Illinois Median Home Price at $209,100 in July; Total Sales Off 2.8 Percent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Aug. 23 -- While July home sales slowed from last year’s record pace, year-to-date total home sales are ahead of 2004 figures. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS(r) there were 18,045 total home sales, which include single-family homes and condominiums, in July 2005, down 2.8 percent from 18,574 sales in July 2004. The median home price in July was $209,100, up 10.1 percent from $189,900 a year earlier. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

Total home sales year-to-date (January through July) show an overall increase of 1.3 percent to 105,377 homes sold compared to 103,975 sales in the first seven months of last year.

“There’s still plenty of momentum in the Illinois housing market, but we expect a gradual slowdown as we head into the last half of the year. While not at the record level we experienced last July, sales activity remains strong despite an uptick in interest rates,” said John Veneris, CRB, CRS, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS(r). “Other factors such as jobs fuel home sales with the Illinois Department of Employment Security reporting 4,000 more jobs for our state in July and the overall unemployment rate down from last year.”

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for the North Central region was 5.80 percent, up 0.12 points from the 5.68 average rate during the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Last year in July it averaged 6.11 percent.

Single-family home sales slipped 5.3 percent in July 2005 to 12,535 homes sold from 13,239 in July 2004. The median single-family home price in July was $210,000 up 11.7 percent from $188,000 a year earlier. The single-family average home price for July 2005 was $263,485, a 7.1 percent increase from $245,940 in 2004.

Statewide, 5,510 condominium sales were reported in July 2005, up 3.3 percent from 5,335 sales in the same month last year. The condo median price for July was $207,000, up 8.5 percent from $190,750 one year ago.

In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), single-family home sales totaled 7,776, down 5.6 percent from 8,237 home sales in July 2004. The median single-family home price for the Chicagoland PMSA was $273,500, up 8.5 percent from $252,000 in July 2004.

Condominium sales in the Chicagoland PMSA rose 3.1 percent in July 2005 to 5,286 units sold, while the condo median sales price increased 8.7 percent to $212,000. In July 2004 condo sales for the Chicagoland PMSA totaled 5,129; the median price was $195,000.

“As mortgage interest rates inch upward there will be some moderation in housing activity but a stronger labor market will help offset some of the interest rate effects,” said Veneris, broker owner of Realty Executives Pro/Team of Downers Grove. “Energy costs may also be a factor in home sales but we still expect 2005 to be a record year for housing.”

Sales and price information is generated from a survey of Multiple Listing Service sales reported by 36 participating Illinois REALTOR(r) 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(r) is a voluntary trade association whose 55,000 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(r) 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.

Additional statistical information can be found on the Illinois Association of REALTORS(r) Web site at http://www.illinoisrealtor.org.

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