Searching the South Bend Area MLS for all sales in 2009 returns 2,964 sales for a combined total of $309,895,210.
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There are many new home developments near Notre Dame. Since Dublin Village broke ground in 2005 there have been more than half a dozen new housing projects near Notre Dame’s campus. But the largest and most anticipated of the new developments is Eddy Street Commons. Eddy Street Commons has been widely reported as a $200+ million project. It has been supported by Notre Dame who transferred the land for the development, the city of South Bend with a $30+ million parking garage, and Indianapolis based Kite Realty who put together the master plan.
Eddy Street Commons, as announced, has a retail component with restaurants and shopping, office space, 266 apartments for rent and nearly 250 condos or townhomes available for purchase.
There have been delays as the project reacted to the tightening economy. For example the Mariott hotel is still awaiting financing, and the “Legends Row” condos that wrap the parking garage were originally to be built first and haven’t been started apparently due to slow sales reservations.
But there has been progress on the “Champions Way” City Homes. The first building is nearing completion, and a model unit is currently being furnished. It should be ready for public tours in the near future.
It is not yet fully furnished, but I toured the model unit today and took photos. Since it is built by the same construction company that put together Dublin Village, Wexford Place and Irish Crossings, it shouldn’t be surprising that it has many similarities to those projects. But the location is good, the views from the model are some of the best I’ve seen, and there are many options and upgrades available. Prices for these townhomes start around $378,000 and quickly rise to the mid $400,000s depending upon plan and options.
The sales team reports the first two buildings are booked and that they expect to have four of the nine buildings ready for occupancy by the football season.
see the entire set of 26 candid photos taken January 14th.
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The South Bend Area MLS contains information on 234 sales that closed in December 2009 with a
cumulative volume of $25.04 million. That is down from last months $27.48 million in sales,
though up from December 2008’s $22.61 million in sales which was the lowest amount since our
area’s MLS began keeping digital records in August 2001. The high volume mark was June of 2006
at $69.30 million.
Here is the long term sales graph
The South Bend Area MLS contains information on 234 sales that closed in December 2009 with a cumulative volume of $25.04 million. That is down from last months $27.48 million in sales, though up from December 2008’s $22.61 million in sales which was the lowest amount since our area’s MLS began keeping digital records in August 2001. The high volume mark was June of 2006 at $69.30 million.
Here is the long term sales graph:
Sales Prices
The high price sale was $440,900 for 125 Esther in South Bend. The home went under contract 11 days after hitting the market and sold without photos in the MLS.
The low price sale was $3,800 for 230 Calvert in South Bend, which went under contract about five months after hitting the market and sold with just one poor quality photo in the MLS. I won’t post it here.
There were a number of sales that caught my eye as notable discounts:
- 51345 Amesbury Way in Covington Shores sold for $419,000 about six months after hitting the market. It sold at a loss to the seller, who appears to have paid $500,000 for the home in July 2007.
- 1904 Golfview Court in Barrington Estates sold for $335,000 about 28 months after hitting the market in August 2007. The seller started with a list price of $635,000.
- 51245 Parisian Drive in Bradford Shores was a recent “lottery house” that was raffled off for charity. The winner sold it for $275,000 about seven months after hitting the market at $375,000.
- 420 Abbey in Dublin Village sold out of foreclosure for $180,000 about three months after hitting the market at $199,900. The previous owners tried to sell it without success, starting at$244,900 and lowering their price to $234,900 .
Here are all 234 sales prices, in represented visually on a scatter graph
Financing
Cash sales accounted for more transactions than either FHA financing or conventional loans and they dominate the market under $50,000. 70 of the 76 sales under $50,000 were cash purchases.
Condos, Townhouses and Select Villas
This was not an active month for sellers of condos and townhomes in our area. Just one Notre Dame Area townhouse sold at Dublin Village.
420 Abbey in Dublin Village is a 1,745 square foot, 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath townhouse. It was built in 2006 by the same construction company now erecting many of the new townhomes near Notre Dame. Its price of $180,000 was well below the $214,900 to $265,000 list prices of the six Dublin Village townhomes currently listed for sale.
145 Bridgewater Way, a 1,450 square foot 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath condo sold in The Forest for $128,000. That is down from the $158,500 it sold for in August 2005.
Unit 312 at Topsfield, a 1,000 square foot 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo, sold for $51,000.
1522 Peachtree Lane in Mishawaka’s Savannah Pass is a detached villa but is in a community with many attached unit and seems to fit here. The 1,112 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath villa sold for $123,900 down from the $145,000 it commanded in September 2006
There were two other condo-type sales in developments I don’t usually report in detail here. One was in the Somers Square condos, for $122,000, and one at the Jefferson Square townhomes for $74,000.
New Construction
18 December 2009 sales were reported in the South Bend Area MLS as new construction. They closed at prices from $99,000 to $324,305 and ranged from about $74 to $151 per square foot.
11 were built by Weiss Homes. 9 were sold with FHA financing.
Have Questions? Need Help?
While this is the most detailed and most current information you’ll find on real estate sales in the South Bend Area, there are significant details we can’t share here. If you need to better understand the market to make smart decisions, or need help buying or selling property call or e-mail. We’d be pleased to hear from you.
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I started looking at year long statistics for the South Bend Area real estate market to begin work on an end of year summary and culled a few figures interesting enough to post now.
There are 472 homes listed for sale in the South Bend area for $50,000 or less. There are 470 homes listed for sale with a price of $200,000 or more. For all practical purposes the numbers are equal, but there are more homes on the market here priced under $50k than over $200k.
The number of sales however is far from equal. In the last year, 12/16/08 – 12/16/09:
- 963 homes sold under $50,000.
- 334 homes sold over $200,000.
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Entering La Esperanza (Spanish for “hope”), you are greeted with cheerful decor, festive Mexican music and hosts who seem to speak English as a second language. The menus and signs boast “authentic Mexican” food, a phrase that has often puzzled me. After all, should’t authentic Mexican food have to be from Mexico? I searched Google but it didn’t completely help the case. Loosely, it seems that to claim to be “authentic Mexican,” your food can’t have been Americanized with cheese and other non traditional ingredients. Strictly, can only contain ingredients available to native Mexicans. Those ingredients include corn, tomatoes, goat and fish. While La Esperanza certainly goes beyond corn, tomatoes, goat and fish, they do edge towards my newly found understanding of authentic or non-Americanized food.
My party of two and a half (it included our 15 month old son) enjoyed the chips and salsa. Seconds and thirds were ordered and devoured! We had the chicken fajitas and beef enchiladas, and found both a bit on the bland side. However once they were spiced and sauced up with salsa and sour cream they were quite good. But if you love cheese like I do, you may be surprised to find the fajitas served sans cheese. You should consider doing your tummy (but not your arteries) a favor by ordering a side of that. It seems I like to Americanize my Mexican food a bit after all.
La Esperanza does have a children’s menu with items at approx. $4-5. On the regular mendu, sandwiches run about $6 and dinners $8-11. The cheapest a-la-carte item rings in at $1.99 for a taco while the most expensive menu item was seafood fajitas at $10.75. Our meal came in just under $30 with two dinners, a kid’s meal and tip. Not out of line for today’s restaurants.
I’ve enjoyed several decent meals at La Esperanza and will go back for more. But the draw for me is certainly the chips and salsa. Enjoy!
Address
1636 N. Ironwood Drive
South Bend, IN 46635
574-273-0345
http://laesperanzarestaurants.com/
Hours
Mon: 11 am – 9 pm
Tue: 11 am – 9 pm
Wed: 11 am – 9 pm
Thu: 11 am – 10 pm
Fri: 11 am – 12 am
Sat: 11 am – 12 am
Read the South Bend Area Blog’s reviews of other Mexican restaurants Hacienda and Mazatlan, or scan the reviews of all the restaurants we’ve highlighted to date, 13 and counting.
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WNDU reporter Stephanie Stang put together a feature story on new condo construction in South Bend and Mishawaka that aired December 9th and 10th. Its not a primer on the condo market, but does introduce the topic to a general audience.
The four minute story includes interviews with condo owner Jim Olson, Riverwalk Townhomes’ John Piraccini, Mishawaka mayor Jeff Rea, American Trust Place’s Brad Toothaker and with me.
Development boosters may think the tone too downbeat; people predicting economic calamities will think it too hopeful, but I think does a fair job introducing a complex issue without making guesses about an uncertain future.
Here is a link to the video:
and for more details on the South Bend condo market, here is a link to the 52 articles about condos on the South Bend Area Real Estate Blog going back to May of 2006.
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Sometime in the next few days local news station WNDU is running a story about the continuing construction of condos in the South Bend Area when the number of buyers is down. Preparing for the increased interest, I scouted the progress of the condos near Notre Dame today to get a count of new units for readers of the South bend Area Real Estate Blog.
In South Bend, the terms condo, townhouse and villa are tossed about more loosely than in cities where condos are a large part of the market. Technically, a condo is a form of ownership where you purchase your unit and a share of the common area, in a townhouse you own your unit and a specific area of land but pay into a condo association that covers landscaping and some items of exterior maintenance, and villa is a term used here to describe a freestanding home (usually a 1-story) that is sold with a mandatory maintenance plan that covers landscaping and sometimes exterior maintenance as in a townhouse or condo. In my experience, people looking to purchase property that want condos are less concerned with the distinctions of condo – townhouse – villa than they are with making sure the home will be looked after and the yardwork will be done if they lock the door and leave for 6 weeks.
Using that admitedly loose difinition of condo, and looking at the projects near campus (as opposed to downtown South Bend or on the river in Mishawaka), I went out today to try to get an accurate count of the number of Notre Dame condos built since 2005, a snapshot view. Physically visiting the projects is necessary because developers announce master plans that are revised, and construction is ongoing at several locations. In cases were buildings are partially finished I used my judgement – I didn’t count a foundation pour, but if a building looks complete from the exterior I did count it. There may also be some variation in my count and the proper number of built condos – I counted front doors or garage doors, and some buildings are confusing and others have units which were combined. Despite those cautions, I’ll stand by this as the best new condo count available today.
Dublin Village – complete – 58 units – townhome style buildings
Pendle Woods – a number of vacant lots – 38 freestanding villas
Wexford Place – complete – 8 units in two townhome style buildings
North Douglas – stalled – 32 units in two 16 unit buildings
Irish Crossings – spaces for several more buildings – 62 units in three and 4-plexes
Stonebridge – active construction – 32 units in 4-plexes
Stadium Village – buildings up, 13 units in two buildings
Ivy Quad – active construction – 6 units in the first building
Keenan Court – stalled – 6 units in two buildings
that leaves out the coming units under construction and many more announced especially at Eddy Commons, the retirement community built at Holy Corss, the condos downtown Mishawaka and South Bend. It also doesn’t consider the newly built rental apartments at Irish Row and Eddy Commons, the new construction siongle family homes along Notre Dame Avenue, or the new and recently built villas in neighborhoods throughout Granger.
So the question is … How big is the demand for Notre Dame condos?
In five years we’ve seen the doubling of supply of condos near campus with slowed but continuing development. Is this a response to a real demand or is it speeculative? Is the University increasing enrollment and faculty numbers so more people want quality housing near the school? Was it reflective of the heightened interest in real estate as an investment seen at the height of the bubble? Do purchases wax and wane with enthusiasm for a certain sports team? Were these projects with long lead times that missed the market?
I think it’s more complex than any simple answer, but each of those questions gets to the issue from a different angle. If you’re a buyer, investor or seller it’s important to think about the whole condo market, but it’s more important to understand the nuances of the developments – which meet your needs and which will be best when it’s time to resell. There are huge differences in the different condo communities – freestanding, 4-plexes or 16 to a buildings, attached garages, tandem garages, no garages, single level or 3-story, stones throw from campus or a 5 minute drive, $140,000 or $440,000, which have units reselling at a loss and which are still selling well,
Developers, residents, buyers and everyone share your thoughts in the comments.
Need help evaluating the condos to buy or making a plan to sell, click here and contact us.
Sometime in the next few days South Bend news station WNDU will run a story about the ongoing construction of condos in the South Bend Area when the number of condo buyers is down. Preparing for the increased interest that story should bring, I scouted the progress of the condos near Notre Dame today to get a count of new units for readers of the South Bend Area Real Estate Blog.
What’s a Notre Dame condo?
In South Bend, the terms condo, townhouse and villa are tossed about more loosely than in cities where condos have long been a large part of the market. Technically, a condo is a form of ownership where you purchase your unit “walls-in” plus a share of the common area. In a townhouse you own your unit and a specific area of land but pay into a condo association that covers landscaping and some items of exterior maintenance. Villa is a term used in South Bend to describe a freestanding home that is sold with a mandatory maintenance plan that covers landscaping and some items of exterior maintenance like a townhouse or condo. In my experience, people looking to purchase South Bend property that want condos are less concerned with the distinctions of condo / townhouse / villa than they are with making sure the home will be looked after and the yardwork will be done if they lock the door and leave for six weeks. Considering that, I’m including condos, townhomes, and the villas from one project, Pendle Woods, that has been popular with Notre Dame professors, alumni and other affiliates
How do you count the condos if they are still building them?
Using that admitedly loose definition of condo, and looking at the projects near campus, I went out today to try to get an accurate count of the number of Notre Dame condos built since 2005. I was looking for a snapshot view of what is built today. Physically visiting the projects is necessary because developers announce master plans that are later revised, and construction is ongoing at several locations. In cases were buildings are partially finished I used my judgement – I didn’t count a foundation pour, but if a building looked complete from the exterior I did count it. There may also be some variation in my count and the proper number of built condos. I counted front doors or garage doors and some buildings are confusing, others have two units which were combined into one . Despite those cautions, I’ll stand by this as the best new-condo-count available today. If you have any corrections, leave them in the comments and I’ll update the figures.
OK. How many new condos have been built?
Here is what I came up with, broken out by project
- Dublin Village – 58 townhouse units, construction is complete
- Pendle Woods – 38 freestanding villas, with a significant number of vacant lots
- Wexford Place – 8 townhouse units in two buildings, construction is complete
- North Douglas – 32 units in two buildings, construction has stopped
- Irish Crossings – 62 units in 3and 4-plex buildings, several vacant lots
- Stonebridge – 32 units in 4-plex buildings, active construction
- Stadium Village – 13 units in two buildings
- Ivy Quad – 6 units in the first building, active construction
- Keenan Court – 6 units in two buildings, construction has stopped
drumroll please…. that’s 255 newly built homes.
255, that’s it?
Yes. But that leaves out the coming units currently under construction and many more announced but unbuilt condos, especially at Eddy Commons. It also does not count the retirement community built at Holy Cross, the condos in Mishawaka on the river or downtown South Bend. It doesn’t consider the newly built rental apartments at Irish Row and Eddy Commons, the new construction single family homes along Notre Dame Avenue, or the new and recently built villas in neighborhoods throughout Granger – not Notre Dame condos, but which all pull demand from the new condos. Consider those projects and you can more than double the number of new homes competing for Notre Dame condo buyers from 255 to well over 500.
How big is the demand for Notre Dame condos?
In five years we’ve seen the doubling of supply of condos near campus and now see slowed but continuing development. Is this growth a response to a real demand or is it speculative? Is the University increasing enrollment and faculty numbers so more people want quality housing near the school? Was it reflective of the heightened interest in real estate as an investment seen at the peak of the real estate bubble? Do purchases wax and wane with enthusiasm for a certain sports team? Were these projects with long lead times that were planned years ago but have missed the market?
I think it’s more complex than any simple answer, but each of those questions gets to the issue from a different angle. If you’re a buyer, investor or seller it’s important to think about the whole condo market, but it’s more important to understand the nuances of the developments. Consider which projects meet your needs and which will be best when it’s time to resell. There are significant differences in the new condo communities:
- freestanding, 4-plexes or 16 to a buildings,
- single level or 3-story
- stones throw from campus or a 5 minute drive
- $140,000 or $440,000
- 8 units or 80 in the community
These differences not only impact the livability of the condos, but how they will sell and resell. If demand is significantly less than forecast by developers, it won’t be spread evenly among the condos. Some projects will fail and others will flourish. Some will remain half-built or become apartments and others will sell out and hold their value.
Developers, owners, condo watchers and everyone, what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
If you need help evaluating the condos before you buy or when making a plan to sell, click here and contact me.
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