The Illinois housing market remained in high gear in June with motivated buyers moving quickly amid ongoing tight inventory. The competitive market pushed home sales and median prices higher and homes sold twice as fast as the previous year, according to data from Illinois REALTORS®.

Homes sold an average of 26 days in June 2021, compared to an average of 54 days in June 2020.

Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in June 2021 totaled 21,129 homes sold, up 38.9 percent from 15,217 in June 2020.

The statewide median price in June 2021 was $270,544, up 22.5 percent from $220,900 in June 2020. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

The number of homes for sale declined to 28,289, a 37.6 percent drop from June 2020 when 45,321 homes were on the market.

“Homebuyers continued their buying spree in June with homes being scooped up off the market in an average of 26 days,” said Sue Miller, President of Illinois REALTORS® and designated managing broker of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in McHenry. “But the low number of homes for sale continue to be of concern for the outlook for the rest of the summer.”

According to the data, home sales in the Bloomington MSA (McLean and Dewitt counties) totaled 357 sales, a 19.4 percent increase while the median price rose 11.4 percent to $185,000. In the Metro East MSA (Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Monroe and St. Clair counties) home sales totaled 1,039, a 13.2 percent increase. The median price increased 12.9 percent to $179,500.

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 2.97 percent in June 2021, an increase from 2.95 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In June 2020, it averaged 3.02 percent.

Last month, 15,402 homes (single-family and condominiums) were sold in the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, a 52.8 percent increase from the 10,078 homes sold in June 2020.

The median home sale price in June 2021 was $319,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 20.4 percent from $265,000 in June 2020.

“While prices are forecast to continue to grow on both an annual and month-to-month basis in both Chicago and Illinois, the month-to-month sales are forecast to drop slightly reflecting the continued tightening of housing inventory,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, emeritus director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) at the University of Illinois. “Inventory supply declined to 1.7 months in Illinois and 1.5 months in Chicago – both half of the levels recorded one year ago.”

In the city of Chicago, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in June 2021 totaled 3,767 homes sold, up 81.8 percent from June 2020 sales of 2,072 homes.

The median price of a home in Chicago in June 2021 was $351,500, up 6.8 percent compared to June 2020 when it was $329,000.

“Last month, we saw many trends continue to play out, including increased closed sales and median sales prices, but the decrease in inventory and days on market could be telling a new, interesting story,” said Nykea Pippion McGriff, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of brokerage services at Coldwell Banker Realty. “Some first-time homebuyers are struggling to find a home in this market while move-up buyers may be more cognizant of their budgets because of the pandemic, potentially causing them to stay in their current home; this is straining inventory further and causing buyers to jump on well-priced homes, decreasing market time. If you are considering selling your home, now is the time to call your REALTOR®!”

Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 23 participating Illinois REALTORS® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of July 7, 2021 for the period June 1 through June 30, 2021. 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 staging.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.