Illinois home sales, median prices post double-digit gains in March
The Illinois spring housing market got off to a strong start in March with sharp gains in year-over-year home sales and median prices, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.
Statewide home sales, which include single-family homes and condominiums, totaled 11,416 homes sold in March, up 13.1 percent from the same month last year when 10,093 homes sold.
The statewide median price in March rose to $165,000, an 11.5 percent gain compared to last March's statewide median price of $148,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
"Buyers are becoming quite aggressive when it comes to looking for a home this spring," said Jim Kinney, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors. "The surge in sales and median prices throughout the state in March clearly shows consumers know they have to be willing to pay more as they face a slightly smaller number of homes on the market this year versus last."
Lower housing inventory remains a factor in the market with 61,418 homes available for sale, a 4.4 percent decline compared to last March when there were 64,276 homes for sale. The time it took to sell a home in March was nearly unchanged at 87 days compared to 86 days a year ago.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central U.S. region, which includes Chicago, was 3.76 percent in March, up from 3.68 percent in February, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In March last year, it averaged 4.37 percent.
In the nine-county Chicago region, March home sales totaled 8,158, an increase of 11.5 percent over the 7,314 sales in the same month a year ago.
The median price in March for the region was $204,000, up 16.6 percent from $175,000 a year ago.
The Chicago area includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
"March was an excellent month for the housing market with robust growth in both sales and prices," said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory of the University of Illinois. "When adjusted for inflation, median home prices have recovered to 79 percent of their 2008 levels in Illinois and 74 percent of the prior levels in the Chicago (region). A further one to three years is anticipated for full recovery in the (Chicago area)."
According to the data, 61 out of 102 Illinois counties reporting recorded sales gains for March over previous-year numbers, including McLean County, up 46.2 percent with 193 units sold; St. Clair County, up 43.2 percent with 242 units sold; and Will County, up 22.2 percent with 766 units sold. Sixty-one counties recorded median price gains in March over previous-year numbers, including Champaign County, up 23.6 percent to $148,000; Kane County, up 21.2 percent to $191,500; and Sangamon County, up 11.3 percent to $119,900.
The city of Chicago saw sales of 2,118 homes in March, up 13.0 percent from a year ago when 1,875 homes were sold. The median price of a home in Chicago was $263,079, up 11.9 percent over March 2014 when median price was $235,000.
"Chicago's spring market is showing bounce with back-to-back months of sales increases signaling strengthening demand," said Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors. "Even with fewer homes on the market, we're seeing determined buyers finding their ideal home. This increased demand is moving median sales prices higher, offering homeowners an incentive."
Find Illinois housing stats, data and the University of Illinois REAL forecast at www.illinoisrealtor.org/marketstats.