More Chicago Homebuyers Returning to the Market

More Chicagoland homes were sold last month than in any other month over the past five years.

According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, home sales in the Chicago area rose 28.5 percent in August compared to the same month the previous year. The 9,240 homes sold last month marked the best month for sales volume around Chicagoland since 9,733 homes were sold in August of 2007.

Home values are still falling, and this helps increase the number of home sales. The median price for metro Chicago real estate for sale last month was $170,000, a 3.8 percent drop from the $176,750 average in August 2011. Still, values are rebounding, and the median price for a home in the Chicago area is now $30,000 higher than the $140,000 median price recorded in January of this year.

The city of Chicago not only posted a 23.6 percent year-over-year increase in home sales last month, but the median price of a home sold in Chicago also went up, increasing 3.9 percent from $192,500 in August 2011 to $200,000 in August 2012.

Throughout the entire state of Illinois, home sales rose 23.7 percent in year-over-year results, which have improved for 14 straight months, but the median home price was $147,000, which is a drop of 0.7 percent from $148,000 in August 2011.

The National Association of REALTORS® also reports that U.S. home sales rose 7.8 percent last month to the highest level since May of 2010 due to the federal home buyer’s tax credit incentive.

“The housing market is steadily recovering with consistent increases in both home sales and median prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “More buyers are taking advantage of excellent housing affordability conditions.”

Home Building is Growing in South Chicago

Recent news from the Construction Market Report and the Southwest Suburban Homebuilders Association states that Chicago new home builders in the South Chicago market were issued 538 new building permits in the past year.

Permits were issued at 34 different locations in the South Chicago market between August 1, 2011 and August 1, 2012, totaling $146 million. The creation of new homes and new condos will help to strengthen the economy.

The National Association of Home Builders predicts that the local impact of these new permits will be $8 million in local income, $10 million in taxes and other revenue and a total of 1,300 new jobs.

The new permits were issued in Will County, Orland Park and Tinley Park and covered 18 townships and 16 municipalties. The permits were issued for a combination of condos, townhomes and single-family homes.

Here is a list of the top 10 builders in the South Chicago market.

1. Hartz Construction
2. O’Malley Builders
3. Cambridge, DRH
4. Beechen & Dill Homes
5. Pulte Homes
6. Burdelik Huilders
7. Carlson Brothers
8. Overstreet Builders
9. SSW Developers LLC
10. Flaherty Builders

Chicago Homes Selling at a Faster Rate

 

Some good news for Chicago homeowners who will soon put their house up for sale on the Chicago real estate market. A recent study by the National Association of Realtors reported that the time it takes to a sell a home is now decreasing.

In July 2012, the median time it took for a home to sell was 69 days. One-third of homes that were purchased in July were sold in less than a month, while one in five took at least six months to sell.

The reason for shorter selling times? Home inventory has decreased, and this means there is more of an equal balance between homebuyers and home sellers. It is also important to note that homes priced at a reasonable market rate will sell more quickly than homes listed higher than the market average.

Homes began selling faster last spring and continued to sell at a solid rate throughout the summer.  Around this time in 2011 homes were taking 98 days to sell, so this year’s numbers are quite an improvement.

During the housing boom of 2004 and 2005, it took about four weeks to sell a home. In comparison, homes took about 10 weeks to sell during the economic downturn of 2009.

Some homeowners are still afraid to put their homes on the market because they are concerned that prices may decline again. Others aren't selling their homes because they are underwater on their mortgage.

However homeowners will be pleased to learn that this positive trend in home selling is expected to continue, and that home prices have risen in recent months.