10 Real Estate Questions Fort Wayne Buyers and Sellers Are Asking
Buying a Home · From Moving Fort Wayne
10 Real Estate Questions Fort Wayne Buyers and Sellers Are Asking
When the Noll Team asked its agents what clients were asking most, the same questions kept coming up. On this solo episode of Moving Fort Wayne, Brad Noll works through ten of them, five from buyers and five from sellers, while the rest of the team is out helping clients.
The answers are quick, practical, and rooted in what the team sees every day in Fort Wayne and Allen County. They are especially useful for anyone thinking about buying or selling in the next six to 12 months.
Is Fort Wayne in a Buyer's Market?
Homes are sitting a little longer, and buyers want to know if that means the market has turned. Brad starts with the definition. A buyer's market is six months or more of inventory, meaning that if nothing new came on the market, it would take six months to sell everything currently for sale. A seller's market is anything under four months. Between four and six months, the market is balanced.
At the time of recording, Brad says, Fort Wayne and Allen County had about 2.4 months of supply, so it is still a seller's market, but a softening one. The area sees about 4,500 home sales a year, down from as many as 6,000, and homes are taking about 32 to 35 days to sell compared with about 12 days during the COVID years. That trend, not the political climate, the stock market, or even interest rates, is what drives the advice the team gives.
“There's nothing we can do to market your home if the price is wrong.”
Brad Noll
Inspections, Earnest Money, and Closing Costs
Brad's answer on inspections is direct: "Every buyer should do a home inspection." He recommends ordering it once the offer is accepted, which is also a great chance to see the house again. In his estimation, a general inspection runs $400 to $600 depending on square footage, with add-ons such as heating and air, mold, water, or well testing depending on the age and condition of the home. What a buyer does with the report is strategy. Some use it to negotiate repairs, some to plan for maintenance, and first-time buyers can keep it on file to learn their home.
Earnest money, also called a good faith deposit, is typically about 1% of the purchase price. It is spelled out in the offer, made out to the listing brokerage, and held until closing, when it comes back to the buyer as a credit. Brad reminds buyers that the check does get cashed, so the money needs to be in the bank. "So a strong earnest deposit is a sign of a great offer," he says, because the more a buyer puts down, the harder it is to walk away.
Closing costs are everything it takes to buy the home and obtain the mortgage, not just the lender's origination charges. That includes lender fees, title costs, prepaids, and homeowner's insurance. A great lender, Brad says, will have the heart of a teacher and walk you through it.
How to Tell if a Home Is Well Priced
When buyers ask how a home is priced, Brad says what they really want to know is whether they are getting a good deal. The answer starts with month supply of inventory, also called absorption rate. In a softening market, sellers may be more open to negotiating inspection repairs. In a market with several offers on a property, sellers sometimes allow an inspection but will not fix anything.
From there, the team runs a market analysis. Price per square foot is a starting point, but Brad compares relying on it alone to judging a car by the pound. A small, light Porsche 911 and a big, heavy Astro van would tell you very different stories. "You don't buy a car by the pound and you don't buy a home by the square footage," he says. The analysis looks at the neighborhood, then the zip code, then Allen County, to see which direction values are trending.
Timeline matters, too. If a buyer plans to stay 10, 15, or 20 years, Brad is less concerned about today's resale value. "When it comes to real estate, when you hold something long-term, you're going to win," he says.
What Sellers Want to Know
Sellers usually start with marketing, and Brad says it begins with a strategic pricing model. "There's nothing we can do to market your home if the price is wrong," he says. He admits that on four of his last five listings, the sellers wanted a little more than the recommended price, and he understands why. Next comes the team's elevated marketing approach, which considers where buyers are shopping and who they are, whether first-time, move-up, empty nest, or luxury buyers. Every listing also goes into the MLS, which sends it out to the real estate websites buyers use.
On commission, Brad explains that every agent works as an independent contractor and sets their own fees. On the listing side, the team explains its fee and the service behind it. Today every buyer must sign a buyer's agency agreement, and whether the seller compensates the buyer's agent is one of the terms negotiated in the offer, along with price, inspections, the closing date, and possession.
Sellers also ask how many homes the team has sold. Brad says most people just want to know the answer is not zero and that their agent will have time for them. The team has sold over 2,000 homes in the last 20 years, and he believes people hire for two reasons: character and competence.
Why Sale Price to List Price Ratio Matters
Brad calls this one of the biggest things nobody asks about. Most sellers ask about commission rate, but he suggests also asking any agent about their sale price to list price ratio. He says the local MLS average over the last 12 months was 96.44%, meaning a home listed at $100,000 would sell for about $96,440. Over the same period, he says, the Noll Team's ratio was 99.4%, which he describes as getting sellers about 3% more than the market on average.
Here are the seller questions Brad covers, which make a good list to bring to any listing appointment:
- How will you market my home, and how will you set the price?
- How does your commission work, and what are the terms and fees?
- How many homes have you sold?
- What is your sale price to list price ratio?
- Can I cancel the listing agreement?
On that last question, Brad speaks for himself rather than the whole team. As long as there is no accepted offer from a buyer, his clients can cancel the listing at any time. Canceling a contract with a buyer is different and can bring liquidated damages.
What Should You Ask Before Buying or Selling in Fort Wayne?
Brad's ten questions make a solid checklist. Buyers should understand where the market stands, plan for an inspection, have earnest money ready, know what closing costs include, and look past price per square foot. Sellers should start with the right price, understand how their home will be marketed and how fees work, and ask for results that reflect real outcomes.
The goal, Brad says, is to create confident buyers, confident sellers, and confident homeowners who feel informed and connected at every stage of homeownership.
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