Wednesday, July 23, 2025
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . 4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vol. 55, No. 4
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD — Laurie Sumpter has been in the real estate business for 41 years and has noticed some changes in the past decade. Photo by Nathan Pace.
Local Realtors discuss challenges in the
HOUSING MARKET
Text and Photos By NATHAN PACE Staff Writer
Area real estate agents have seen the feasts and famines that come with the business and admit local towns are seeing some challenges. Kay Young has been in real estate in Syracuse for 37 years. “There are not a lot properties on the market. There are only 10 lakefront where we might have once seen 20-25 lakefront at the same time,” Young said. For example, Young said just three properties were available on Syracuse Lake at the time of her interview. As far as what can be done to improve the low number of units, Young said the options are hard to come by. “I really don’t. Supply and demand is important, what we really need is more housing. That’s a nationwide problem. Especially entry level housing,” Young said. “We don’t have the housing for people to come in and buy at a reasonable price.” Laurie Sumpter has been in the industry in the Nappanee and Wakarusa area for 41 years. Some of her clients she has helped go through multiple sales.
She admits that might be changing. “Usually you would see people flip their house every four to five years. With some of my customers, I am on their fourth or fifth time around. Now they are staying longer. We don’t just have that many to choose to from,” Sumpter said. Sumpter feels the main reason for that is owners do not want to trade their low interest rates from five years ago for the higher, current rate. She feels even a lower interest rate might not still be enough to help new buyers. “Even if the rates come down, the prices are still going to go up,” Sumpter said. Sumpter views the main problem is the cost of construction and the cost of the land itself, making it not profitable for developers to build more affordable housing. “The problem is the land is so high they can’t build something for $150,000 anymore,” Sumpter said. Realtor Woes Sumpter and Young both have seen the low inventory cause some Realtors to struggle in the industry. Young said out of the 160 licensed real estate agents in Kosciusko County, about 30 of the them failed to make a sale in 2024.
NEW LISTING — Kay Young puts a new sign for a local listing. Young has been in real estate for 37 years. Photo provided by Kay Young.
“I think the average Realtor has five to six listings in sales,” Young said. While getting into real estate as a side hustle may have been more common in the past, Sumpter feels you have to have a full-time commitment to do so today. “To be good and successful it requires constant work. I feel for the young ones starting. You got to take your time to build a client base and that takes awhile,” Sumpter said. Don’t Wait for a Crash Those looking to buy their first home and hope for a market crash might not have the best strategy. “I like to tell them you might be waiting for a long time. I don’t foresee a market crash but I’m not an analyst either.” Young said. “If you have the ability to purchase a home, it is the best way to build
personal wealth by building equity in your home.” Young feels the determining factor one should use to decide between renting and owning a home is the commitment to the location. “If they are short term in the area then renting is a good way to go. If you’re secure in the area and in your job status, then buying is a good option,” Young said. One factor buyers need to consider is a change to how the commission to the agents are calculated. “It’s now negotiable between the buyer and the seller who pays the commissions,” Young said. “For some buyers who have limited down payment money, it could put a burden on them. But because it is negotiable, there are some ways to compensate for that.”