April Results Confirm Metro Chicago Real Estate Market is Seeing More Home Sales, Less Price Erosion, Reports RE/MAX
Elgin, IL, May 23, 2010 --(PR.com)-- April home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market rose 48 percent from the activity level recorded in April 2009. At the same time, the average price of homes sold during the month increased and the time required to find a buyer decreased, providing more evidence that the local housing market is recovering from the depressed level of sales and falling prices that characterized it in 2008 and 2009, according to an analysis of housing sales by the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network.
RE/MAX analyzed all sales transactions in the seven-county Chicago metro area during April as reported by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED).
The 7,018 homes sold was the largest transaction total reported in April since 2007 when 8,693 homes changed hands. The average home price was up 1 percent from April 2009 to $254,415, due in part to a pickup in sales at the upper end of the market. Homes that sold in April were on the market for an average of 164 days, compared to 182 days for homes sold a year earlier.
Sales of detached homes rose 42 percent from the April 2009 level, and sales of attached homes were up an impressive 59 percent.
The average price of a detached home rose 4 percent when compared to April 2009 to $264,416, but attached prices experienced a modest decline. The average price of an attached home fell 3 percent from $245,007 to $237,869.
“We see a number of encouraging signs in the April sales data, and one of them is that the sales of distressed properties, by which we mean foreclosures or short sales, were 31 percent higher than in April 2009 but represented a smaller share of total sales than they did a month earlier,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. Distressed properties accounted for 35 percent of all April sales, down from 42 percent in March and 40 percent in April 2009.
“So, more distressed homes are selling than a year ago, but the number of non-distressed homes being sold is rising even more rapidly. The more non-distressed properties that sell, the more likely it becomes that home prices will stabilize, but with many homeowners still facing financial problems, it is too soon to say that we have turned the corner on pricing,” he said.
According the Merrion, 2,481 distressed properties were sold in the metro area during April compared to 2,641 sold during the prior month.
Here is a brief county-by-county summary of April home sales activity compared with April 2009:
Cook County: Total sales 4,104 (+46 percent), detached 2,200 (+36 percent), attached 1,904 (+58 percent). The average price of all homes sold rose 4 percent to $$261,536.
DuPage County: Total sales 814 (+58 percent), detached 541 (+65 percent), attached 273 (+46 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 2 percent to $300,887.
Kane County: Total sales 468 (+70 percent), detached 382 (+70 percent), attached 86 (+69 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $185,817.
Kendall County: Total sales 167 (+78 percent), detached 115 (+51 percent), attached 52 (+189 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $183,055.
Lake County: Total sales 594 (+45 percent), detached 454 (+39 percent), attached 140 (+67 percent). The average price of all homes sold rose 9 percent to $301,628.
McHenry County: Total sales 298 (+45 percent), detached 230 (+37 percent), attached 68 (+84 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 4 percent to $187,614.
Will County: Total sales 572 (+34 percent), detached 451 (+30 percent), attached 121 (+51 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $200,103.
In the City of Chicago, which accounted for half the home sales in Cook County, 2,046 units changed hands, an increase of 41 percent from the prior April. Sales of detached homes totaled 821, a 24 percent increase, while 1,225 attached units were sold, a 54 percent gain. The average price rose 6 percent to $288,370. The average price of detached homes rose 12 percent, while the average price for attached units declined by less than 1 percent.
“The trend we continue to see play out broadly is that higher priced homes are beginning to sell in larger numbers, especially in Chicago, parts of suburban Cook County and Lake County,” said Merrion. “That is a large part of the reason that prices of detached homes were up while prices of attached homes continued to slip.”
The increase in home sales extended well beyond the Chicago area, according to Merrion. He reports that the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, which covers the northern third of the state, saw the number of home sales closed by RE/MAX agents in April rise 38 percent to 2,868 transactions.
RE/MAX is the leader in northern Illinois real estate sales and has been number one in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market since 1989. In 2009, the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois closed more than $6 billion in sales.
###
RE/MAX analyzed all sales transactions in the seven-county Chicago metro area during April as reported by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC (MRED).
The 7,018 homes sold was the largest transaction total reported in April since 2007 when 8,693 homes changed hands. The average home price was up 1 percent from April 2009 to $254,415, due in part to a pickup in sales at the upper end of the market. Homes that sold in April were on the market for an average of 164 days, compared to 182 days for homes sold a year earlier.
Sales of detached homes rose 42 percent from the April 2009 level, and sales of attached homes were up an impressive 59 percent.
The average price of a detached home rose 4 percent when compared to April 2009 to $264,416, but attached prices experienced a modest decline. The average price of an attached home fell 3 percent from $245,007 to $237,869.
“We see a number of encouraging signs in the April sales data, and one of them is that the sales of distressed properties, by which we mean foreclosures or short sales, were 31 percent higher than in April 2009 but represented a smaller share of total sales than they did a month earlier,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. Distressed properties accounted for 35 percent of all April sales, down from 42 percent in March and 40 percent in April 2009.
“So, more distressed homes are selling than a year ago, but the number of non-distressed homes being sold is rising even more rapidly. The more non-distressed properties that sell, the more likely it becomes that home prices will stabilize, but with many homeowners still facing financial problems, it is too soon to say that we have turned the corner on pricing,” he said.
According the Merrion, 2,481 distressed properties were sold in the metro area during April compared to 2,641 sold during the prior month.
Here is a brief county-by-county summary of April home sales activity compared with April 2009:
Cook County: Total sales 4,104 (+46 percent), detached 2,200 (+36 percent), attached 1,904 (+58 percent). The average price of all homes sold rose 4 percent to $$261,536.
DuPage County: Total sales 814 (+58 percent), detached 541 (+65 percent), attached 273 (+46 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 2 percent to $300,887.
Kane County: Total sales 468 (+70 percent), detached 382 (+70 percent), attached 86 (+69 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $185,817.
Kendall County: Total sales 167 (+78 percent), detached 115 (+51 percent), attached 52 (+189 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $183,055.
Lake County: Total sales 594 (+45 percent), detached 454 (+39 percent), attached 140 (+67 percent). The average price of all homes sold rose 9 percent to $301,628.
McHenry County: Total sales 298 (+45 percent), detached 230 (+37 percent), attached 68 (+84 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 4 percent to $187,614.
Will County: Total sales 572 (+34 percent), detached 451 (+30 percent), attached 121 (+51 percent). The average price of all homes sold fell 7 percent to $200,103.
In the City of Chicago, which accounted for half the home sales in Cook County, 2,046 units changed hands, an increase of 41 percent from the prior April. Sales of detached homes totaled 821, a 24 percent increase, while 1,225 attached units were sold, a 54 percent gain. The average price rose 6 percent to $288,370. The average price of detached homes rose 12 percent, while the average price for attached units declined by less than 1 percent.
“The trend we continue to see play out broadly is that higher priced homes are beginning to sell in larger numbers, especially in Chicago, parts of suburban Cook County and Lake County,” said Merrion. “That is a large part of the reason that prices of detached homes were up while prices of attached homes continued to slip.”
The increase in home sales extended well beyond the Chicago area, according to Merrion. He reports that the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, which covers the northern third of the state, saw the number of home sales closed by RE/MAX agents in April rise 38 percent to 2,868 transactions.
RE/MAX is the leader in northern Illinois real estate sales and has been number one in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market since 1989. In 2009, the RE/MAX network in northern Illinois closed more than $6 billion in sales.
###
Contact
Jim Nathan
773-588-0777
www.illinoisproperty.com
773-588-0777
www.illinoisproperty.com
Contact
Categories