Illinois home sales, prices gain traction in November
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – (RealEstateRama) — Illinois homes sales regained momentum in November with double-digit increases in annual home sales and continued strong gains in median prices, according to Illinois REALTORS®.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in November 2016 totaled 11,341 homes sold, up 14.8 percent from 9,881 in November 2015.
The statewide median price in November was $178,000, up 7.9 percent from November 2015 when the median price was $165,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
“Buyers were significantly motivated in November, with the depressed sales numbers from October suddenly seeing a reversal,” said Illinois REALTORS® President Doug Carpenter, ABR, AHWD, GRI, SFR of Mokena, managing broker of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell in Orland Hills. “Sellers were the big beneficiaries of this surge in market interest, as buyers determined now that the election is over and interest rates might be moving higher, it’s time to finally make a decision.”
The time it took to sell a home in November averaged 62 days, down from 68 days a year ago. Available housing inventory totaled 57,310 homes for sale, a 14.7 percent decline from November 2015 when there were 67,187 homes on the market.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.77 percent in November 2016, an increase from 3.47 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In November 2015 it averaged 3.93 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), home sales (single-family and condominiums) in November 2016 totaled 8,093 homes sold, up 16.0 percent from November 2015 sales of 6,979 homes. The median price in November 2016 was $215,000 in the Chicago PMSA, an increase of 10.3 percent from $195,000 in November 2015.
“With the election finally over, consumers appeared to have responded with a significant growth in sales (year-over-year),” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “Supply continues to be a problem, but prices of both regular and foreclosed properties increased and the forecasts suggest that these trends will continue into the first quarter of 2017.”
According to the data, fifty-seven (57) Illinois counties reported sales gains for November 2016 over previous-year numbers, including Lake County, up 25.6 percent with 730 units sold; Madison County, up 16.9 percent with 249 units sold; Cook County, up 13.1 percent with 4,422 units sold; and Peoria County, up 9.3 percent with 165 units sold. Fifty (50) counties showed year-over-year median price increases including Kankakee County, up 15.8 percent to $125,000; McHenry County, up 12.5 percent to $193,812; and McLean County, up 2.0 percent to $161,000.
The city of Chicago saw a 13.2 percent year-over-year home sales increase in November 2016 with 1,881 sales, up from 1,661 in November 2015. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in November 2016 was $260,000, up 11.3 percent compared to November 2015 when it was $233,500.
“The sharp uptick in both single family and condo home sales reflects consumers’ desire to enter the homeownership marketplace as opportunities present themselves, with the anticipated rise in rates and declining inventory boosting activity,” said Matt Silver, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and partner at Urban Real Estate. “Buyers who’ve been watching from the sidelines and may have been distracted for a multitude of reasons, including the Cubs World Series run and the election, are being spurred into action, and both buyers and sellers are reaping the rewards.”
Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 28 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Dec. 7, 2016 for the period Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2016. 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.
Illinois REALTORS® is a voluntary trade association whose more than 44,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, Illinois 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, the University of Illinois REAL forecast and a forecast looking ahead to 2017 at www.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.
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MEDIA ONLY: Economist Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings will be available for media interviews between 9 a.m. and noon on Dec. 21. He can be reached at 312-320-3460.
Contact: Stephanie Sievers, 217-529-2600
