December 29, 2011 (Shirley Allen)
Sales of existing homes and condominiums in Illinois remained well above last year’s levels, but home prices continued to decline according to the latest data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR).
An estimated total of 7,954 existing homes and condos were sold in the Land of Lincoln in November. That was 6.8 percent lower than the 8,536 homes sold in October but 14.2 percent higher than the 6,966 homes sold in November 2010.
The median sales price for an existing home in Illinois declined 1.2 percent to $128,500 in November from $130,000 in October and was 11.3 percent lower than the median price of $145,000 in November of 2010.
Loretta Alonzo, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, stated, “Signs are emerging that a recovery in the housing market is underway including the steady uptick in home sales activity, which is expected to continue into the new year. As we move through the distressed properties, predominant in the Chicagoland market, and begin to see more positive reports on the jobs front we will be looking for some stabilization in home prices to coincide with the rising home sales.”
Fifty-two of the 100 counties that reported data posted higher home sales than a year ago, up from 47 last month, while 41 of the counties posted an increase in their annual median sales price, down from 46 last month.
Year-over-year home prices were up 20.0 percent in Henry, 12.4 percent in Kankakee, 2.5 percent in Kendall, 19.2 percent in Knox, 6.5 percent in LaSalle, 5.3 percent in Menard, 30.8 percent in Monroe, 3.0 percent in Rock Island, 2.9 percent in Tazewell Counties.
In the nine-county Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sales of existing homes and condos totaled 5,453 in November, down 5.6 percent from 5,778 homes sold in October but up 20.7 percent from 4,518 homes sold in November of 2010.
The median sales price for a home in the Chicago MSA was $150,000 in November, up 0.1 percent from a median price of $149,900 in October but down 14.3 percent compared to November of last year when the median sales price was $175,000.
Tags: existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Illinois
