April 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 by 7.9% since last year, with 2,628 sales in April 2016 compared to 2,435 sales in April 2015. The median sale price increased by 6.0% ($287,500 in April 2016 compared to $271,325 in April 2015). Homes in the City of Chicago were on the market an average of 47 days, down from 52 days last April.

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, “After posting only modest sales gains in March, Chicago saw in April a return to what would be expected in a market marked by high consumer demand, It’s taking 47 days on average to sell a home, which is a breathtaking pace and shows why inventories have plummeted once again.”

The following charts summarize median price and sales trends:

The University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory estimates moderate increases in Chicago area* annual sales levels, with changes ranging from 6.8% to 9.2% on average compared to last year for May, June and July 2016. Other notes from the forecast report include:

• Median prices in the Chicago area are estimated to post year-over-year gains of +9.6% in May, +11.8% in June and +13.2% in July.
• In April 2016, at the previous 12 month average sales rate, the Chicago area had enough housing inventory for 3.3 months (down from 4.4 months a year ago). However, months of supply for homes above $700K continues to increase in both Illinois and the Chicago area.
• The pending home sales index, a leading indicator based on contract signings, was 264.9 in April (100=average pending sales in 2008). The number of homes put under contract in the Chicago area was greater than last year (up 22.8% from April 2015) and greater than last month (up 14.8% from March 2016).