3rd Quarter Sales Data for Metro Chicago Indicates Housing Market Moving Ahead on an Even Keel, RE/MAX Reports
CHICAGO, Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- RE/MAX reports that third-quarter home sales in the metropolitan Chicago area moved ahead on an even keel, consolidating the gains recorded during the first half of 2015. Sales for the quarter totaled 32,926 homes, 8 percent more than during the same period in 2014. There were 85,325 home sales closed during the first nine months of the year, the most for the January-September period since 2006.
Home values also continued their upward momentum. The median price for all attached and detached homes sold in the seven-county metro area was $220,000 during the third quarter, 4 percent higher than a year earlier and the highest median price for the quarter since 2008.
Meanwhile, the average market time for homes sold during the third quarter was a brisk 81 days, unchanged from the same quarter last year. The last time homes sold more quickly was in 2005, at the height of the housing boom, when the average third-quarter market time was 75 days.
"The Chicago area enjoyed strong housing activity during the first half of this year," noted Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. "Third quarter results suggest that rather than continued acceleration, what we are seeing now is a market moving ahead at a normal pace, with both values and unit sales rising gently, which provides stability to the market."
According to Merrion, a central factor in this steadier market environment has been a measurable improvement in the inventory of homes for sale. On July 1, the inventory was equal to just a 3.2 month supply of homes based on the pace of home sales in June. On Oct. 1, there were 4.3 months of supply when measured against September sales, which means more choices for the consumer.
The housing market is also making notable progress in working through its backlog of distressed properties. Third quarter distressed sales, which include foreclosures and short sales, accounted for just 17 percent of all sales in the metro area, down from 29.5 percent two years ago.
The home sales data used in the RE/MAX analysis is collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service, and covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. Detached homes are typically stand-alone single-family dwellings. Attached homes include condominium and cooperative apartments along with townhouses and duplex units.
Home sales activity in each of the seven counties was higher in the third quarter of 2015 than in the same period a year ago. However, only two counties reported double-digit gains. Sales rose 15 percent in Kendall County and 10 percent in Will County. Gains for the five other counties were 9 percent in Cook, 5 percent in DuPage, 4 percent in Kane, 7 percent in Lake and 3 percent in McHenry.
The median sales price rose in five counties and was unchanged in DuPage and Lake counties. Kendall County had the largest increase at 8 percent. Other gains were 7 percent in Kane, 6 percent in McHenry, 5 percent in Cook and 2 percent in Will. Average market time ranged from 78 days in Kendall and Cook to 92 days in McHenry.
The City of Chicago accounted for 25 percent of all third quarter home sales in the metro area. Unit sales rose 9 percent to 8,129 homes, and the median sales price climbed 3 percent to $270,000.
Sales of detached homes in the metro area increased 8 percent to 20,881 units for the quarter, with a median price of $235,000, up 2 percent from the same period last year. In the attached-home segment of the market, 12,045 units were sold during the quarter, a 7 percent increase. The median sales price climbed 6 percent to $185,000.
RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989 and is continually growing. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of more than 2,250 sales associates and 105 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services.
Contact:
Stephen Johnson
RE/MAX Northern Illinois
847-428-4200
[email protected]
SOURCE RE/MAX Northern Illinois
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