Statewide Median Price at $160,000
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Statewide Illinois home
sales increased year-over-year in the month of September for the first time
since March 2006 with first-time buyers driving the rebound in sales.
According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS'(R) latest report, statewide
total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in September
2009 reached 10,350 homes sold, up 3.3 percent from September 2008 sales of
10,018. The Illinois median price in September 2009 was $160,000 down 9.3
percent from $176,450 in September 2008. The median is a typical market price
where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
"Buyers taking advantage of the first-time homebuyer tax credit were clearly
out in force in most regions statewide in September and thus building momentum
for a recovery in the housing market," said REALTOR(R) Mike Onorato, president
of the Illinois Association of REALTORS(R). "Home sale gains this month show
the tax credit is working and should be extended through 2010 as it is helping
to stabilize home prices and creating thousands of jobs that rely on housing.
Today's lower prices and interest rates are very appealing to consumers, but
it's the tax credit that is attracting people to homeownership. Not renewing
the tax credit could potentially jeopardize a full recovery needed to get the
economy back on track."
In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA),
year-over-year home sales were positive for the third consecutive month, up
5.9 percent to 6,862 total home sales (single-family and condominiums) sold in
September 2009 compared to 6,477 homes sold in September 2008. The median home
sale price for the Chicagoland PMSA was $199,000 in September 2009, down 10.8
percent from $223,000 in September 2008.
"For sellers it is very important to set the right price to produce a sale in
this market, which has two distinct levels of pricing -- traditional sales and
sales of distressed properties," said Onorato, broker-owner of Onorato Real
Estate in Coal City.
According to Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics
Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois: "There are signs
that the housing market may be signaling a change in direction, although the
prospect of continued large numbers of foreclosed properties will continue to
exert downward pressure on prices in a market in which supply still
significantly exceeds demand. The news on the sales front is encouraging and
even the price declines seem to be moderating. However, the prospects of a
jobless recovery from the recession will continue to exert restraint on a more
robust recovery of the housing market. Illinois tends to enter recessions
later than the U.S. and take longer to recover."
Illinois' official unemployment rate in September reached 10.5 percent and was
above the 9.8 percent national unemployment rate.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the
North Central region was 5.06 percent in September 2009, down 0.21 from the
5.27 average rate during the previous month, according to the Federal Home
Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in September it averaged 6.05 percent.
In the city of Chicago, September total home sales (single-family and
condominiums) were up 5.8 percent to 1,918 sales compared to 1,813 homes sold
in September 2008. The city of Chicago median price in September 2009 was
$225,000 down 16.2 percent compared to $268,600 a year ago in September 2008.
"While we see a significant increase of sales, we continue to see distressed
properties moving the marketplace," said Genie Birch, president of the Chicago
Association of REALTORS(R) and a broker associate with Koenig & Strey GMAC,
Chicago. "The decrease in the median home price is also reflective of this
trend as investors purchase short sale and foreclosure inventory in the city.
It is more imperative than ever before that legislators extend and expand the
homebuyer tax credit, not only to encourage more buyers in the market, but to
afford those who are looking to buy in Chicago a tax credit feasible for the
urban condo market."
According to the IAR report, total home sales (single-family and condominiums)
comparing September 2009 to the same month in 2008 were up in 39 of 99
Illinois counties reporting including Champaign, up 15.7 percent; Cook, up 9.2
percent; DuPage, up 6.6 percent; Kankakee, up 2.9 percent; Lake, up 1.2
percent; Rock Island, up 3.6 percent; Sangamon, up 13.5 percent and Will, up
4.6 percent.
Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing
Service sales reported by 37 participating Illinois REALTOR(R) local boards
and associations. The Chicago 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(R) is a voluntary trade association whose
50,000 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(R) 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.
Find Illinois market stats data at www.illinoisrealtor.org, click on Market
Stats.
SOURCE Illinois Association of REALTORS
Mary Schaefer or Ann Londrigan, +1-217-529-2600, both of the Illinois
Association of REALTORS
