Suburban home prices increase 5.4 percent in September
Tighter inventory was a factor driving home prices higher in Illinois during the month of September, while home sales showed an annual decline, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.
Statewide home sales, which includes single-family homes and condominiums, totaled 12,879 houses sold in September, down 4.4 percent from 13,469 in the same month a year ago.
The statewide median price in September was $161,900 - a 4.5 percent increase compared to September 2013 when the median price was $155,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
"We are seeing a market that provides a lot of opportunity for sellers," said Jim Kinney, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors and vice president of luxury sales for Baird & Warner in Chicago. "The time it takes to sell a house has dropped dramatically since the beginning of the year, and prices have consistently beaten previous-year levels through the first nine months of 2014."
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central U.S. region, which includes Illinois, was 4.16 percent in September, up from 4.11 percent in August, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
In September last year, a 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.50 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago market area, home sales in September totaled 9,117, down 6.4 percent from sales of 9,737 homes a year ago. The median price in September was $195,000 for the region, up 5.4 percent from $185,000 in September 2013.
The Chicago region includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
"As the housing market enters a normally slow season, the trend of the last few months of declining sales on a month-to-month basis is expected to continue, but with gains on a year-over-year basis for the remainder of 2014," said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory of the University of Illinois. "However, prices are still forecast to increase and inventories are slowly expanding."
Statewide, 42 of 102 counties showed annual home sales increases in September. Fifty-five counties showed year-over-year median price increases, including Lake, up 10.6 percent to $208,000; Cook, up 6.6 percent to $199,900; St. Clair, up 14.8 percent to $130,000; LaSalle, up 9.3 percent to $99,450; and Winnebago, up 3.0 percent to $87,500.
Within the city of Chicago, an 8.7 percent year-over-year decrease in home sales occurred in September with 2,187 sales, down from 2,395 in September last year. The median price rose to $250,000 versus $230,000 last September, an annual increase of 8.7 percent.
"Chicago's fall housing market features bright spots for both buyers and sellers," said Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors and co-president of Realty & Mortgage Co. "Buyers can be encouraged by a rise in the number of homes available for sale this fall to give them a broader selection. Sellers also continue to be in a strong position with median sales prices posting year-over-year gains and homes selling more quickly."
Sales and price information is generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 30 participating Illinois Realtor local boards and associations, including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC.
The Illinois Association of Realtors is a voluntary trade association whose 41,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, the association 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 www.illinoisrealtor.org/marketstats.