Illinois median prices moved higher in October as statewide sales and available housing inventory decreased, data from Illinois REALTORS® show.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in October totaled 12,914 homes sold, down 2.9 percent from 13,305 in October 2018.
The statewide median price in October was $200,000, up 5.3 percent from October 2018, when the median price was $190,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
“Consumers sent a clear message they were willing to pay more to get into a home as we enter the final quarter of the year,” said Ed Neaves, president of Illinois REALTORS® and designated managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington. “The result of this activity is continued, sustained pressure on those who want to buy a home, but who must select from a diminished number of listed properties. These individuals face a choice of moving quickly and paying more, or sitting tight and waiting for additional properties to come on the market.”
The time it took to sell a home in October averaged 53 days, an increase of 1.9 percent from the year before. Available inventory totaled 58,561 homes for sale, a 5.5 percent decline from 61,992 homes in October 2018.
According to the data, home sales in the Moline-Rock Island MSA (Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties) totaled 225 units, a 4.7 percent increase while the median price was down 2.6 percent to $112,000; home sales in the Springfield MSA (Sangamon and Menard counties) totaled 287, a 17.1 percent increase while the median price decreased 0.7 percent to $143,000.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.69 percent in
October, an increase from 3.61 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In October 2018, it averaged 4.83 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in October totaled 8,889, down 3.3 percent from October 2018 sales of 9,188 homes. The median price in October was $240,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 4.3 percent from $230,000 in October 2018.
“Continuing a pattern of the last several months, median prices have increased. Sales declined year-over-year in October,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “Affordable inventory remains a problem even with low interest rates tempting potential buyers back into the market.”
The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales decrease 2.8 percent with 2,048 sales in October, compared to 2,108 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in October was $275,356 up 1.4 percent compared to October 2018 when it was $271,500.
“Despite some local political uncertainty, Chicago’s housing market remains active,” said Maurice Hampton, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and owner of Centered International Realty. “We’re welcoming in a new generation of homebuyers incentivized by rates and sales prices that have grown but remain reasonable. Sellers and buyers alike should be encouraged as we enter the holiday season, and there continues to be opportunities on both ends of the deal. Work with a REALTOR® to price smart and negotiate.”
Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 26 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Nov. 18, 2019 for the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 31, 2019. 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, the University of Illinois REAL forecast and more at https://staging.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.
(Note: The Egyptian Board of REALTORS® is merging its MLS into the RMLS Alliance feed so the housing reports were compiled on Nov. 18 instead of Nov. 7 in order to collect that area’s data).
