For some families, the decision that stops them from moving to a senior living community isn’t the house. It’s not being sure what a home sale could actually add to the picture.

This is common, especially if you bought your home years ago. Your old mortgage payment feels manageable, and it’s easy to compare that familiar number to a new monthly rate without factoring in what your home is worth today. With home values up across much of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana right now, your home equity can help you start your next chapter.

What’s Happening in Today’s Housing Market

Ohio

Ohio home prices are up meaningfully year over year, with the median sale price sitting in the $275,000 to $285,000 range, according to Houzeo’s Ohio housing market data, roughly 6.5% to 14% higher than last year depending on the market measured. 

Homes are also moving fast: The median time on market is running around 38 days, per Houzeo, well within the range experts consider a seller’s market, a trend confirmed by The Advantage Lending’s Ohio forecast. 

That combination of rising prices and quick sales means home equity in Ohio has grown, and sellers are seeing that value quickly rather than sitting on the market for months.

Michigan

Michigan’s median home price is up as well, running around $255,000 to $295,000 depending on the source, according to Houzeo’s Michigan housing market data and Propcash’s Michigan market analysis, with statewide year-over-year growth in the low single digits and homes selling for close to full asking price in many areas. Median days on market statewide vary depending on the area, but are around 42 days.

Indiana

Indiana prices are also climbing year over year, with the median sale price running roughly $255,000 to $305,000 depending on the market and timeframe measured, according to Houzeo’s Indiana housing market data and Innago’s Indiana housing market trends. 

This is up anywhere from the mid-single digits to nearly 15% from last year. Days on market are longer here than in Ohio or Michigan, averaging somewhere between 36 and 54 days depending on the region and time of year, which Innago points to as a sign the market is normalizing toward more balance between buyers and sellers rather than staying in the seller’s-market territory seen in states like Ohio and Michigan.

Wherever you live, the bigger point is the same. Well-prepared homes aren’t sitting for long, which means the part you’ve been putting off might take less time and bring in more than you think.

Your Home Sale Can Do More Than Clear Space. It Can Help Fund What’s Next.

For many families, the proceeds from a home sale become a real part of how they fund life plan living at Otterbein. Otterbein typically offers three payment options, and home sale proceeds can play a role in each one:

• A monthly rental fee. Some residents choose an all-inclusive monthly fee with no entrance fee at all. Monthly rental fees at Otterbein vary by size, residence type, and community, starting around $900, and often compare closely to what you’re already spending on your current home once you add up mortgage or rent, utilities, maintenance, and lawn care. Home sale proceeds can simply become part of the income supporting that monthly cost.
• A 100 percent refundable entrance fee. This option, which isn’t offered by most other life plan communities, lets you pay an entrance fee that reduces your monthly rental fee, and you’re eligible to get 100 percent of it back if you ever leave the community. Families can use home sale proceeds to fund this entrance fee.
• A refundable life use fee (RLUF). With this option, you choose how much to put down. That balance depreciates over time but carries as a credit toward any level of care you may need for as long as you live at Otterbein. This is another place families often apply proceeds from selling a home.

An Otterbein lifestyle counselor will work with you and outside financial guidance to help figure out which option fits your situation, since everyone’s finances are different. Otterbein is a non-profit that holds an “A” rating from S&P Global for financial strength, so families can feel confident the funds they’re putting toward their future are going into a stable, well-managed community.

Your House Sold. Now What?

Once the “for sale” sign comes down, what comes next isn’t a smaller life. It’s a fuller one.

At Otterbein SeniorLife, selling your home doesn’t mean giving up your independence. It means trading home maintenance, yard work, and the worry of “what if my needs change” for a plan that’s already in place. Life plan living at Otterbein gives you access to the full continuum of care, from independent living through assisted living and long-term care, all on one campus. You may also know this as a CCRC, or continuing care retirement community.

That security is what lets you actually enjoy what comes after the sale: new friendships, programs built around wellness in every sense (physical, social, spiritual, and more), and a community that already knows your name before you’ve unpacked your last box.

Timing Is Personal, But Worth a Real Look

We’re not going to tell you the market will look this way forever, or that today is the only good day to make a move. Markets shift, and they shift differently depending on where you live. But if the house has been the reason you’ve paused, financially or otherwise, it may be worth finding out what selling looks like for your home right now, and how it could fund your next chapter at Otterbein.

Curious what today’s market could mean for your move, or want to talk through what an entrance fee or monthly costs might look like for you? We’d love to help you explore both.

Schedule a tour or contact us to start the conversation.