February 24, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing homes and condominiums in Illinois declined in January but were still the strongest seen in five years according to the latest data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR).
An estimated total of 6,435 existing homes and condos were sold in the Land of Lincoln in January, the most for that month since 8,584 homes were sold in January 2007. Home sales were still 27.1 percent lower than the 8,828 homes sold in December but were 16.1 percent higher than the 5,543 homes sold in January 2011.
The median sales price for an existing home in Illinois declined 2.4 percent to $122,500 in January from $125,500 in December and was 9.3 percent lower than the median price of $135,000 in January of last year.
Loretta Alonzo, President of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, stated, “Whether you’re a seller or a buyer, there are positives to this data. After years of standing on the sidelines, buyers are finding this is the right time to get into affordable housing. While sellers may not be getting all of the money they want for a house, they are getting traffic and interest at levels that haven’t been seen in several years.”
Fifty-three of the 95 counties that reported data posted higher home sales than a year ago, one more than the previous month, while 39 of the counties posted an increase in their annual median sales price, down from 43 last month.
Year-over-year home prices were up 2.7 percent in Effingham, 2.1 percent in Jefferson, 3.2 percent in McLean, 45.3 percent in Peoria, and 0.7 percent in Sangmonto.
In the nine-county Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sales of existing homes and condos totaled 4,447 in January, down 27.0 percent from 6,090 homes sold in December but still up 15.7 percent from 3,844 homes sold in January of 2011.
The median sales price for a home in the Chicago MSA was $140,000 in January, down 3.4 percent from a median price of $145,000 in December and down 11.4 percent compared to January of last year when the median sales price was $158,000.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Illinois
