An inside look at Chicago real estate

Illinois Home Sales Improve From Last Year

By · November 28, 2011 · Market News

October home sales in Illinois were much improved from the same month a year ago with over 8,500 residential properties sold statewide last month. That marks a 15.3% gain over October of 2010 and nearly an 8% growth in home sales for the city of Chicago.

The latest housing numbers from the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) reveal that October was a good month for home sales in the Chicago area and other parts of the state as well. The 9-country Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) had nearly 5,780 condo and single-family home sales during October—a 23.7% jump from the previous October when only 4,670 residential properties sold during the 31-day period.

There were about 1,310 home sales in the city of Chicago last month, which is a 7.9% boost from October of 2010. This number includes both standalone houses and attached properties, such as townhomes, condos, studios and other non-detached residential units. Median price is still lower than it was a year ago, however. Last October, the median home sale price in the city ofChicagowas $183,000 and this October it was $162,000. The same is true for the rest of the state, which saw a 10.4% year-over-year dip in home sale price from last October to this October. It went from $145,000 in 2010 to $130,000 in 2011.

The increase in sales and drop in median price could be an indication that the market is working through the surplus of foreclosure and short sale properties. The reduced price tags of bank-owned homes are tempting to buyers and investors who are looking for a deal on real estate or don’t want to pay “full price” for a conventionally sold home. Even though there are more sales, the average cost is brought down because people are buying deeply discounted real estate.  

Nearly half of Illinois counties included in the IAR’s report had better sales this October than last October. Forty-seven percent of the 100 counties showed an increase in number of home sales and forty-six percent actually showed an improvement in median sale price as well. Places likeColesCountysaw a 40% spike in price last month from the same month a year ago, while Macon, Whiteside and Iroquois counties had price increases of 9%, 8.9% and 7.9% respectively.