After several months of declines, Illinois home sales shifted back into positive territory in November as buyer demand stayed strong and the number of available homes dipped, according to data from Illinois REALTORS®.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in November 2021 totaled 14,716 homes sold, up 0.8 percent from 14,600 in November 2020.
The statewide median price went up 7.7 percent in November 2021 compared to November 2020. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
The number of homes for sale was 25,400 in November 2021 compared to 36,991 in November 2020, a decline of 31.3 percent.
Homes sold in an average of 30 days statewide in November 2021, compared to an average of 41 days in November 2020.
“Buyers seeking to move into new homes before the end of the year fueled the Illinois home sales increase in November,” said Ezekiel “Zeke” Morris, president of Illinois REALTORS® and designated managing broker of EXIT Strategy Realty/EMA Management on the South Side of Chicago. “While the low number of homes available for sale still remains an issue, buyers taking advantage of low interest rates to fulfill their homeownership desires are keeping the market strong.”
According to the data, home sales in the Peoria MSA (Peoria, Marshall, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties) totaled 530 sales, a 7.1 percent increase while the median price dipped 2.8 percent to $136,000. In the Moline-Rock Island MSA (Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties) home sales totaled 232, a 10 percent increase. The median price decreased 7.1 percent to $125,450.
“Although prices and the number of sales has declined since their summer peak, they are still up since the same time last year,” said Dr. Daniel McMillen, head of the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business Administration. “Median prices are up more than 7.7 percent since November 2020 and sales are up about 1 percent. Surveys suggest that the pandemic and concerns about inflation are causing consumers to become pessimistic about the economy.”
Last month, 10,321 homes (single-family and condominiums) were sold in the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, a 1.2 percent increase from the 10,201 homes sold in November 2020.
In the Chicago Metro Area, the median home sale price in November 2021 was $290,000, an increase of 7.8 percent from $269,000 in November 2020.
In the city of Chicago, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in November 2021 totaled 2,338 homes sold, up 15.9 percent from November 2020 sales of 2,018 homes.
The median price of a home in Chicago in November 2021 was $327,000, up 10.8 percent compared to November 2020 when it was $295,000.
“Condo sales, in particular, reflect the resiliency of Chicago’s market and the momentum we continue to see,” said Antje Gehrken, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and president and designated managing broker of A.R.E. Partners. “Inventory is a point of concern, although it could reflect seasonality coming into play with a holiday season slowdown in listings. Overall, the data demonstrates that Chicago remains a great place to live, work and play.”
Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 23 participating Illinois REALTORS® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Dec. 7, 2021, for the period Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2021. The Chicago Metro Area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.
Based on the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. data, the monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.07 percent in November 2021, the same as the previous month. The average was 2.77 percent in November 2020.
