Comparing the housing market

<b>Cass County sales, values show slight decrease since 2008</b>

by Denise Massie

The housing market has had its shares of hardship over the past year.

While one Cass County Realtor believes the market has been slow in moving, another Realtor said his business had a decent year.

According to Tom Scheetz, one of three owners of Galloway Murray and Scheetz Real Estate, his office did OK during 2009.

“You hear all the horror stories, but it’s not as bad,” he said. “I think the tax incentives for first-home buyers really saved the market in Logansport.”

When comparing numbers of all eight real estate offices in Cass County, however, the dollar amount of sales was actually down by anywhere between 10 and 15 percent compared to 2008 sales, according to Scheetz.

This includes all sales of residential, commercial, farm, lots, and multi-family dwellings in Cass County.

“Our particular office is pleased,” Scheetz said. “Ours is down, but it could have been a lot worse. ... Right now times are slow into January, but we are hoping things will pick back up.”

Scheetz said the only concern now is the scheduled closing of Modine and Carlisle.

“Where will those people go?” he asked. “We don’t want the market to become flooded.”

Currently there are 270 residential listings in Cass County, which is a high number for the area. Scheetz said if factory closures cause those workers to leave the area, the market will see that number grow.

He added Cass County hasn’t been able to reduce that number over the past few years either.

“I don’t think as many are buying, but I think it’s because new people aren’t coming in to purchase a home,” he said.

Compared to previous years, Scheetz feels the county had a record year in 2006, with almost double the dollar sales in 2009.

“I think we are definitely down, 2006 was the banner year, ” he said. “We’ve become progressively worse. Honestly, it could have been a lot worse this year, so I’m not complaining.”

Judy McNarny, part owner of McNarny and Wolfe Realtors, said it seems Cass County has had a slowing market for the last two to three years.

“We had signs of improvement in August and September,” she said. “People were pretty active with the first home-buyer credit, but we have slowed down after school started.”

She explained the general market has been slow moving and believes that people want to make sure they have jobs before taking on a mortgage payment.

As for the value of homes in Cass County, Scheetz said there has been a drop anywhere from 10 to 20 percent.

“The high-end homes, priced at $125,000 or greater, lost the most value,” he said. “There just aren’t a lot of buyers for those homes right now.”

He also believes people are thinking about buying a home, but are waiting to see if prices fall even more. He said those buying have to feel comfortable and confident before making a move to purchase.

If a lack of jobs continues, Scheetz said we could see values fall again slightly.

McNarny also believes home values have decreased across the board between 10 and 20 percent.

Compared to other cities, McNarny feels the trend is universal, with the exception of a few special places.

“I think the entire country is down,” she said. “It doesn’t help when we have layoffs or factory closures. It makes people wonder if my company is going to be next.”

According to Scheetz, houses in Florida, Nevada, and Arizona have lost almost 50 percent value because of the number of foreclosures and job losses.

“Logansport has been fortunate,” he said. “We are kind of sheltered and haven’t been hit as hard. If we had some new jobs here, the market could pick up. I don’t want to paint doom and gloom. We are pretty fortunate overall.”

As for the future, Scheetz said he hopes Cass County home values have stabilized and it will remain a good time to buy.

McNarny said she hopes to see the market pick back up.

“We are eternal optimists,” she said.

McNarny added it will all depend on new jobs that come into the area. She is curious to see what jobs the new Walmart will bring to Cass County, including any new businesses that move here because of the new “supercenter.” However, she said a new factory moving to Logansport would be a greater help to the housing market.

In the long run, she said it just all depend on the economy.

“We have to see the economy turn around,” she said.

Scheetz believes the market will eventually turn back around.

“I just don’t think it will bounce back as fast as it did,” he said. “I think we will see a leveling out in the next two to five years and if there is an increase it will be slight. I think people will be very cautious for awhile.”

• Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com

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