July brought mixed news for the Illinois housing market. The good news: The median home price of $210,000 was a healthy 5.8 percent increase from July 2016; and the time it took to sell a home, 47 days, was down from 53 days a year earlier.
The negative news: Due to a lack of inventory, the number of homes sold in Illinois continued its decline.Statewide home sales in July 2017 totaled 15,677 homes sold, which was down 4.3 percent from from 16,375 in July 2016.
The trade association Illinois Realtors compiled the figures. Association President Doug Carpenter commented on the state’s declining home sales.
“For more than two years, Illinois’ housing market has seen decreases in the number of homes for sale on an annual basis,” Carpenter said. “This chronic lack of inventory is making the market challenging for all buyers, but particularly for those looking to purchase a more modestly-priced home.”
Let’s take a closer look at the nine-county Chicago metroplex. According to Illinois Realtors, 11,312 homes were sold in July, down 4.9 percent from July 2016 sales of 11,905 homes. The median price for the area was $248,000, an increase of 4.4 percent from $237,500 in July 2016.
For the city of Chicago, the numbers were similar. Home sales fell by 5.7 percent from 2,780 in July 2016 to 2,621 last month; while the median price of a home sold in the city jumped 3.8 percent to $301,000.