Illinois home sales climb 5.6 percent; Median price up 8.7 percent in May
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – June 22, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The month of May brought strong home sales gains and higher median prices to the Illinois housing market, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in May 2015 totaled 14,980 homes sold, up 5.6 percent from May 2014 when 14,187 homes sold.
The statewide median price in May 2015 rose to $182,000, an 8.7 percent gain over May 2014’s statewide median price of $167,500. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
“We’re seeing a market that is definitely working in favor of sellers,” said Jim Kinney, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and vice president for luxury sales at Baird & Warner in Chicago. “Not only is the time it takes to sell a home down from a year ago, but we are also seeing continued upward movement in the median price for a home.”
The time it took to sell a home in May averaged 72 days statewide, down from 75 days a year ago and even faster than 78 days last month. Available housing inventory remained tight with 68,488 homes for sale, a 6.7 percent decline from May 2014 when there were 73,408 homes.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central Region was 3.82 percent in May 2015, down from 3.64 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In May 2014 it averaged 4.18 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area, home sales (single family and condominiums) in May 2015 totaled 10,684, an increase of 7.0 percent from the 9,982 sales in May 2014.
The median price in May in the Chicago PMSA was $222,000, up 7.2 percent from $207,000 in May 2014.
“Notwithstanding sluggish employment growth in Illinois, housing sales and prices continue their positive trends,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, Director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “Of interest, is the upward trend in prices of foreclosed properties that have been sold, although the rate of decline in the foreclosure inventory suggests a long wait before it returns to pre-recession levels.”
According to the data, forty-nine (49) counties out of 102 Illinois counties reporting recorded sales gains for May 2015 over previous-year numbers, including Madison County, up 24.9 percent with 346 units sold; McHenry County, up 14.2 percent with 514 units sold; DuPage County, up 10.4 percent with 1,338 units sold; and Sangamon County, up 1.7 percent with 293 units sold. Fifty-two (52) counties recorded median price gains in May 2015 over previous-year numbers, including Rock Island County, up 23.5 percent to $111,000; Kane County, up 18.4 percent to $213,000; Will County, up 12.0 percent to $194,250; and Champaign County, up 3.2 percent to $150,500.
The city of Chicago saw sales of 2,700 homes in May 2015, up 10.1 percent from last year when 2,453 homes were sold. The median price of a home in Chicago was $287,500, up 6.8 percent over May 2014 when the median price was $269,250.
“Chicago has seen home buyers enter the market with vigor since February,” said Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and co-president of Realty & Mortgage Co. “The increase in median prices and the relative lack of inventory compared to a year ago show consumers are comfortable with buying in the city and they believe the investment is worth paying a bit more.”
Sales and price information is generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 30 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC as of June 8, 2015 for the period of May 1 through May 31. The Chicago PMSA, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
The Illinois Association of REALTORS® is a voluntary trade association whose 43,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, the Illinois Association of REALTORS® works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by recommending and promoting legislation to safeguard and advance the interest of real property ownership.
Find Illinois housing stats, data and the University of Illinois REAL forecast at www.illinoisrealtor.org/marketstats.
MEDIA ONLY: Economist Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings will be available for media interviews between 9 a.m. and noon CDT on June 22. He can be reached at 312-320-3460.
Contact: Stephanie Sievers, 217-529-2600
