October 1, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums picked back up in August following July’s sales decline according to the latest data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) but home prices continued to fall on both a monthly and yearly basis.
An estimated total of 13,264 existing homes and condos were sold in the Land of Lincoln in August. Home sales were 7.0 percent higher than the 12,392 homes sold in July and were 23.7 percent higher than the 10,721 homes sold in August 2011.
The median sales price for an existing home in Illinois fell 0.7 percent to $147,000 from $148,000 in July. In August of last year, the median sales price in the state was $148,000. It was the second consecutive month that home prices have fallen in the state and was preceded by two consecutive months of increases. Prior to that, home prices had declined for 23 consecutive months.
Loretta Alonzo, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, stated, “We continue to see strong sales despite uncertainty about the economy. The data speak to pricing levels that continue to bring in homebuyers who are eager to take advantage of interest rates that haven’t budged much from already historically low levels.”
Fifty-nine of the 101 counties that reported data posted higher home sales than a year ago, three less than the previous month, while 41 of the counties posted an increase in their annual median sales price, down from 50 the previous month.
In the nine-county Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sales of existing homes and condos totaled 9,240 in August, up 8.1 percent from 8,551 homes sold in July and up 28.5 percent from the 7,188 homes sold in August of 2011.
The median sales price for a home in the Chicago MSA was $170,000 in August, down 1.2 percent from a median price of $172,000 in July and down 3.8 percent compared to August of last year when the median sales price was $176,750. It was the second consecutive month that home prices have fallen in the Chicago area and was preceded by two consecutive months of increases. Prior to that, home prices had declined for 49 consecutive months.
Tags: Illinois real estate, existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Illinois
