Illinois Home Sales

November 17, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Mary Schaefer/Ann Londrigan
217/529-2600

Illinois Third Quarter Home Sales Down 21.2 Percent; Statewide Median Price at $190,000

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Job losses and economic uncertainty continue to impact the housing market while home price affordability and supply present opportunities for first-time buyers. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) third quarter report, total home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) were 31,451 in the third quarter, down 21.2 percent from a year ago when 39,904 home sales were reported in the third quarter of 2007. The third quarter 2008 median home sale price was $190,000, down 8.2 percent from $207,000 in 2007. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

“After a promising start to 2008, the Illinois economy has reverted to a pattern of job declines that follows the trends established nationally and in the Rest of the Midwest (RMW). However, the rate of job losses in Illinois has been below that of the nation over the last 12 months and significantly below that of the RMW,” said Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois. The RMW includes Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. “Illinois has lost 15,800 jobs January through September 2008.”

Hewings adds: “The economy has entered a period where consumer sentiment has been buffeted by the sub-prime market problems and the elevation of unemployment rates to levels not seen in a decade or more. These two events have resulted in a significant retrenchment in spending—especially on big-ticket items associated with home renovation and repair and equally significantly on automobile spending.”

The third-quarter commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central Region averaged 6.44 percent, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. It was down 0.14 from 6.58 percent a year ago in the third quarter of 2007, while up 0.32 percent from 6.12 percent in the second quarter of 2008.

“Housing markets in several regions have shown some hardiness during this economic downturn. Notably, downstate communities in McLean and St. Clair counties out-performed the state by posting stronger sales and median price increases. Peoria, Kankakee and Jefferson counties also fared better than the state as a whole,” said REALTOR® Pat Callan, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.

Thirty-eight of the 100 counties reporting in the state saw median home sale price increases in the third quarter including Adams County, up 12.3 percent to $107,500; Champaign, up 4.6 percent to $148,000; DuPage, up 1.5 percent to $274,125; Jackson, up 3.0 percent to $104,500; Jo Daviess, up 19.9 percent to $193,050; Macon, up 7.6 percent to $93,500; Macoupin, up 9.1 percent to $80,000; McLean, up 6.0 percent to $164,250; and St. Clair, up 3.4 percent to $134,950.

“The homebuyer tax credit incentive and more affordable home prices have helped prompt sales by first-time buyers and these buyers may continue to benefit if interest rates remain low and more tax incentives result from the economic stimulus plans,” said Callan, broker-owner of Realty Executives Premiere in Wheaton. “Knowledge of local market conditions and financing options are two essential reasons for using the expertise of a REALTOR® in a real estate transaction today.”           

In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), total home sales (including single-family and condominiums) were down 22.1 percent in the third quarter to 20,449, compared to 26,257 home sales in the third quarter of 2007.

The median home sale price in the Chicagoland PMSA was off 6.7 percent to $244,900 in the third quarter of 2008 compared to $262,500 in the same period one year ago.

In the city of Chicago, third quarter total home sales (single-family and condominiums) were down 23.3 percent to 5,958 sales compared to third quarter 2007 sales of 7,769. The city of Chicago median price was down 4.5 percent in the third quarter to $289,400 compared to $302,900 in the third quarter of 2007.

“Clearly the housing market is still unsettled. It is only natural at this time for all the participants to be looking to the new Administration to provide some direction for resolving the overriding economic issues we face,” said David Hanna, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®. “With the National Association of REALTORS® newly proposed four-point housing stimulus plan, we are optimistic that Congress and the President will act to bring some tangible stability to the housing industry.”

Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 35 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations. 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.

The Illinois Association of REALTORS® is a voluntary trade association whose 53,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, the Illinois Association of REALTORS® works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by recommending and promoting legislation that safeguards and advances the interest of real property ownership.

Detailed third quarter 2008 Illinois home sales statistics can be accessed at the IAR Web site at www.illinoisrealtor.org, Market Stats.