November 1, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Monthly sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums edged downward in Illinois during September according to the latest data from the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) while home prices improved year-over-year but fell from the previous month.
An estimated total of 10,689 existing homes and condos were sold in the Land of Lincoln in September. Home sales were 19.4 percent lower than the 13,264 homes sold in August but were still 15.9 percent higher than the 9,220 homes sold in September 2011.
Sales for the month were expected to be lower because September only had 19 business days compared to a normal month that typically has 21 or 22 business days. However, on a daily basis, homes sales were still 8.1 percent lower than last month.
The median sales price for an existing home in Illinois fell 5.4 percent to $139,000 from $147,000 in August. In September of last year, the median sales price in the state was $136,000. It was the first time in three months that home prices in Illinois have increased year-over-year. Prior to that, year-over-year home prices in the state had increased for two months following 23 consecutive months of declines.
Forty-five of the 101 counties that reported data posted higher home sales than a year ago, fourteen less than the previous month, while 44 of the counties posted an increase in their annual median sales price, up from 41 the previous month.
In the nine-county Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), sales of existing homes and condos totaled 7,484 in September, down 19.0 percent from 9,240 homes sold in August but up 24.0 percent from the 6,035 homes sold in September of 2011.
The median sales price for a home in the Chicago MSA was $160,000 in September, down 5.9 percent from a price of $170,000 in August but unchanged from September of last year. It was the first time in three months that home prices in the Chicago MSA had not suffered a decline year-over-year. Prior to that, year-over-year home prices had increased for two months but was preceded by 49 consecutive months of declines.
Tags: Illinois real estate, existing homes, condos, sales, median home prices, Illinois
