Mostly what buyers have recently paid for similar homes nearby. Those comparable sales set the range, and your home's spot within the neighborhood, its size and layout, bedrooms and bathrooms, condition and updates, and lot move it up or down within that range. How many homes are for sale right now decides how much room buyers have to negotiate.
I'm Wes Johnston, a Realtor with Trueblood Real Estate in Fishers. Before real estate I spent about ten years designing homes and managing their construction for a custom builder in Hamilton County, so I look at a house the way a builder and a buyer both would. Market figures below come from the MIBOR Broker Listing Cooperative and carry their dates.
The short version: your home is worth what a buyer will pay for it today, and the best evidence of that is what buyers just paid for homes like it close by. Everything else on this page explains why your home lands higher or lower than those sales.
Comparable sales, or comps, are recent closed sales of homes like yours, as close by as possible: similar size, age, style, bedroom and bathroom count, and condition. They matter most because they're what the buyer's appraiser uses to decide whether the price supports the loan, and what a buyer's agent will point to in negotiation.
Asking prices of homes still for sale aren't comps. They tell you what sellers hope for; closed sales tell you what buyers actually paid. Online estimates start from public records, so they don't know your kitchen was redone or that the house down the street had a finished basement.
More than most people expect. Two houses with the same floor plan in the same subdivision can sell for different prices because of where they sit. Buyers pay attention to things like backing up to a busy road or commercial property, backing up to a pond, woods or common area, a corner lot versus a cul-de-sac, power lines, and how much traffic passes the front door.
That's why the best comps are on your street or in your section of the neighborhood, not just in your ZIP code.
Yes, and they're weighed differently. Finished space above ground usually counts for more than finished basement space. Bedroom and bathroom count matter most compared with the homes around you: a three-bedroom house in a neighborhood of four-bedroom homes is competing at a disadvantage.
Layout is harder to put a number on but shows up fast in showings. A floor plan that works for how people live now, with an open kitchen, a usable main-floor space, and a primary suite buyers like, will draw more interest than the same square footage chopped into small rooms.
Start with the things an inspector will write up: roof, furnace and air conditioner, water heater, windows, and any water or drainage problems. Buyers and their lenders pay close attention to the age and condition of those systems, and problems found during the inspection usually cost you more in negotiation than they would have cost to fix ahead of time.
Kitchens and bathrooms are where buyers notice updates. Big cosmetic projects right before listing usually don't return what they cost, though. Fresh paint, working fixtures and a clean, uncluttered house are usually worth doing. I'll walk your house and tell you which is which.
Size matters, but usable space matters more. A flat, open backyard often beats a bigger lot that's mostly slope or drainage easement. Buyers also weigh privacy, mature trees, a fence, how water drains after a heavy rain, and what's behind the house.
If you're in a newer subdivision, the lot is often where otherwise similar homes differ most, so it's worth pointing out in the listing.
Supply and demand set how much negotiating room buyers have. The common measure is months of supply: how many months it would take to sell every home currently for sale at the current pace of sales, if no new listings came on. A lower number means fewer homes competing for each buyer.
For central Indiana overall, MIBOR reported a 2.5-month supply in August 2026, with 6,941 homes for sale, up 14% from a year earlier (MIBOR Market Insights, August 2026 report, released September 10, 2026). Here's how that looked in the cities I have current data for:
| City | County | Aug 2026 | Aug 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cicero | Hamilton | 0.8 months | 1.8 months |
| Fortville | Hancock | 1.4 months | 4.5 months |
| Fishers | Hamilton | 1.6 months | 1.6 months |
| Zionsville | Boone | 1.7 months | 1.8 months |
| Sheridan | Hamilton | 1.8 months | 1.5 months |
| Brownsburg | Hendricks | 2.0 months | 1.4 months |
| Plainfield | Hendricks | 2.4 months | 2.4 months |
| Greenwood | Johnson | 2.4 months | 2.2 months |
| Avon | Hendricks | 2.6 months | 1.6 months |
| McCordsville | Hancock | 2.9 months | 2.1 months |
Source: MIBOR Broker Listing Cooperative via Domus Market Insights. Single-family homes, months of supply for the month of August in each year, rounded to one decimal. Data updated September 25, 2026; pulled September 27, 2026.
In August 2026, supply ran from 0.8 months in Cicero to 2.9 months in McCordsville. These are single-month readings, so they swing, especially in smaller towns with only a handful of sales a month. Ask me for the trend in your neighborhood and price range.
What you paid for it, and what you've spent on it. Buyers pay for what the house is today compared with the other homes they can buy, not for your cost. A high-end upgrade can add less than it cost, especially if it's well above the rest of the neighborhood.
The asking prices on your neighbors' listings don't set your value either, until those homes actually sell.
Start with an instant estimate on my home value page. Then let me walk the house. I'll pull the comps that actually apply to your street, adjust for the things an algorithm can't see, and give you a number with the sales behind it.
If you know of any problems with the house, tell me early. They go on the Indiana seller's disclosure, buyers will factor them in, and it's better to price for them up front than to renegotiate after the inspection.
More seller questions, answered: how long it takes to sell, how to choose a listing agent, and whether to sell before you buy. Before you list, read up on the Indiana seller's disclosure and radon testing. Also answered: what it costs to sell, how to price your home, what to fix before selling, and selling on your own or with an agent.
I'll walk your house, pull the sales that actually apply to your street, and tell you what I think it sells for and why. If the number is lower than you hoped, you'll hear it from me before you hear it from the market.
No cost, and no obligation to list.
Fishers-based. A real number before you list. Committed to your success.
Send the address and what you've updated. I'll set up a time to see it and pull the comps.
Send a MessageStart with an instant estimate from public data, then let's adjust it for what the data can't see.
Send the address and anything you've updated. I'll get back to you with the recent sales I'd use to price it.
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Market figures are from the MIBOR Broker Listing Cooperative: city months of supply via Domus Market Insights (single-family, August 2026 and August 2025, pulled September 27, 2026) and MIBOR Market Insights for August 2026. This page is general information, not an appraisal.