Statewide Home Sales Down in January from a Year Ago
Illinois Median Price at $189,400

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Extreme winter weather compounded the seasonal slowdown for home sales typical for January in Illinois. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS latest report, total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) were down 31.1 percent to 5,938 homes sold in January 2008 compared to 8,618 homes sold in January 2007. The Illinois median price in January was $189,400, down 5.3 percent from $199,897 in January 2007. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

“It’s been a challenging winter market given the severe snow and cold, but looking ahead to the spring market some positives to point to are low mortgage interest rates with 30-year fixed rates hovering around six percent plus a large selection of inventory to choose from,” said REALTOR Kay Wirth, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS. “Recently passed federal legislation that ups the loan limits for safe and secure loans from the Federal Housing Administration as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should give first-time buyers a boost as well. With these changing market conditions around the state, a buyer or seller’s best resource is a local REALTOR who can put local conditions in perspective and provide home financing and negotiation expertise throughout the transaction.”

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central region was 5.73 percent in January 2008, down 0.41 points from the 6.14 average rate during the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in January it averaged 6.29 percent.

In the Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), total home sales were 3,926 in January 2008, down 34.0 percent from 5,947 home sales in the same month of 2007. The median home sale price for the Chicago PMSA was $239,700 in January 2008, down 2.2 percent from $245,000 in January 2007.

Several counties reported median sale price increases in January 2008 compared to the same month a year ago including Winnebago, up 12.2 percent to $130,500; Madison, up 2.7 percent to $113,000; McLean, up 8.8 percent to $160,000; Peoria, up 15.8 percent to $117,000; and Sangamon, up 9.7 percent to $116,000.

“The sales forecasts for the months of January, February, and March 2008 suggest a continuing decrease in the sales decline for the state as a whole and a somewhat larger decline in Chicago comparing the forecast month with the same month in the previous year,” said Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois. “The month-to-month forecasts suggest the possibility of a modest uptick in sales in February and a larger gain in March. The latter month has always recorded a large month-to-month increase reflecting a burgeoning increase in the housing market with the onset of spring.”

About the longer-term economic outlook, Hewings said: “Continued high oil prices and the consumers’ reluctance to spend—consumer sentiment is at a two-year low—provide sources of concern.”

In recent reports from the National Association of REALTORS, senior economist Lawrence Yun said: “A continuation of soft market conditions is forecast for existing-home sales in the months ahead. Home sales in the second half of 2008 will be notably higher than in the first half of the year. Many markets have solid fundamentals of very affordable home prices, solid job and wage gains, and limited new home construction to keep inventory in check.”

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 Chicago 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 60,000 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.

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