From Our Desk

Noblesville Prospector New and Improved

The Noblesville Prospector (NP) is only about 3 years old but in technological years that's quite a long time. So we took a good hard look at the software and its offerings to see how we could improve the service. If you aren't familiar with it, NP is a property database for both existing land and buildings for sale or lease in the Noblesville area. You can access the database through our website or directly at www.noblesvilleprospector.com. The site currently contains over 250 listings that are updated on a weekly basis.

The improvements to the system include a new, streamlined design, housing on our own website rather than redirection to an alternate site and, most importantly, a direct integration with the State of Indiana's property database site. Therefore, if you are in our system you are in the State's system and visa versa. This has given our owners more than double the exposure to those seeking new business homes. If you have a site that is not currently listed or has updated information please contact us directly.

Professional Development

Assistant Director of Economic Development Judi Johnson graduated from the Oklahoma University's Economic Development Institue this past November. OU/EDI is an advanced curriculum for economic development professionals. Students complete 117 hours of instruction covering all aspects of economic development.

Assistant Director of Economic Development Christy Langley has successfully completed the requirements of and earned her certification by the American Institiure of Certified Planners (AICP). To be certified by the AICP, an applicant must pass a written exam after having achieved a certain level of full-time experience and formal education. AICP certification is recognized throughout the United States as the mark of a professional planner.

Community Development

2011 Noblesville Housing Recap

2011 Noblesville Single Family Building Permits have significantly increased since 2010. In December permits totaled 405, approximately 100 more than in 2010. "The rise in housing permits this year can be attributed to the housing product and the desire to live in a location like Noblesville with it's great schools, continued growth and available amenities" said Steve Huntley, Director of Planning for the City of Noblesville. No multi-family permits were issued in 2011 but 11 permits (84 units) were issued in 2011 for the senior apartment complex Meredith Meadows for which occupancy certificates were issued early in 2011.

November totals for Hamilton County single family housing permits were: Carmel/230, Cicero/29, Fishers/417, Sheridan/11, Noblesville/397, and Westfield/230. Total for Hamilton County was 1265 in 2010 and 1319 in 2012 (as of November). The closest number in the Greater Indianapolis Nine-County area was Marion County with 565 permits issued in 2011. Hamilton County increased by 4% while Marion County decreased by 14%.

The American Planning Association stated this month that "Despite successive waves of foreclosures in the last few years, the US Home Ownership Rate is the second highest it's ever been. At 65.1%, the 2011 rate is down just 1.1 percentage points from the record year of 2000."

Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors in late September said that the housing industry in central Indiana was making respectable gains. For the three months ending in August, median sales price across the region was up 3.6 percent to $129,500 and average sales price ticked up to $165,122; a 2.3 percent increase.