Illinois housing sector adjusts to more sustainable sales pace in the third quarter, while mortgage interest rates remain near 45-year historic lows. Total home sales were down 14.7 percent in the third quarter of 2006 to 46,759 homes sold.
Year-to-date home sales for January through September totaled 131,826, off 7.4 percent from 142,316 home sales in 2005.
The Illinois median home sale price in the third quarter was $209,000.
“It’s clear the housing market is stabilizing and is shaping up to be the third best year for Illinois home sales. Conditions are ideal for buyers as we head into the home stretch for 2006 with more choices and room to negotiate with current inventory levels,” said IAR President Robert Zoretich.
Mirroring a national pattern, home sales activity in September in Illinois continued to show signs of adjustment as the market transitions from several boom years. Year-to-date home sales (including single-family and condominiums) totaled 131,826 in 2006, down 7.4 percent from 142,319 homes sold during January through September of 2005. For the month of September, home sales were down 19.5 percent to 13,447 homes sold, compared to 16,700 sales in September 2005. The Illinois median home sale price in September was $199,900, off 3.4 percent from $207,900 a year earlier.
In a normal Illinois housing market we tend to see a slowdown as we enter fall and back-to-school time. This report compares sales to last year’s all-time high for home sales in the month of September. What we’re seeing is a market that is going through an adjustment that is long-anticipated after several record-breaking years.
We still have a market with excellent opportunities for buyers and sellers who are informed about market conditions,” said Robert Zoretich, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS. “The Illinois housing market will be supported in the long term by strong fundamentals such as low mortgage interest rates and the demand for homeownership from immigrant and baby boomer populations.”
Read the September release.
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