August Illinois Home Sales Down 4.6 Percent from July

Statewide Median Price at $195,000

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Illinois
Association of REALTORS(R) latest report, August total home sales (which
include single-family and condominiums) were down 4.6 percent in August 2008
to 10,601 sales compared to July 2008 sales of 11,114; year-over-year sales
were down 27.2 percent from August 2007 totals of 14,562.

The Illinois median price in August was $195,000, down 7.1 percent from
$210,000 in August 2007. The median is a typical market price where half the
homes sold for more, half sold for less.

"Prospects for a rapid recovery of the housing market were significantly
dampened by the turmoil in the financial markets," said Dr. Geoffrey J.D.
Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of
the University of Illinois. "While the interventions by the federal government
in the financial sector will help stem a more precipitous slide in the housing
market, the longer-term recovery of this market will now be increasingly
dependent on the economy's recovery. Continued job declines both nationally
and in Illinois have generated a need to address economic development issues
more forcefully."

In the latest REAL forecast, Hewings reports nationally 84,000 jobs were lost
in August raising the total to 605,000 for the year. Illinois lost 3,500 jobs
in August and has shed 10,400 jobs in 2008. Illinois' unemployment rate in
August of 7.3 percent was the third highest in the Midwest (behind Michigan at
8.9 percent and Ohio at 7.4 percent).

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the
North Central region was 6.52 percent in August 2008, up 0.04 points from the
6.48 average rate the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation. Last year in August it averaged 6.58 percent.

"Good credit holds the key to homeownership in this buyers' market," said
REALTOR(R) Pat Callan, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS(R).
"Home prices are lower and the supply of homes is higher which makes this an
opportune time for interested buyers to take advantage of market conditions.
If you need to work on your credit, now's a good time to review your free
credit report available from http://www.annualcreditreport.com."

In the city of Chicago, the median price of a home (single family and
condominiums) was off 3.0 percent in August 2008 to $295,750 compared to
$305,000 in August 2007.

"Our numbers indicate that the housing market appears to be stabilizing,
despite greater U.S. economic woes," said David Hanna, President of the
Chicago Association of REALTORS(R) . "Now is a better time than ever to buy a
home in the Chicago area."

According to the IAR report, median price increases were recorded in 50 of 101
Illinois counties reporting in August including Champaign, up 6.7 percent;
Christian, up 4.7 percent; DeKalb, up 3.8 percent; DuPage, up 4.7 percent;
Jefferson, up 9.7 percent; McLean, up 16.5 percent; Peoria, up 0.3 percent;
Stephenson, up 1.7; and Winnebago, up 11.1 percent.

"Home sales were up in August in Kankakee and McLean counties, while Peoria
County held its own as it has for some time showing the resiliency of the
central Illinois housing market," said Callan, broker-owner of Realty
Executives Premiere in Wheaton.

In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), home sales
(which include single-family and condominiums) totaled 6,804, down 30.1
percent from 9,733 home sales in August 2007. The Chicagoland PMSA, as defined
by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane,
Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

The median home sale price for the Chicagoland PMSA was $251,250 in August
2008, down 5.7 percent from $266,500 in August 2007.

Says Hewings: "Median price declines in the Chicagoland PMSA for September,
October and November will move from 5 percent to less than 3 percent while the
declines will be from 7 percent to 5 percent statewide."

Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing
Service sales reported by 35 participating Illinois REALTORS(R) local boards
and associations.

The Illinois Association of REALTORS(R) 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(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 and the latest REAL forecast at
http://www.illinoisrealtor.org, click on Market Stats.

For more info, contact Mary Schaefer or Ann Londrigan 217/529-2600.

SOURCE Illinois Association of REALTORS

Mary Schaefer or Ann Londrigan, both of the Illinois Association of REALTORS,
+1-217-529-2600