Illinois home sales, prices climb higher in June and first half of 2016
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Homebuyer demand drove sales and prices higher in June and marked a strong first half of the year for the Illinois housing market, according to Illinois REALTORS®.
Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in June 2016 totaled 18,593 homes sold, up 1.4 percent from 18,328 in June 2015. Year-to-date, home sales totaled 78,547 homes sold, an increase of 5.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2015.
The City of Chicago saw a 0.2 percent year-over-year home sales increase in June 2016 with 3,210 sales, up from 3,202 in June 2015. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in June 2016 was $300,000, up 4.1 percent compared to June 2015 when it was $288,250. Year to date home sales totaled 13,953, a 4.1 percent increase compared to last year and the median price averaged $275,000, a 3.5 percent gain.
“Chicago homebuyers are having to work harder to find properties which meet their criteria and budget,” said Dan Wagner, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®. “A combination of low mortgage rates and a limited number of properties on the market is pushing median prices higher, a continuation of a trend we have seen for much of the warm-weather selling season.”