Indy Home Marketing - May 2010 Newsletter

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May, 2010 Newsletter

Volume 4, Number 5

	HOUSING MARKET SHOWING SOME SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT Nationally, the sales of new homes surged by 27% last month, reversing the previous month's record low and blowing past expectations as better weather and government incentives
	boosted sales. The most recent Commerce Department report in- dicated new home sales rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 411,000 units. It was the strongest month since last July, and the biggest monthly increase in 47 years. The rise in new home sales was seen nationwide with a whopping 44% in the South and 36% in the Northeast. However, new home sales in the West rose only 6%, and just 3% in the Midwest. Continued Below

IMPORTANT REMINDER REGARDING
YOUR HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION

You should have already received your local property tax state-
ment and found a pink slip of paper included. The form is part
of the State's new homestead deduction verification process.

The form needs to be filled out and mailed to the Marion County
Auditor's office if you want to claim, or continue to claim, the
Homestead Tax Exemption.

Failure to return the form can result in the loss of the Exemption,
which reduces the taxable assessed value of your home by up to
60 percent or $45,000 (whichever is less).Continued Below

			May in Indy May is always an excit- ing month filled with events that make Indianapolis shine as a world-class city. The Indy 500, Mini Marathon, 500 Par- ade, Broad Ripple Art Fair, concerts, the list goes on and on.
			Our top picks of May events that every family member will enjoy (including the times, locations, and other information), are listed HERE. For a complete list of May events provided by the Indianapolis Star and Metromix, click HERE.


	RECIPE OF THE MONTH Broiled Zucchini and Potatoes with Parmesan Crust This tasty Italian recipe is a per- fect side dish with almost any entree. Courtesy: Food Network

INGREDIENTS:

•	2 tablespoons butter
•	1/4 cup grated Parmesan
•	1 clove garlic, minced
•	Pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
•	1 teaspoon each chopped fresh thyme and rosemary leaves
•	4 small new potatoes (red or white, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
•	2 small zucchini, cut in 1/2 lengthwise (1-inch wide by 5 inches long)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the
potatoes and cook until just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and let cool. When cool, cut the potatoes
in half.

Place a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the butter,
garlic, thyme and rosemary and let cook until the butter melts,
about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, season the cut sides of the zuc-
chini and potatoes with salt and pepper. Carefully place the
zucchini and potatoes cut side down in the melted butter. Let
them cook until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the
browned zucchini and potatoes on the baking sheet cut side up.
Sprinkle the tops with the Parmesan. Place in the broiler until
the cheese is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a
plate and serve. Serves: 4. Cook Time: About 30 minutes.

HOUSING MARKET... (Continued)

Existing home sales, which are completed transactions that
include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops,
rose nationally 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February,
and are 16.1% above the 4.61 million-unit level in
March 2009.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors (NAR) chief
economist said, "It is encouraging to see a broad home sales
recovery in nearly every part of the country, with two impor-
tant underlying trends. Sales have been above year-ago
levels for nine straight months, and inventory has trended
down from year-ago levels for 20 months running.” Yun
added, “The homebuyer tax credit proved to be an resound-
ing success with underlying trends pointing to broad stabili-
zation in home prices. This preserved perhaps $1 trillion in
largely middle class housing wealth that may have been
wiped out without the housing stimulus measure.”

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder added, "Buying conditions are
in near-perfect alignment. Even with tougher loan standards,
historically low mortgage interest rates with affordable prices
and a sense that the market is turning have created optimal
conditions in much of the country.”

Locally, the latest available Metropolitan Board of Realtor
(MIBOR) statistics, show total sales volume of both new and
pre-owned homes rose 12% during the first quarter of this
year compared to the same period 1 year ago. However, a
majority of the increase resulted from a average sale price
jump of 11%. For the year, total sales increased just 1%
above the proceeding 12 month period and the total sales
volume increased by only 2%.

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IMPORTANT REMINDER (Continued)

By completing the form, you'll be helping prevent fraud, which
ultimately costs law-abiding property owners. Unfortunately,
some in previous years have claimed homestead deductions
they were not entitled to receive. This new process will update
the database and weed out those who would try to take unfair
advantage of the system.

As part of the new form, property owners provide the last five
digits of his or her Social Security and drivers' license numbers.
But don't worry... this information will be collected and used
within a secure homestead database only.

Although taxpayers may see these forms again throughout the
next couple of years, they only need to fill it out once. State
law requires all homestead verification forms to be filed no later
than January 1, 2013, but property owners are encouraged to
complete this form now and mark it off their to-do lists.

For more information about the form, click HERE to download
a 2-page (PDF) Homestead Verification Form Fact Sheet.
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May in Indy (Continued)

500 Pole Day Qualifying
May 22. (Saturday) Public Gates Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., IndyCar
Series Practice 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Pole Qualifications 11 a.m.
to 6 p.m., More Info.

500 Bump Day Qualifying
May 23. (Sunday) Public Gates Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., IndyCar
Series Practice 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Qualifications Noon to 6 p.m.

Broad Ripple Art Fair
May 15 and 16, 10:00 am. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, 67th Street and College Avenue
in the Broad Ripple Village Cultural District. More Info

500 Festival Kid's Day
May 23, (Sunday) 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., Monument Circle,
Downtown Indianapolis, FREE and open to the public. More Info.

500 Festival Community Day
May 26, (Wednesday) 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Indianapolis Motor
Speedway Tickets: $7/person; Kids 6 and under free. More Info.

500 Carb Day and Concert by ZZ Top
May 28, (Friday) Public Gates Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.;
IndyCar Series Practice 11 a.m. to Noon
Firestone Freedom 100 Pre-race Noon to 12:30 p.m.
Firestone Freedom 100 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
Miller Lite Carb Day Concert 3:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tickets: $10 admission;
5 and under free, More Info.

500 Festival Parade
May 29, (Saturday) 12:00 Noon, Downtown Indianapolis
More Info.

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