- The Chicago market hasn't experienced the type of price and sales activity increases other primary markets have witnessed.
- The median price of foreclosed properties is the reason for the increase in overall median price.
- The state has lower inventory than a year ago.
When it comes to home sales activity, “consistency” seems to accurately describe the state of Illinois.
During August, a combined 15,088 single-family homes and condos sold statewide, up 0.9 percent from August of last year, when 14,957 homes traded.
According to data from the Illinois Association of Realtors, the nine-county Chicago primary MSA contributed 10,852 sales to the August 2015 total. This sales volume represents a 2.8 percent increase from the 10,554 sales the MSA saw in August of last year.
At the same time, the median price in the MSA grew by 2.7 percent year-over-year to $220,900.
“Of interest in Chicago was the fact that the median price of non-foreclosed properties remained virtually unchanged while the median price for foreclosed properties increased,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois.
Distressed sales accounted for 13.5 percent of all August transactions within the MSA, the lowest August reading since 2009.
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The city of Chicago saw 2,629 homes sell in August, up 6.3 percent from last year when 2,474 homes were sold. However, the median price of a home in Chicago only rose 0.2 percent year-over-year to $270,000.
“It’s taking a phenomenally short time to sell a home in the city of Chicago,” said Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors. “Buyers have a short window to swoop in and make an offer because there are so many others looking for properties even this late into the selling season.”
Overall, 38 Illinois counties reported year-over-year sales gains in August 2015, with 51 reporting year-over-year median price gains.
At the end of August, the median price of a home in Illinois stood at $180,900, a 3.4 year-over-year rise.
Available housing inventory remained tight, with 71,616 homes listed for sale — an 8.7 percent decline from August 2014, when there were 78,466 homes on the market.
Statewide, the time it took to sell a home averaged 64 days, up from 59 days in July.
