Real-Estate Investing: the Best and Worst Markets

Aug. 21, 2010- Looking to snap up some investment properties on the cheap? You may want to consider Durham, N.C., Indianapolis and Huntsville, Ala. They are among the best places to invest now, according to a new report that ranks the best and worst markets for conservative residential-real-estate investors. Hard-hit Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., are among the riskiest.

Local Market Monitor Inc., a Cary, N.C., firm that analyzes real-estate trends for lenders, builders and investors, compiled its first Investor Suitability Report using economic data through July 31 for 315 U.S. markets. The firm is best known for its housing-market forecasts, which use "equilibrium" home prices: what home values should be in relation to incomes, job growth and population. In its new report, it uses similar data to rank communities by their investment prospects, focusing on single-family homes.

Regions that rank highly for investment suitability are those where there is a low probability that home prices will fall further, says Local Market Monitor President Ingo Winzer. They are places where income is growing moderately; where employment is relatively stable because of a large percentage of jobs in health care, education or government; and where a relatively small share of jobs is in construction or financial services, which have been volatile. (Job losses in government and education tend to come later in an economic cycle, so some areas could be hit harder in coming months.)

The report, which excludes towns with fewer than 200,000 residents, focuses on price-appreciation potential instead of rental income, since falling home prices usually result in higher vacancy rates in apartment buildings and lower rents overall, Mr. Winzer says.

Good markets for conservative investors are those that already have stabilized and should yield average returns, Mr. Winzer says. Dangerous markets probably will see further price declines and have little potential for a turnaround because of poor local economies.

So-called speculative markets, by contrast, are those where prices could fall further, but which also have potential for greater appreciation of 3% to 5% annually after bottoming out—making them more suitable for investors with stronger stomachs. Local Market Monitor identifies Hagerstown, Md.; Jacksonville and Port St. Lucie, Fla.; Modesto, Calif.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C. as speculative areas.

In the best markets, home prices already are stabilizing. Durham, N.C., for instance, is home to Duke University and is near the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Big companies like International Business Machines Corp., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Nortel Networks Corp., as well as numerous biotech start-ups, have facilities at the nearby Research Triangle Corporate Park. About 40% of area jobs are in health, education or government, according to Local Market Monitor.

Haywood Davis, owner of a Century 21 real-estate brokerage in Durham, says home-sales volume in the area increased 13% last month over July 2009, though prices rose only slightly.

Some other metro areas with large percentages of relatively stable jobs and moderate growth include Knoxville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; and Indianapolis.

Jason Moore, a 34-year-old auto-sales manager in Baltimore, took advantage of plunging home prices in his hometown of Indianapolis to snap up an investment property there—a brand-new four-bedroom, two-bath home—for $56,000 late in 2008.

Prices in Indianapolis were falling because of foreclosures and rising unemployment. Disappointed with their stock-market investments, Mr. Moore and his wife, Keisha, 32, decided to buy an investment property to add to their portfolio. The Indiana house is generating a positive cash flow of about $300 a month in rent after mortgage, insurance, taxes and fees, he says.

"It has been adding income, and the tax benefit has been helpful," Mr. Moore says. Read the entire article here. 

Learn more about Estridge, the hometown homebuilder since 1967, here.

Check out BuilderOnline's take on Symphony, one of the largest developments ever in Indiana, an Estridge project currently in the zoning phase with the city of Westfield, Ind. Read a portion below, or the entire article here.

Estridge Moves Forward With $1.2 Billion TND; With 1,400 acres and more than 3,800 homes, Symphony is one of the largest developments ever in Indiana. - Alison Rice

July 22, 2010 - The housing downturn hasn’t curtailed the Estridge Company’s ambitions. This fall, the Carmel, Ind.,-based company plans to start breaking ground for Symphony, a traditional neighborhood development (TND) north of Indianapolis. At 1,400 acres and 3,860 homes, it will be one of the largest new-home developments ever in Indiana.

But Symphony will be notable for more than its significant size. Composed of a handful of “villages” linked by trails and roads, the $1.2 billion project in Westfield, Ind., will offer buyers and residents the chance to live in a community designed to bring together multiple generations: singles seeking urban density in suburban locations, sports-crazed families with minivans and soccer cleats; and aging seniors in need of continuing care.

“We want to model what new neighborhoods should be,” says Paul Estridge Jr., president of the Estridge Company.

Symphony seeks to accomplish that through an “intergenerational approach” that mixes housing types and prices across the development, rather than the customary “silo-ing” in many new-home developments, where the product offered only appeals to one market segment. Under that model, when housing needs change, buyers must move elsewhere, no matter how much they might love their community.

In the works since 2002, Symphony’s plans have evolved during the downturn. “It’s a blessing, because if we hadn’t have done this during a recession, we would have done [Symphony] on a quicker time frame,” Estridge says. “We would have missed the realization that we needed to be on a different track than we were on.”

“That’s the lesson of the recession,” says Brian Canin of Orlando, Fla., planning firm Canin Associates, which designed Symphony. “Before the recession, you could say, ‘I have the luxury of targeting just the $500,000 to $2 million market. Now we have to cater to the very broad spectrum of everyone who needs a house and put the money where it really works.” Read Alison Rice's entire article via BuilderOnline here.

Learn more about Estridge, central Indiana's premiere homebuilder since 1967, here.

In this report from IndyStar.com, the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers has been named to Money magazine's list of best places to live. This Hamilton County Town, which includes the Estridge neighborhoods of Anderson Hall (picture) and Somerset Woods, came in eight on this year's list, good news for homeowners looking to build or buy a home in Fishers.

Fishers ranks 8th in Money's Best Places to Live - Reported by IndyStar.com

July 12, 2010 - Indianapolis' suburb Fishers has been named a second time in the top 10 on Money magazine's list of Best Places to Live.

The Hamilton County town of 69,000 residents came in eighth on this year's list, after being 10th in 2008. The latest list is published in the August issue.

"This Indiana town offers a winning combination of low-cost houses (you can snag a three-bedroom for less than $150,000), easy access to the big city, and good schools," said the magazine's website. "Plus, Fishers is booming. Development abounds and fully 1,600 jobs were created here last year; major employers include Sallie Mae and medical device firm Roche Diagnostics."

The magazine ranked 746 towns with populations between 50,000 and 300,000, narrowing the list based on criteria such as housing prices, schools, safety, health care and diversity. Economic factors, the website said, carried the most sway.

The town's unemployment rate was put at 6.2 percent by the magazine, far below the state and national averages. And Fishers' job growth rate during the past decade, at nearly 41 percent, outpaced the "Best Places" average of 15.71 percent.

"Whether it's as a homeowner or a business, it's a safe place to invest," Fishers town council president Scott Faultless said.

Faultless credited Fishers' economic resilience to a combination of public safety, schools, parks and low taxes.

Fishers also has recently appeared on America's 25 Best Places to Move rankings by Forbes magazine in 2009 and the Best Affordable Suburbs in America list in BusinessWeek magazine in 2010.

"To me, it's a pretty good indicator that the core fundamentals are there for our community," Faultless said. Read the full article from IndyStar.com here.

Learn more about Estridge, central Indiana's premiere builder of custom homes since 1967, here.

The question seems simple: "How do I choose the right homebuilder for my family?"

• Custom Builders
• Production Builders
• Semi-custom Builders
   

At Estridge, we've witnessed a distinctive movement to emphasis on true outdoor living and entertaining areas built in Indianapolis homes. From outdoor fireplaces to covered lanais to built-in grills to gorgeous landscaping and more, hoemeowners are putting time, energy and investment into their outdoor living. Below is an article from our community design and development partners, Canin Associates providing tips on how to create this in central Indiana homes.


Inside Out - Trends that Bring the Outdoors In
PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Among the many new trends in home design, blending the outdoors with the indoors is high on several home buyer preference lists.
 
In a recent Better Homes & Gardens online survey, 68% of future homebuyers preferred outdoor grilling and living areas in their new home. But that's not all. Outdoor living areas also rank high on return for investment and they improve a home's resale value.

Popular trends in floor plan design actually happen outside the walls- fantastic outdoor spaces that are both useful and appealing, especially when they create pleasing scenery when you look out of your windows. Plan your outdoor living spaces for your enjoyment - but be sure to plan them well.

Not Just a Leftover Slab: Consider your outdoor living space as an extension of your family room or kitchen, and design it as you would any other room in your home.


Food Network: At get-togethers, everyone seems to flock to where the food and the drink coolers are. Outdoor kitchens and detached cabanas - some complete with a gas grill, bar top and refrigerator- are still very popular. (Enjoy grilling recipes from our HOMExperience cooking class)

Live & Laugh: Enhance your outdoor environment with the right landscape to stir the senses. Add elements that you can see, smell and hear. Popular new outdoor features include gas fire tables for you to enjoy the warmth and glow of a fire while being with company.

For more trends and to view the full article in its entirety, please click here.

Visit the Estridge Design Studio at Clay Terrace to learn about creating an enjoyable outdoor living space in your new Estridge home.

On Monday March 15th, a pilot release of the new Ameritage Collection of homes was introduced to central Indiana homeowners. This new Collection by Estridge, Indianapolis home builder, features homes designed for the way homeowners live today with the flexibility to change and grow with their evolving lifestyle.

The HARRISON new home design is built from $199,900.

The COLVIN new home design is built from $219,600. 

The ROBERTSON new home design is built from $209,900.

The Ameritage Collection offers Estridge quality construction married with personalization and affordability, with homes starting at $199,900 in Estridge Brownsburg neighborhoods.  Plus, Estridge quality construction practices, combined with the 3-year HomeLife Maintenance and Reliability Program, produce safe, sound and reliable homes. 

Each Ameritage Collection new home offers the 21st Century Lifestyle Living Triangle creating circulation between the great room, harvest room and kitchen and creating natural flow and family connectivity. And that’s only the main level. On the upper level, homeowners will find central landing areas which create larger bedrooms and a connection of bedrooms like those found in historic Indianapolis homes. 


 

The customization doesn’t end with the home footprint: homeowners love the jumbo garages! Each home includes a jumbo garage with the square feet of a 3-car garage, offering storage space for lifestyle, as well as cars, with variations and options such as increasing the depth of the garage, adding a third bay, or creating a side-entry. 
 

Ameritage Collection designs each present a “kit of parts” with structural and feature details allowing truly personalized flex spaces, garages, interiors and home exteriors. Homeowners can personalize the Ameritage Collection traditional exteriors with many features, such as dentil molding, varied window trim and roof dormers, so your home mirrors your personal style.

The Ameritage Collection is available to build in select Estridge new home neighborhoods:

Whispering Pines in Avon (317.669.8635),

Hession Fields(317.669.8627) and Highland Green (317.669.8631) in Brownsburg

Edenwilde (317.669.8633) in Indianapolis. 

Visit any of these selected Estridge neighborhoods to learn more and build your new Indianapolis home with special pilot release pricing. Or call 317.669.8619 to Ask Angie about building a new Ameritage Collection home.

Estridge Communities in Brownsburg, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis, Westfield and Zionsville will find the following spring tips regarding their home irrigation systems helpful:

1.      Don’t forget to spring forward. If you own an irrigation system, you need to set your irrigation clock ahead an hour for daylight-saving time.

2.      Be sure to thoroughly check your irrigation system in spring. Inspect and clean the filter screens. A lengthy soaking in water and vinegar can remove mineral buildup.

3.      Consider flushing the irrigation lines and check the valve boxes for mud or debris, which can indicate poor drainage.

4.      Spring is the perfect time to install drip irrigation or sweating hoses to water your garden beds and plants. These can save money and they place water where it’s most needed: at the root zone.

Is your home ready for spring? Check out spring home maintenance tips here.

 

Spring is a very busy time of year for real estate professionals and new home builders around Indianapolis. Many homeowners take advantage of the warm weather to tour new home neighborhoods, look at real estate, and put their home up for sale. Beginning to build a new Estridge home is also popular in the spring, with the five month construction process completing in time for the start of the following school year.

With the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit, Spring 2010 has proven to be even busier for many Indianapolis real estate professionals.

It's no different for all of us here at Estridge.

There are 121 new Estridge homes under construction!

• 21 Homes in the ‘pre-construction’ stage
• 12 Homes in Basement Foundation
• 24 Homes currently in Framing or will begin Framing in the next week
• 17 Homes in Mechanicals (Plumbing, Electrical and/or HVAC)
• 16 Homes in Drywall
• 11 Homes in Trim
• 5 Homes in Flooring
• 7 Homes in Finishes (Plumbing, Electrical and/or HVAC)
• 3 Homes completed and scheduled to close with their new homeowner
• 5 Homes completed and ready for a new Estridge homeowner

Think Spring is  a good time for you to begin your new Estridge home? 

Contact Angie, your Estridge Online Concierge, today to learn more about building a new Estridge home in central Indiana.

To ensure quality construction results, certain percentages should be allotted to particular areas of home construction. Why is this important? It keeps the potential homeowner and the new home builder aware of how the new home construction costs are allotted. It also ensures the quality of the home, thus maximizing the resale value of the home.

When thinking about building your new home in central Indiana, whether it is in a new home neighborhood or on your homesite, the following budget breakdowns by percentages ensure quality results. This budget reflects a home valued at $200,000:

• Homesite: 20%
• Permits: 1%
• Foundation: 9%
• Structure and/or Shell: 28%
• Mechanical Systems: 10%
• Drywall and/or Insulation: 6%
• Paint: 3%
• Interior trim: 5%
• Cabinets: 2%
• Flooring: 4%
• Interior Finishes: 2%
• Exterior Finishes: 6%
• Miscellaneous: 4%

Variations in these percentages may be required to ensure a quality or affordable product. Talk to your central Indiana home builder about the budget breakdown of your new home or visit an Estridge neighborhood to learn more about new Estridge homes today. 

Read CK101 Tip 1: What’s a smart home investment amount?
 

Spring offers a great opportunity to greater Indianapolis communities, neighborhoods and homeowners to update landscaping and go green in the process.

Here are a few tips from the Estridge HomeLife Team on how to think green with your landscaping this spring in central Indiana:

1. Thinking green this spring can save Hoosier homeowners money in the summer. Planting shrubs and trees on the east and west sides of your home can reduce that home's air conditioning costs as much as 25%.
    
2. Create your own compost pile this spring for your home and garden. Organic compost piles are easy to create and one of the most environmentally friendly additions to any home. Ideal sources can be found around the house. Try to include materials with lots of carbon such as wood chips and paper and/or materials with lots of nitrogen such as manure, grass clippings and pulled weeds.
    
3. Reduce your home's water consumption this year. Consider buying a rain barrel this spring to collect rainwater from your home's roof to use in your garden this summer.
    
4. Use this spring to begin mulching. Mulch stores water which plants can pull from in dry weather, so make sure you have an adequate amount of mulch in the flower beds that surround your home.

Is your home ready for spring?
Check out more Estridge Home Maintenance Tips for Spring here.
 

Neighborhood Open House
Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28
Noon to 5pm
Irvington Decorated Model Home at
1388 Somerville Drive, Westfield, IN
Call 317.669.7089 for questions or visit www.estridge.com for directions.

Enjoy refreshments, catch up on the happenings at Centennial and tour six homes & townhomes under construction.

Plus, bring this registration form and receive a certificate for a free home decor gift at HOMExperience and enter to win a $100 gift certificate to Wood Wind Golf Club in Westfield.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why else should you visit Centennial this weekend?

Because it’s already a busy Spring at Centennial at 146^th Street in Westfield!

Over 8,000 neighborhood trees are budding, the neighbors are starting the Community Garden, the Bark Park is full of puppies ready to play, landscaping is beginning to take shape, and, most importantly, dirt is moving, and new Estridge homes are being built! View a photo tour of Centennial.

There are eight ranch and 2-story new homes and five 2-story Lockerbie Townhomes under construction at Centennial, Estridge's Westfield neighborhood!  

Stop in this weekend during the Neighborhood Open House and see what all of the excitement is about!  Plus, tour eight different Estridge luxury home designs in Westfield and witness Estridge quality throughout many different new home construction stages.

-          941A Irvington Ranch Home Decorated Model

-          Columbia Townhome Decorated Model

-          Getty 2-story Home Available for Immediate Move-in (Tax Credit Ready!)

-          Hanover Home Design at Drywall

-          Duke Townhome Under Construction

-          Columbia Townhome Under Construction

-          Amherst Townhome Under Construction

-          Emory Townhome Under Construction

Spring offers a great opportunity to Avon, Brownsburg, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis, Westfield and Zionsville communities, neighborhoods and homeowners to revamp their landscaping and go green in the process. Here are a few tips from Estridge Homes on how to go green this spring in central Indiana:

1.      Thinking green this spring can save Hoosier homeowners money in the summer. Planting shrubs and trees on the east and west sides of your home can reduce that home's air conditioning costs as much as 25%.

2.      Create your own compost pile this spring for your home and garden. Organic compost piles are easy to create and one of the most environmentally friendly additions to any home. Ideal sources can be found around the house. Try to include materials with lots of carbon such as wood chips and paper and/or materials with lots of nitrogen such as manure, grass clippings and pulled weeds.

3.      Try to reduce your home's water consumption this year. Consider buying a rain barrel this spring to collect rainwater from your home's roof to use in your garden this summer.

4.      Use this spring to begin mulching. Mulch stores water which plants can pull from in dry weather, so make sure you have an adequate amount of mulch in the flower beds that surround your home.

Is your home ready for spring? Check out more Estridge Home Maintenance Tips for Spring here.
 

Visit Rock Bridge, Estridge's popular Zionsville new home neighborhood, this weekend and enjoy a hard hat tour of the popular Coburn new home design currently under construction. Get a special preview of what's behind the walls of an Estridge home. 

Featured Hard Hat Home Tour
* The Coburn *
in Zionsville at
The Reserve at Rock Bridge
Sat. March 20 - Sun. March 21
Noon to 5pm
Lunch & Refreshments:
Saturday March 20 - Noon to 2pm

This Estridge 4-bedroom home design, released last summer, is extremely popular with Estridge homeowners due to its open design and distinguished architectural details throughout.

- VIEW COBURN HOME DESIGN -
Learn more about this popular Estridge home.

Highlighted features of the Coburn home design include:

• 10' main level ceilings
• Arched doorway and furniture niche greeting guests in foyer
• Open design with sight lines from foyer through to the back wall
• Varied window sizing and distinctive placement, such as three square windows in the dining room encouraging light and providing opportunity for dining room furniture placement
• Gourmet kitchen with granite countertops
• Upper level with central landing area and loft encouraging interaction between family on all home levels
• Walk-in closets in every bedroom
• Luxurious master suite with tray ceiling and feature garden tub
• Family foyer off of the garage organized with storage cubes, coat & bag wall and walk-in closet

Monday March 15^th, a pilot release of our new Ameritage Collection of homes was introduced to central Indiana homeowners. The new Collection features homes designed for the way homeowners live today with the flexibility to change with their evolving lifestyle.
 

The Ameritage Collection offers Estridge quality construction practices married with personalization and affordability. Ameritage Collection designs each present a “kit of parts” with structural and feature details allowing truly personalized flex spaces, garages, interiors and home exteriors.

Who decides the best use of that flex space? You, the homeowner, of course.

Each Ameritage Collection design offers the 21^st Century Lifestyle Living Triangle creating circulation between the great room, harvest room and kitchen. This Triangle provides natural flow and family connectivity. And that’s only the main level. On the upper level, homeowners will find central landing areas which create larger bedrooms and a community feel like those found in historic Indianapolis homes. 
 

And the customization doesn’t end with the home footprint: homeowners will love the jumbo garages! Providing the square feet of a 3-car garage, the jumbo garage always offer storage space for lifestyle, as well as cars, with variations and options such as increasing the depth of the garage, adding a third bay, or creating a side-entry.
 

Homeowners can also personalize the Ameritage Collection traditional exteriors with many features, such as dentil molding, varied window trim and roof dormers, so your home mirrors your personal style.

  

Plus, Estridge quality construction practices, combined with our 3-year HomeLife Maintenance and Reliability Program, produce safe, economic and reliable homes.
 

This distinct Ameritage Collection is available to build in select Estridge new home neighborhoods including Whispering Pines in Avon (317.669.8635), Hession Fields(317.669.8627) and Highland Green(317.669.8631) in Brownsburg and Edenwilde (317.669.8633) in Indianapolis. Stop in any of these selected Estridge neighborhoods to learn more and take advantage of our special pilot release pricing, starting around $210,000 including homesite! Or call 317.669.8619 to Ask Angie about building a new Ameritage Collection home.

During the Extreme Makeover Indianapolis build in April 2009, Paul Estridge, Jr., President of The Estridge Companies, committed to building not only a new home, but also, building transformation of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. At a Press Conference on a sunny April day, Paul Estridge announced that the closed, but once-thriving, IPS School 37 would be gifted to the neighborhood to serve as a much-needed Community Center.  (READ MORE)

After much work, that dream can now be a reality as the Indianapolis City County Council voted unanimously (29-0) to the transfer of the School 37 title from IPS to the Juvenile Court and allow for the development of the Community Center to begin. 

It was a very inspiring setting as there were an estimated 75 members of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood in the audience while the 29 member City Council praised them for the dedication, commitment and foresight they have displayed in resurrecting this historical building from possible ruins.  Four council members offered their personal support to help build this into a center that will help develop children on the front end versus trying to eliminate the behavioral repair on the back end.  There were several accolades directed to Estridge by the sub-committee chair and the council members for bringing the spotlight back to the neighborhood and for partnering for the generation of a renewed vision of hope to this neighborhood.  With signs waving in the air reading:

"Where community and family come together!

--- IPS 37----
Support community gathering in Martindale Brightwood”

The audience exploded into a resounding applause when the 29-0 vote was displayed. There is certainly a special energy that everyone has to see this 85-year old structure turn into a true community center.  The new community center would not be a reality without the efforts of IPS, Juvenile Court, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Making Connections, Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation, and many others.

Read more about the April announcement of School 37 to Martindale-Brightwood on www.estridgeextremedream.com.

Photos of the NEW Community Center in Indianapolis: 
              

- Photographs compliments of Angela R. Talley

Browse new photos of Lincolnshire, located at 141^st Street and Towne Road, to see the beautiful fall colors worn by the numerous trees throughout this premiere Estridge new home neighborhood in Carmel, Indiana.

Or stop by the decorated model at 14135 Murphy Circle West, 46074, and take a tour of the intimate 82-homesite neighborhood with gorgeous, custom-like new homes, 2-story and ranch homes complete with gorgeous kitchens featuring granite countertops and stainless steel sinks, as well as finished lower levels and architectural details throughout the luxury home designs.

View Photos of this Carmel neighborhood

Learn more about Lincolnshire by Estridge

*Photos by Erin Hession Photography

Congratulations to the Cowan-Brown Family, the incredible Indiana family announced to be the recipients of a new Hallmark Home in conjunction with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. This week, the family will go on vacation to Disneyland while "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team leader Ty Pennington, designers Paul DiMeo, Didiayer Snyder, and Xzibit, celebrity volunteer Platinum selling artist David Cook, local builder Hallmark Homes, and community volunteers build a new home for them. 

Visit www.hallmarkextreme.com to learn more about this incredible family and volunteer to build!

Visit www.EstridgeExtremeDream.com to learn more about the Indianapolis Extreme Makeover project last spring.