December 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 0.4% since last year, with 2,029 sales in December 2015 compared to 2,020 sales in December 2014. The median sale price increased by 6.4% ($242,500 in December 2015 compared to $228,000 in December 2014). Homes in the city of Chicago were on the market an average of 55 days, down from 59 days last December.

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 continues to post strong price gains, reflecting consumer interest in being in a vibrant city and a continuing shortage of available homes from which to choose. All indicators are that the momentum we saw in 2015 will bridge over into the new year.”

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 2.4% to 3.3% on average compared to last year for January, February and March 2016. Other notes from the forecast report include:

• Median prices in the Chicago area are estimated to post year-over-year gains of +7.5% in January, +5.2% in February and +2.6% in March.
• In December 2015, 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 127.3 in December (100=average pending sales in 2008). The number of homes put under contract in the Chicago area was greater than last year (up 21.9% from December 2014) but less than last month (down 14.2% from November 2015).