No Change in the Velocity of Chicago Area Homes Listed for Sale During April

There had been some speculation that the inventory of homes for sale would really jump after April 15, as sellers raced to get their homes on the market in time for buyers to qualify for the Home Buyer Tax Credits. Well, this turns out not to be the case. The spring selling season increase in inventory of homes listed for sale in the Chicagoland area has been very steady. The number of homes listed for sale increased by 5% in February, by 6% in March, and is on pace to increase by 5% this month. There was a 0.9% increase in inventory of homes for sale between 4/15/10 and 4/20/10, which extrapolates to a run rate of 5.2%, right in line with the inventory increase of the previous months.

Date	Homes Listed for Sale	% Increase vs Previous Period
.
February, 2010	97,016
March, 2010	102,029	5.2% (28 day period)
April 1, 2010	108,143	6.0% (30 day period)
April 15, 2010	110,774	2.4% (15 day period)
April, 20, 2010	111,738	0.9% (5 day period)
May 1, 2010 (Projected*)	113,536	5.2% (30 day period)

* Based on current run rate

Among communities with over 400 homes for sale, Naperville has had the biggest increase in listings during April. The inventory of homes for sale in Naperville has increased by 7% so far this month, to 1,959 from 1833. Every community in Chicagoland with over 100 listings has experienced an increase in homes for sale during April.

The inventory of homes for sale in Chicagoland by city/town is available at www.buyingahomechicago.com.