre 2013 home values made them feel unable to make the move. This bump in price allowed them to take advantage of the low mortgage interest rates and make their move. As we near the end of 2013 inventory has risen back to, what I call, "normal" levels. At this time the Bloomington-Normal real estate market is very balanced. By that I mean it's not a buyer's market or a seller's market. Just a boring market. On this Thanksgiving Eve let's be thankful for boring.