FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – Buying a home in Indiana is a tricky thing. The market has been driven by both high prices and interest rates.

But one housing expert says buying a home right now is not a bad idea.

“We are going to continue–because of low supply and high demand–to have an incredibly robust housing market in Indiana. You think it’s busy now? Wait until the rates go down just a little bit, if in fact that happens, and tens of thousands of people who are on the sideline are going to get into the homebuying game and make it less affordable,” said Compass Indiana Founding Partner Greg Cooper in an interview with Inside Indiana Business.

Cooper says some cities in Indiana are among the top 50 to 75 housing markets in the country.

“We have not seen a decrease in value. We have seen a plateauing in some situations, and other houses are still rolling off the market and into somebody’s sold column in a quick hurry. So the bottom line is we are incredibly robust. We have a limited supply. Demand is still there, [which] means values are still inching up,” said Cooper.

Cooper says there will be even higher demand for available houses once interest rates go down, even if that decrease is a small one.

“We are incredibly robust. We have a limited supply. Demand is still there. It means values are still inching up. As we get into warmer weather with 2024 coming up and interest rates in an even better position? Wow. We’re going to really go,” said Cooper.

Home mortgage rates are driving the market. At times, Cooper says they hit more than 8%, but they have fallen back a bit.

“Where they fall as we start the new year and move into the year will be a huge factor in the housing market,” said Cooper.