Housing values hold
The number of homes and condominiums sold during the second quarter continued to slide in the Chicago region, especially in Lake and McHenry counties where sales plunged 25 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors.
Still, those homes that did sell had appreciated slightly, ranging from less than 1 percent to about 4 percent in the Chicago area.
Having homes continue to go up in price while fewer are selling is not unusual here, said Lawrence Yun, senior economist with the National Association of Realtors.
"When sales decline, like they have in the Chicago area, and there's still job creation in that region, then it's rare to see the prices decline," Yun said.
In other words: while it's still a buyer's market, home sellers are going to hang on tight to their market prices, experts said.
A sample of counties that saw increases in median home prices include Cook, up 4.2 percent to $269,900; Kane, up 1.5 percent to $233,500; Lake, up 1.9 percent to $263,000; and Will, up 1.8 percent to $224,000. The median market price means half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
Most areas of the state saw modest increases in the median sale price with slower sales compared to last year, the report said.
The median home sale price was $207,500, up 0.2 percent from $207,000 a year earlier.
The average sale price was $263,027, up 1.7 percent from $258,715 for the same period a year ago.
Statewide home sales -- which include single-family homes and condominiums -- totaled 43,080, down 16.1 percent compared to 51,332 home sales in the second quarter last year.
In the Chicago metro region, total home sales were down 19 percent to 29,061 compared to 35,889 last year.
The toughest hit was Lake and McHenry counties, which had 25 percent drops this year compared to about 7 percent drops in the second quarter last year.
While decreases in sales this year were expected, the number was still surprising. Usually the second quarter finds many families moving and settling before the next school year starts, said Robert Zoretich, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors.
"The suburbs are just now adjusting to the market conditions in metropolitan Chicago," said Zoretich.
Home sellers also will continue to hold onto their homes rather than sell them below market price, he said.
"There's a lot of pent-up demand and people are still looking for housing," Zoretich said. "I think there's going to be spike in sales this fall."
Another reason for the slower sales could be the tightening reins from the lending industry.
The crisis in the subprime mortgage industry has forced many lenders to strengthen requirements on who gets mortgages, said Marve Stockert, executive director of the Illinois Association of Mortgage Brokers in Lombard.
"Those people with questionable credit scores are now having a tougher time getting mortgages," Stockert said.
"Their options are quite limited now. Some lenders are looking for higher scores and other requirements. So the longer it's a buyer's market, the longer those houses will sit there."