Business is booming, but too much for housing market

BRISTOL, Ind. -- It's a thriving time to be in Elkhart County. With the booming success of the RV industry and the economy, people are moving to bigger and better things.

But that also can be a problem, when there's just too many people who can afford to move homes, all at the same time.

"We could have four, five, six offers on the same house in one day," says Pat Graham, a Broker Associate for Century 21 Affiliated in Elkhart.

Sold in a snap.

There's plenty of jobs right now in Elkhart County, but the same can't be said for theh ousing marekt. 

There's just not enough homes to meet the demand.

"Between $100,000-$200,000, there are 52 active listings in Elkhart County," explains Graham.

She says in times like these, buyers need to act fast.

"Buyers are havingto purchase their home by looking at it one time. They may have a time frame of 30 minutes to look at the house because there's a line waiting to get into the home," she adds.

But they also need to be willing to pay up/

"When we go into a multiple offer situation, people are offering $5-15,000 above list price," she adds.

It's something Richard Pippenger is having to get used to.

He's now been on both sides of the housing market.

"We just sold our house in a matter of a couple of days. We only have a few weeks to get out and get going," he says. "We're trying to find something quickly."

ABC57 News met up with Pippenger and his wife looking at a home that had just gone on the market.

"This is tghefirst house that hasn't already been taken care of by someone else," ghe says. "We've not been able to get into the houses. They've been snathed up before we ever got there."

Graham believes the turnaround of the RV industry is behind the mad market. 

"Unemployment is down. The RV industry is up, as well as many other businesses," says Graham. "People are more confient right now. They've saved. They're making more money."

Pippenger agrees.

"The economy is aboslutely booming around here with all of the RV and mobile manufacturers. It's just going really well," he adds.