Illinois home sales declined in September amid tight inventory and higher mortgage rates, while median prices posted moderate gains, according to Illinois REALTORS®.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in September totaled 12,432 homes sold, down 10.4 percent from 13,873 in September 2017.
The statewide median price in September was $198,000, up 3.1 percent from September 2017, when the median price was $192,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
“Consumers this fall are confronted with fewer options when they are looking for a new home,” said Ed Neaves, Illinois REALTORS® president-elect and managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington. “Low inventories, coupled with increases in interest rates, are making it much tougher for some buyers to make a move, even though the data suggests many very much do want to make a purchase.”
The time it took to sell a home in September averaged 48 days, down from 51 days a year ago. Available inventory totaled 60,771 homes for sale, a 3.5 percent decline from 62,990 homes in September 2017.
According to the data, home sales in the Peoria MSA (Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties) totaled 500, a 13.4 percent increase while the median price was down 5.3 percent to $123,000; and the Bloomington MSA (McLean and Dewitt counties) totaled 259 units, a 4.0 percent increase while the median price was up 3.5 percent to $163,000.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.63 percent in September, an increase from 4.55 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In September 2017, it averaged 3.81 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in September totaled 8,587 homes sold, down 12.1 percent from September 2017 sales of 9,772 homes. The median price in September was $239,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 3.9 percent from $230,000 in September 2017.
“While price growth continues with modest gains, sales in both the Chicago Metro Area and Illinois have decreased on both a year-over-year and on a monthly basis” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “September’s sales were lower, but it is difficult to extract any trend from one month’s data and it will require more monitoring in the months ahead to determine longer-term market impacts.”
According to the data, thirty-five (35) Illinois counties reported sales gains for September over previous-year numbers, including Peoria County, up 16.5 percent with 261 units sold; and McHenry County, up 1.1 percent with 478 units sold. Fifty-two (52) counties showed year-over-year median price increases including Madison County, up 25.2 percent to $151,500; Rock Island County, up 13.5 percent to $126,000; and DuPage County, up 6.3 percent to $281,750.
The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales decrease 16.6 percent with 1,963 sales in September, compared to 2,355 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in September was $287,400 up 4.5 percent compared to September 2017 when it was $275,000.
“The data shows a slowdown in closed sales in Chicago because inventory continues to fall, and people may be priced out of the few price bands where there is inventory,” said Tommy Choi, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and broker at Keller Williams Chicago – Lincoln Park. “Price continues to be key in current market conditions, particularly as interest rates continue to rise.”
Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 27 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Oct. 7, 2018 for the period Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, 2018. The Chicago Metro Area, 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 47,000 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 more at staging.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.
