Illinois Home Sales - Slowly we turn ...... step by step ..... inch by inch ......

Yes, I'm quoting the well remembered Three Stooges sketch.  Are we making a comeback?  A little at a time is all we can expect but the numbers are good and getting better all the time!

Here is the report from the 'egg heads' in the know:

Pent-Up Demand and Tax Credit Drive October Home Sales Rally - Sales Up 24.2% Statewide and 33.3% in Chicago Region

"Illinois home sales took a double-digit jump in October as buyers took advantage of unprecedented buyer-market conditions with record low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and the federal first-time home buyer tax credit. According to the Illinois Association of Realtors® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in October 2009 reached 10,986 homes sold, up 24.2 percent from October 2008 sales of 8,846. The Illinois median price in October 2009 was $157,000 down 7.6 percent from $170,000 in October 2008. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less."

"October’s extraordinary sales totals reflect home purchases by many buyers who were sitting on the sidelines of the housing market waiting out the economic downturn as well as more home sellers coming to terms with accurate pricing given the market conditions (forced too in my humble estimation).  The first-time home buyer tax credit clearly was a motivating factor and an effective market stimulus to reduce inventories and help stabilize prices. The good news is that the credit has been extended through April 2010 and expanded to now include potential move-up buyers who have owned a home for any consecutive five-year span during the last eight years.”

"The monthly average mortgage commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central region was 5.0 percent in October 2009, down from the 5.06 average rate during the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in October it averaged 6.25 percent."

"In the city of Chicago, October total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were up 28.5 percent to 2,012 sales compared to 1,566 homes sold in October 2008. The city of Chicago median price in October 2009 was $215,000 down 18.0 percent compared to $262,250 a year ago in October 2008."

"According to the Illinois Association of Realtors® report, total home sales (single-family and condominiums) comparing October 2009 to the same month in 2008 were up in 45 of 99 Illinois counties reporting including Champaign, up 19.7 percent; Cook, up 31.1 percent; DuPage, up 34.9 percent; Kane, up 34.8 percent; Kendall, up 51.0 percent; LaSalle, up 43.8 percent; Madison, up 42.2 percent; Peoria, up 3.4 percent; Rock Island, up 31.1 percent; Saint Clair, up 18.1 percent; Sangamon, up 36.8 percent; Will, up 57.4 percent, and Winnebago, up 6.1 percent."

September Illinois Report





Resources:  Illinois Association of Realtors IAR report 11/23/09; Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 37 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations. The Chicago PMSA, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.