February home sales in Illinois increased from last month while Year-over-Year Sales, Prices Still Influenced by Tax Credit.
According to data from the Illinois Association of Realtors, statewide total home sales, including single family and condo sales, in February 2011 totaled 5,575 homes sold, an increase of 1.3 % from 5,505 sales in January 2011 and down 10.0 % from February 2010 sales of 6,194 homes.
The median price in February was $128,800, down 4.6 percent from $135,000 for the same month last year. The statewide single family median price reached $129,000, up 1.6 % from $127,000 in February 2010 and up 2.8 % from $125,500 in February 2009. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), total home sales (single family and condominiums) in February 2011 were down 8.8 % , totaling 3,769 homes sold compared to February 2010 sales of 4,134 homes. Home sales were down 2.0 % from the previous month’s totals of 3,844 in January 2011. The median price in February 2011 was $152,500 in the Chicago region, down 7.6 % from $165,000 in February 2010.
The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central region was 5.0 % in February 2011, up from 4.8 percent during the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in February, it averaged 5.01 percent.
Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois said “The housing price forecasts for both Illinois and the Chicago PMSA show month-to-month increases in March, April and May however the forecasted prices are still lower than last year during the same period. The economy continues to provide some positive signs,” he continued. “National job gains in the last 12 months have amounted to 1.3 million, or an average of 106,000 jobs per month. Illinois added 64,200 jobs in the last year or an average of 5,350 jobs per month. Most analysts agree that a strong labor market will be the key to a housing market recovery.”
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million in February from an upwardly revised 5.40 million in January, and are 2.8 percent below the 5.02 million pace in February 2010.
However, things seem to be swinging up, slowly but surely. In the city of Chicago, February home sales (single family and condominiums) totaled 1,056, up 2.1 percent from the previous month 1,034 homes sold in January 2011 and down 13.8 percent from 1,225 homes sold in February 2010.
The city of Chicago median price in February 2011 was $177,500 up 0.6 percent compared to $176,500 a year ago in February 2010; the single family median price increased 21.9 percent in the month of February to $134,200 from $110,100 in February 2010.
More than half of Illinois counties reporting (49 of 97 counties) showed year-over-year median price increases or no change for the month of February including Adams, up 6.5 percent to $104,950; Champaign, up 8.4 percent to $126,000; Madison, up 15.7 percent to $109,950; McLean, up 2.0 percent to $153,000; Monroe, up 21.2 percent to $157,500; Sangamon, up 0.3 percent to $120,300; Tazewell, up 1.5 percent to $115,450; and Will, up 2.4 percent to $163,900.
Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 35 participating Illinois Realtor local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC for the period Feb. 1 through Feb. 28, 2011. The Chicagoland PMSA, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
Find Illinois market stats data at www.illinoisrealtor.org/marketstats.
SOURCE Illinois Association of REALTORS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 21, 2011
