Although inventory has tightened year-over-year, the Illinois real estate market continues to topple last year’s numbers, according to a report from the Illinois Realtors. With lower availability than last year, the demand for homes continues to grow, providing sellers the advantage as summer begins.
The report listed a total of 16,150 homes sold in the month of May, up 6 percent year-over-year. Available inventory took a steep dip of 15.3 percent since May 2015 to 62,445.
“Inventories continue to be tight across the state as buyers scour the market for deals,” Illinois Realtors President Mike Drews said in a press release. “The pronounced demand we have seen for more than a year appears to be setting this selling season up to be one where homes go quickly and for more money, which is a huge advantage for sellers.”
Increased median sale price
This demand has also helped scoot the median home sale price up 7.2 percent, according to the report. This past May’s median sale price hit $194,000 statewide.
“In Chicago, much of the growth was generated by much more rapid increases in the prices of foreclosed properties rather than regular sale prices,” Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) at the University of Illinois, said in a press release.
The Housing Price Forecasts report produced by REAL showed that the amount of foreclosed homes sold in May was only 14.2 percent of the total home sales in Chicagoland. This is the lowest May percentage since 2009. The median sale price of foreclosed properties climbed 12.6 percent to $152,777.
Forecast from REAL report
Top Illinois markets
Out of the 102 counties in Illinois, the report said 43 posted year-over-year sales gains. Mclean County sales increased 21 percent (288 units), Dupage County sales increased 11.5 percent (1,507 units) and Peoria County sales increased 6.7 percent (270 units).
Total sales in Chicago also went up, although not quite as much McLean county. The city of Chicago saw a 5 percent boost to 2,887, and median sale price increased to $291,000.
Nearly half (49) of the counties in Illinois showed increases in median sale price. The strongest growth came from Winnebago county, where median sale price jumped 32.9 percent to $112,900.
