Illinois Real Estate Market - June 2017

Spring and summer are generally Illinois' meat and potatoes when it comes to performing real estate transactions. While this past winter was slow, the market saw a great uptick once springtime arrived.

As a whole, June 2017 home sales saw an increase from June 2016. According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, sales are up 0.3% year-over-year, going from 19,001 to 19,066.

The story is even better for Chicago. The Windy City jumped a full percentage point from 2016 to 2017. One year ago, 13,916 homes were sold, whereas 14,052 were sold this year.

But there is a downside. Illinois home inventory saw a 14% decline from June 2016 to June 2017 as there are now only 59,088 homes for sale (from 68,720).

In response to this, Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, Director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois said,

"While the housing market continues to record gains in prices and sales, the inventory problem remains an important issue. Hopefully, now that the state has a budget, a recovering state economy will encourage more investment in housing – both new construction and investment by first-time buyers."

In addition,  Matt Silver, President of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and Partner at Urban Real Estate.

"In June, the market exhibited a bit of a holding pattern. Inventory was a
contributing factor, as once you sell your home, you’ll need to then buy another – so, sellers are being firm on their pricing, and while some buyers are willing to wait for their perfect home, other motivated buyers are driving down the time on market. As the weather continues to heat up, people will get down to business, provided the price is right."

For more information on Illinois real estate, contact Michna Law Group by phone at 847.446.4600 or by email at BJM@MichnaLaw.com.