Real estate activity in Illinois remained robust in the second quarter with total home sales up 1.3 percent over the same period last year, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported.
A total of 54,081 single-family homes and condominiums sold across the state in the second quarter of 2005, up from 53,410 sales in second-quarter 2004.
Year-to-date home sales for the first six months of the year total 87,371, up 2.3 percent from 85,421 in 2004.
Sales gains were reported in 46 of 98 Illinois counties reporting in the second quarter; 62 counties reported an increase in median sales price for the same period.
“Housing is still bustling largely due to attractive interest rates and more good news than bad for the economy. Illinois’ unemployment rate has trended higher than the national rate due to layoffs experienced in the second quarter, but that and higher oil and gas prices have not dampened buyer demand in the housing market,” said John Veneris, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors. “Illinois remains one of the more affordable places in the country to buy a home with strong but healthy price appreciation.”
Single-family home sales for the quarter slipped 1.8 percent to 37,234 homes sold from 37,927 in second-quarter 2004. The median price of a single-family home during the second quarter of 2005 was up 8.9 percent to $201,500 compared to $185,000 last year in the same period.
In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), sales of single-family homes were down 2.2 percent in the second quarter to 23,249, compared with 23,763 home sales in 2004. The median price of single-family homes sold in the Chicagoland PMSA increased 8.2 percent to $265,000 in the second quarter of 2005, compared with $245,000 in the same period one year ago. The Chicagoland PMSA includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
The Illinois condominium market reported 16,847 units sold in the second quarter of 2005, an 8.8 percent increase over 2004 figures of 15,483 units sold for the same period. The statewide median price for condos increased 7.4 percent to $204,000, compared to $190,000 in the second quarter of 2004.
The Chicago PMSA saw an 8.7 percent increase in condominium sales in the second quarter of 2005 to 16,211 units sold, from 14,918 in second-quarter 2004. For the Chicagoland area, the median condo price rose 7.2 percent in the second quarter of 2005, to $208,000 compared to $194,000 in 2004.
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