Welcome to “The Local Economist” and information regarding Illinois Real Estate. Our purpose is to bring you accurate information about the market on both a local and regional level. The following excerpt is from Illinoia Association of Realtors. Please feel fre to add any comments and or suggestions you may have.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois home sales in the second quarter improved from the first quarter of 2008 yet were lower compared to the same period a year ago. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) second quarter report, total home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) were 32,414 in the second quarter, down 25.4 percent from a year ago when 43,438 home sales were reported in the second quarter. The second quarter median home sale price was $192,500, down 6.8 percent from $206,500 in 2007. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
“While sales certainly have picked up across Illinois during the early spring and summer months, some buyers and sellers seem to be waiting for the all-clear signal to make a move in this market as economic and consumer confidence indicators remain weak,” said REALTOR® Kay Wirth, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. “Our Illinois housing market has been resilient given these pressures with prices registering modest losses and many regions still posting gains since sales peaked during the boom in the third quarter of 2005. It is a good market, especially for buyers who now have many choices. The new first-time buyer tax credit and foreclosure rescue program enacted by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act should help stabilize the housing market.”
The second-quarter commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central Region averaged 6.12 percent, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. It was down 0.28 from 6.40 percent a year ago in the second quarter of 2007, while up 0.21 percent from 5.91 percent in the first quarter of 2008.
In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), total home sales (including single-family and condominiums) were down 28.9 percent in the second quarter to 20,679, compared to 29,092 home sales in the second quarter of 2007. The median home sale price in the Chicagoland PMSA was off 2.3 percent to $250,000 in the second quarter of 2008 compared to $256,000 in the same period one year ago.
Second quarter condo sales across the state were down 34.2 percent to 9,141 condos sold compared to 13,897 units sold in the same period for 2007. The median price for a condominium in Illinois in the second quarter of 2008 was $232,000, up 4.0 percent from $223,000 a year ago.
In the Chicago PMSA, condo sales were down 33.6 percent to 8,828 units sold during the second quarter of 2008, compared to 13,289 condo sales in second quarter 2007. The second quarter condo median price was $238,260, up 4.0 percent from $229,000 in the second quarter of 2007.
Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 35 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations. The Chicagoland 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 55,000 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.
