An inside look at Chicago real estate

Chicago-Area Housing Market Shows Notable Improvement

By · August 22, 2011 · Market News

Chicago-area home sales in July went up 19.2% from the same month in 2010. It’s the first time we’ve seen this type of residential real estate sales improvement in over a year.

According to data released by the Illinois Association of Realtors this week, a total of 6,625 housing units were sold during the month of July in the 9-county region that includes Chicago. In July 2010, the number of homes sold in the area was much lower at 5,560. Statewide, the number of homes sold in July reached 9,709 (18.4% better than July 2010) and in the city we saw both sales and median price go up (4.2% and 6.9% respectively).

In the state’s capital, home sales skyrocketed 24% from July 2010 to July 2011. Median price in Springfield also showed significant year-over-year appreciation at 13.1% for the month. Over 60% of Illinois counties had better sales this July than last July, including Cook County (+9.5%), DuPage (+41.6%), Will (+22.1%), Kane (+25.5%) and Champaign (+43.4%).

The last time we saw a year-over-year increase in residential sales in the Chicago-area was June 2010. But what does this uptick in buyer activity mean for the bigger picture?

Well, of course the job market is a major factor in the recovery of consumer confidence when it comes to purchasing real estate. People need to have a dependable form of income to feel comfortable about buying a home, not only for the homeowner’s peace of mind but to secure financing from lenders as well.

The economic and real estate markets are very closely linked, so it is imperative for employment opportunities to regain a foothold in order for the housing sector to rebound. Industry experts are well aware of this relationship and are closely watching the national unemployment rate for the slightest indication of a recovery. However, the jobs rate has remained flat since April.

  • http://illinoisrates.com JP

    I agree with your blog post. I work with at a mortgage company and we agree on the economic and real estate changes compare to couple of years ago. Of course, we don’t want to jinx ourselves because we just recently started getting back up again.

  • http://www.mallorcaluxurybalearics.com/ Mallorca Property

    Good post. The stats show that Chicago has, indeed, been ahead with its real estate business.

  • http://www.ChampaignExpertsBlog.com Mark Waldhoff

    I’m a Realtor in Champaign County and as you mentioned sales were up considerably in July. Overall volume was almost 32% greater in July 2011 compared to July 2010. Definitely a good sign for the markets but keep in mind that July 2010 followed the expiration of the Home Buyer Tax Credit. So surely the 2010 numbers were impacted by that stimulus program.