Some Indiana housing markets are pulling ahead of last year

Across Indiana, the spring market is starting to wake up. But it is not moving at the same speed everywhere.

Statewide, the latest weekly data showed a modest increase in new listings and pending contracts, while closed sales were mostly flat. That is a familiar early-spring pattern. More sellers are entering the market, more buyers are making moves, and many of those deals have not yet shown up in closing totals.

But underneath that statewide picture, local markets are splitting into different tracks.

In the chart below, each county shows cumulative home sales by week so far this year compared with the same stretch last year. The gray line is 2025. The colored line is 2026. Purple counties are running ahead of last year. Orange counties are running behind.

Some mid-sized markets are moving faster than last year

The strongest gains are not coming only from the biggest counties.

Tippecanoe County stands out as one of the clearest examples. Its cumulative sales line is ahead of last year, up about 7.5%, and the latest weekly report shows why: pending contracts rose from 46 to 50, closed sales rose from 38 to 41, and the median sale price jumped from $268,500 to $325,000 in a single week. That is the kind of combination that signals real momentum.

Madison County is another strong market. Sales there are tracking well ahead of last year, up about 14.6%, and recent weekly data showed pending contracts rising from 42 to 55 while the median sale price moved up to $243,200. For a mid-sized market, that is a meaningful early-spring burst.

Bartholomew County is also running ahead of last year’s pace, up about 9.3%. Recent activity there has been steady. Listings moved up, pending contracts held firm, and the county’s cumulative sales curve kept widening its lead.

Other counties in the same category include Montgomery, Lawrence, Wayne, and Grant. Taken together, these markets suggest that some of Indiana’s smaller and mid-sized counties are having a stronger spring opening than they did a year ago.

The largest markets look steadier

Several of Indiana’s biggest housing markets are not surging. They are simply holding their ground.

Hamilton County is a good example. It is not dramatically ahead of last year in cumulative sales, sitting essentially flat year over year, but it remains one of the most active and expensive markets in the state. In the latest weekly report, pending contracts rose from 161 to 171, closed sales increased from 113 to 121, and the median sale price reached $432,725. That is not a breakout story. It is a story of sustained strength.

Marion County also looks stable, with cumulative sales up just 0.8% from last year. Listings rose from 325 to 342, pending contracts climbed from 328 to 363, and closed sales were almost unchanged from the prior week. In other words, the pipeline is getting busier even if the county’s cumulative sales pace still looks close to last year.

Porter County fits this group too. Sales are tracking near last year’s pace, down just 0.3%, but price pressure remains strong. The latest median sale price rose to $347,000, and homes sold for 96.7% of original list price. Demand is still firm even without a big jump in volume.

Hamilton, Marion, Porter, Hendricks, Lake, and several other large counties are helping keep the statewide market balanced. They are not carrying the story with explosive gains, but they are also not dragging it down.

A few counties are clearly lagging

Not every market is keeping up.

Johnson County is one of the clearest examples, with cumulative sales down about 11.2% from last year. Listings rose from 65 to 74 in the latest week, and pending contracts increased from 67 to 80. But closed sales fell from 41 to 33, and the county’s cumulative sales line remains below last year. More homes are coming onto the market. Buyers are active. But the closed sales totals are not yet matching the pace from a year ago.

Clark County shows a slightly different pattern. Cumulative sales are down about 9.9% from last year. New listings dropped sharply from 78 to 53, while closed sales jumped from 24 to 42 in the latest week. That kind of weekly volatility can produce a cumulative line that looks soft even when one week is strong. It may be a sign of a market with more timing swings and less week-to-week consistency.

Kosciusko County appears to be one of the softer markets in the group, with cumulative sales down about 32.4% from last year. Its cumulative sales pace is well below last year, and the latest weekly report showed pending contracts falling from 16 to 11 and closed sales dropping from 14 to 9. That is a more straightforward slowdown.

Monroe, Morgan, LaPorte, Howard, Delaware, and DeKalb also fall on the slower side of the chart. Some are only modestly behind. Others are clearly off last year’s pace. The key point is that weakness is not concentrated in one part of the state. It shows up in several different kinds of markets.

The statewide market is balanced, but local markets are not

That may be the most useful way to read this chart.

At the state level, Indiana’s housing market looks fairly steady. New listings are rising. Pending contracts are improving. Prices are holding up. Closed sales have not broken out yet, but the conditions for a busier spring are visible.

At the county level, though, the story is much more uneven.

Some places, especially a handful of mid-sized counties, are building real momentum. Some of the largest counties are stable and active, even without major year-over-year gains. And several others are still trailing last year, either because supply is rising faster than closings or because recent buyer activity has not yet translated into completed sales.

That kind of split market is common in early spring. It also means the next few weeks matter. If the recent rise in pending contracts continues, more counties could start bending upward. If not, this year’s market may end up looking less like a statewide surge and more like a patchwork of local stories.

Explore county reports: Hamilton, Marion, Tippecanoe, Madison, Bartholomew, Johnson, Clark, Kosciusko, Porter.