Illinois Home Sales Up 10 Months in a Row, Chicago Region a Full Year Statewide Home Prices Stabilizing

SPRINGFIELD, IL – July 23, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Home prices in Illinois are showing signs of stabilizing with continued positive year-over-year median price growth and 10 straight months of mostly double-digit sales increases; the Chicago region marked a year of positive sales activity in June. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in June 2010 were up 18.3 percent, totaling 13,072 homes sold compared to June 2009 sales of 11,048 homes. The median price in June 2010 was $170,000, up 2.5 percent from $165,825 in June 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

“The tax credit has proved to be a boost to the Illinois housing market with a tremendous level of buying and selling activity for the last 10 months which, importantly, has helped to stabilize home prices statewide,” said REALTOR® Mike Onorato, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and broker-owner of Onorato Real Estate in Coal City. “As the stimulus winds down, job growth and improved consumer and business confidence will be required to keep on a path toward recovery. People need stable job prospects to feel secure in their purchasing decisions.”

In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), year-over-year home sales were positive for 12 consecutive months, up 27.2 percent to 9,085 homes sold (single-family and condominiums) in June 2010 compared to 7,140 homes sold in June 2009. The median home sale price for the Chicagoland PMSA was $207,500 in June 2010, down 1.2 percent from $210,000 in June 2009.

“Continued strong annual sales growth characterized the months of April, May and June in Illinois in the Chicago region,” said Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois. “Sales are forecast to remain positive in double digits in both markets through September. Once again price changes remain more stubborn with some slight upward movement in Illinois in July and August followed by little or no change in September; in the Chicago region, the changes continue to trend down in the 1 to 5 percent range.”

Adds Hewings: “The economy is certainly not helping the housing market; the loss of over 200,000 temporary census jobs overwhelmed the private sector gains of 83,000. The unemployment rate fell nationally to 9.5 percent (from 9.7 percent in May). Illinois’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate followed the national decline, dropping -0.4 point to 10.4 percent in June.”

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central region was 4.74 percent in June 2010, down from 4.91 percent during the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in June it averaged 5.47 percent.

In the city of Chicago, June total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were up 27.5 percent to 2,526 sales compared to 1,981 homes sold in June 2009, the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. The city of Chicago median price in June 2010 was $234,250, down 3.2 percent compared to $242,050 a year ago in June 2009.

“We see an increase in the number of units sold in June 2010 over the same period last year, increasing the year-to-date number of homes sold in Chicago by 41% for the first half of 2010 versus 2009,” said REALTOR® Genie Birch, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and a broker associate with Koenig & Strey Real Living, Chicago. “We believe this is a positive indicator that Chicago’s housing market is stabilizing. Motivated buyers and sellers are working toward realistically closing deals at current market values.”

According to the IAR report, total home sales (single-family and condominiums) comparing June 2010 to June 2009 were up in 47 of 102 Illinois counties reporting with 38 of 102 counties posting median price increases. The following Illinois counties reported both sales and median price increases for the month: Grundy County sales up 16.7 percent, median price up 11.9 percent to $175,000; Kendall County sales up 11.5 percent, median price up 5.3 percent to $178,000; LaSalle County sales up 1.1 percent, median price up 10.0 percent to $110,000; Lake County sales up 38.8 percent, median price up 5.2 percent to $222,000; Macon County sales up 21.1 percent, median price up 20.4 percent to $115,000; Saint Clair County sales up 2.5 percent, median price up 5.9 percent to $140,000; and Sangamon County sales up 6.1 percent, median price up 2.4 percent to $130,000.

Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 37 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations. 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 46,000 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 that safeguards and advances the interest of real property ownership.

Find Illinois market stats data at www.illinoisrealtor.org, click on Market Stats.

Contact:
Mary Schaefer/Ann Londrigan
217-529-2600