IL Homes Sales Pick up Nicely

According to a report in National mortgage news,

Existing home sales in Illinois in July were up 18% over the previous year but median prices were down by 4%, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported. The data includes both single-family properties and condominiums.

Even though conditions are good for the home purchase market, until the job situation clears up, a recovery will be difficult, an economist warned.

Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory of the University of Illinois, said, "It would seem that until the economy signals a clear rebound—with sustained employment growth of the order of 200,000 jobs added per month—can we expect to see a sustained up tick in housing sales and some modest recovery in prices. Since April, the unemployment rate has not shown any definitive movement."

In the Chicagoland metropolitan area, home sales (single family and condominiums) totaled 6,625 homes, up 19.2% from July 2010 sales of 5,560 homes. The median price in July was $182,500 in the area, down 5.4% from the previous year.

Statewide sales totaled 9,708 homes sold while the median price was $153,000.

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