Your home is much more than a collection of rooms--it's a personal sanctuary within the defined neighborhood of an even greater community which also has its own unique characteristics.

With so many great reasons to purchase a home in Northwest Indiana-- including an outstanding selection, attractive pricing and historically low interest rates--right now may just be the time to reflect on yours.

You'll find the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service at www.gniarmls.com a great place to start. Featuring the most comprehensive public access property search database with listings for all of Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton and LaPorte counties, GNIAR MLS also includes helpful resources for finding a REALTOR®, researching communities, locating properties and more.

"It's truly amazing how much information is available on the MLS. For people who may be sitting on the fence, there are some great deals in the market right now," Celeste Zajac, founder of the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance and a Northwest Indiana account manager for Ticor Title Insurance, says. "Anyone can get online and search for homes in the privacy of their own living room. The MLS allows people to narrow down what they are looking for in a home, before contacting a REALTOR®"

Once you log on, it's easy to start searching for the home of your dreams. Whether your search criteria include a specific area and/or a home of a particular size with a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a certain price range, you can zero in on specific properties that meet your needs. From there you can start comparing properties based on your personal preferences and get a fairly good idea of what's available in your price range, according to Pete Novak, chief executive officer of GNIAR and member of the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance.

"You'll definitely find a great deal of variety in northwest Indiana, from urban communities and tree-lined suburban neighborhoods to beach front properties and rural communities," he says. "Whatever your preference, there's an exciting mix of new and established housing available that offers a great sense of community pride and friendly neighbors all around."

After you identify many different properties that meet your basic criteria, you'll probably notice some radical differences in things like overall design, exterior finishes, interior dimensions and floor plans, lot size, tax costs and even travel times. If you're having trouble finding a home that meets all of your needs, now might be a good time to reevaluate your key features and benefits with an eye on possibly realigning your priorities. For example, would you trade a bedroom for a larger kitchen? What about a longer commute for a larger lot and lower price?

"People call our office all the time asking about a specific property or MLS number," Mary Behrens, an agent with RE/MAX Results in Schererville and a member of GNIAR and the National Association of REALTORS® says. "We can access a great deal of information about a property's history including disclosures of any existing problems and the recent selling prices of other homes in the same area. We're always looking for anything that's significant and beneficial for our clients to know."

Even if you're still on the fence after inquiring about a particular property or list of properties, your REALTOR® can keep you updated on any changes in the market that relate to your target areas or target homes.

"For clients that are just getting started with their search for a home, I routinely pick out new listings that meet their parameters and send them an e-mail they can review at their convenience," Behrens says. "As a REALTOR®, I am constantly reminded of the value of a home, not only in a monetary sense, but in the pride and happiness a home brings its owner. Northwest Indiana has been a great place to live and raise a family. It is a blend of urban and small town cultures, of deep roots and new growth, of tradition and innovation."

Look for more expert advice and guidance from the professionals affiliated with the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance at www.nwihousingalliance.com. Offering a one-stop resource for prospective home buyers and sellers that provides detailed information on everything you need to know about the local real estate market, members of the Northwest Indiana Housing Alliance include the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of REALTORS® (GNIAR), the Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association (IMBA), the Indiana Association of Mortgage Brokers (IAMB), the Building Industries Association of Northwest Indiana (BIA), and the Porter County Builders Association Inc (PCBA).