Market Conditions: October Sales Fall Just 2.5% After September’s Sharp Plunge
The Illinois Association of Realtors was out with the October home sales data just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
After a sharp downturn in September, the decline was more seasonal in October.
The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales decrease 2.5 percent with 2,056 sales in October, compared to 2,109 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in October was $272,500 up 4.8 percent compared to October 2017 when it was $260,000.
Thanks to G for all the data on October sales going back to 1997:
October Chicago sfh/condo/th sales and median
- 1997 1,731 $129,900
- 1998 1,855 $138,000
- 1999 1,978 $159,500
- 2000 2,106 $174,710
- 2001 2,177 $200,000
- 2002 2,503 $215,000
- 2003 2,996 $236,000
- 2004 2,651 $241,000
- 2005 2,846 $268,500
- 2006 2,630 $278,000
- 2007 2,007 $285,000
- 2008 1,564 $261,000
- 2009 2,068 $215,000
- 2010 1,225 $183,000
- 2011 1,324 $162,000 (44% short/REO sales)
- 2012 2,009 $175,000
- 2013: 2,231 $218,500
- 2014: 2,128 $236,000
- 2015: 2,173 $240,000
- 2016: 2,046 $260,100
- 2017: 2,109 $260,000
- 2018: 2,056 $272,500
“A stabilization is taking place in many areas of the market – demand and prices are fairly steady, inventory continues to decline, albeit less sharply, and buyers are regaining some power,” said Tommy Choi, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and broker at Keller Williams Chicago – Lincoln Park. “These metrics are fairly typical as we enter a historically slower time of the year.”
The time it took to sell a home, statewide, fell again to just 51 days, from 53 days in October 2017.
The average 30-year mortgage rate continued to rise. It came in at 4.83% up from 4.63% in September and up from 3.9% in October of last year.
“We saw a significant rebound in home sales in October, signaling that there is still a lot of life in the market,” said Ed Neaves, Illinois REALTORS® president-elect and managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington. “While homebuyers may be frustrated by a lack of available homes and higher prices in some areas, those dynamics are not enough to overcome a desire to make a purchase as we close in on the holiday season.”
Is the housing market back to “normal” after a scare of it “slowing” in September?
Was September much ado about nothing?
Illinois home sales stabilize in October; median prices show gains[Illinois Association of Realtors, Press Release, November 21, 2018]
I think November will come in low because contract activity was pretty weak in October and also pending home sales declined by a lot.
It’s been a cold November too which could drag things down.