State Realtors say home prices 'stabilizing' but 'stubborn'

SPRINGFIELD - Home prices in Illinois are showing signs of stabilizing and the Chicago region in particular marked a year of positive sales activity in June, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.

The association said today that total home sales, including single-family and condos, totaled 13,072 in June an 18.3 percent increase over June 2009. The median price in June was $170,000, up 2.5 percent over June 2009, the association reported.

Year-over-year home sales in the Chicago area increased 27.2 percent in June 2010 compared to the same month a year ago, though the median sale price in the region declined 1.2 percent to $207,500.

Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the University of Illinois' Regional Economics Applications Laboratory predicted continued sales growth and said prices would likely still remain "stubborn."

"The economy is certainly not helping the housing market," Hewings said in a news release. "The loss of over 200,000 temporary census jobs overwhelmed the private sector gains of 83,000. The unemployment rate fell nationally to 9.5 percent (from 9.7 percent in May). Illinois' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate followed the national decline, dropping -0.4 point to 10.4 percent in June."

However, Lake County was one of seven Illinois counties to buck the overall trend and report both an increase in sales -- 38.8 percent -- and median price -- 5.2 percent to $222,000.