Homebuyers were out in force in September, driving Illinois homes sales to double-digit gains and pushing median prices higher, data from Illinois REALTORS® shows.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in September totaled 17,658 homes sold, up 35.2 percent from 13,060 in September 2019.
The statewide median price in September was $235,000, up 17.5 percent from September 2019, when the median price was $200,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
“The state housing market continued to rebound with significant jumps in September home sales and prices,” said Sue Miller, president of Illinois REALTORS® and designated managing broker of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in McHenry. “Driven by enticingly low mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, strong homebuyer demand is stretching into fall.”
The time it took to sell a home in September averaged 44 days, down 6.4 percent compared to last year. Available inventory totaled 40,047 homes for sale, a 35.8 percent decline from 62,406 homes in September 2019.
According to the data, home sales in the Champaign-Urbana MSA (Champaign, Piatt and Ford counties) totaled 283 units, a 34.1 percent increase while the median price was up 9.4 percent to $175,000; home sales in the Rockford MSA (Boone and Winnebago counties) totaled 516 units, a 16.2 percent increase while the median price was up 14.5 percent to $145,750.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 2.89 percent in September, a decrease from 2.94 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In September 2019, it averaged 3.61 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in September totaled 12,451, up 38.7 percent from September 2019 sales of 8,976 homes. The median price in September was $275,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 14.6 percent from $240,000 in September 2019.
“Continuing a three-month trend, both the Illinois and Chicago area housing markets recorded positive year-over-year increases in both prices and sales,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, emeritus director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “Two concerns are the continuing low inventory problem and the increase in the number of serious delinquencies. While the former issue is having a significant impact on upward price movements, the delinquency problem in combination with increases in the number of long-term unemployed may dampen demand in 2021.”
The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales increase 28.1 percent with 2,570 sales in September, compared to 2,006 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in September was $322,500, up 10.4 percent from September 2019.
“With continued record low interest rates, we’re still seeing an increase in demand on properties as indicated in the 28.1 percent increase in closed sales and 10.4 percent increase in median sales price,” said Nykea Pippion McGriff, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of brokerage services of Coldwell Banker Realty. “Buyers are capitalizing on the market and acting quickly, especially for well-priced properties.”
Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service data on closed sales reported by 26 participating Illinois REALTORS® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Oct. 7, 2020 for the period Sept. 1 to Sept. 30, 2020. 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 50,000 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 and the University of Illinois REAL forecast at www.IllinoisRealtors.org/MarketStats.
