January Home Prices and Sales Up Over Last Year

Today, the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) reported that residential sales in the city of Chicago increased slightly by 1.1% since last year, with 1,363 sales in January 2016 compared to 1,348 sales in January 2015. The median sale price increased by 4.5% ($230,000 in January 2016 compared to $220,000 in January 2015). Homes in the city of Chicago were on the market an average of 62 days, slightly up from 61 days last January.

In IAR’s press release, Dan Wagner, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and senior vice president for government relations for the Inland Real Estate Group, said “the Chicago market is seeing sustained, steady increases in both sales and prices. To have a January with strong results bodes well for the spring selling season when interest in the housing market typically increases.”

The following charts summarize median price and sales trends:

The University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory estimates minimal increases in Chicago area* annual sales levels, with changes ranging from 3.3% to 4.4% on average compared to last year for February, March and April 2016. Other notes from the forecast report include:

• Median prices in the Chicago area are estimated to post year-over-year gains of +6.1% in February, +4.1% in March and +5.8% in April.
• In January 2016, at the previous 12 month average sales rate, the Chicago area had enough housing inventory for 3.0 months (down from 4.0 months a year ago). However, the supply of homes above $700K is increasing in both Illinois and the Chicago area.
• The pending home sales index, a leading indicator based on contract signings, was 147.3 in January (100=average pending sales in 2008). The number of homes put under contract in the Chicago area was moderately greater than last year (up 12.4% from January 2015) and significantly greater than last month (up 27.7% from December 2015).