Housing Bubble
Illinois
home sales set record in 2002 according To Illinois Association of
REALTORS
Despite stagnant economic growth, sales of existing single-family homes in Illinois set a new annual record in 2002, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS. A total of 113,583 sales have been reported year-to-date in 2002, up 6.4 percent from 106,710 sales in 2001. The second highest annual sales volume on record since the association began collecting statistics in 1990 was in 1999, when 108,565 homes were sold.
Monthly sales in December registered a double-digit increase of 15.2 percent over the same period one year ago. December home sale totals topped 8,622, up 15.2 percent from 7,485 sales in 2001.
"2002 home sales topped an all-time high record," said Toni Sherman, ABR, CRS, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. "Sales volume increases this year were up due in large part to the 'hesitancy period' following September 11th last year. By January 2002, confidence had quickly returned as consumers took advantage of the desirable low interest rates."
The median, existing, single-family home price increased 11.8 percent from $146,300 in December 2001 to $163,500 in December 2002. The annual statewide median price was $161,700 in 2002, up 6.7 percent from $151,500 in 2001. The average home price held at $191,000 last month, which is a 10.7 percent increase from $172,600 in December of 2001.
"The lowest interest rates in more than four decades also contributed to the December sales increase, which was the record highest December sales volume on record," said Sherman, who is a broker associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Glen Ellyn.
The monthly average commitment rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages in the North Central region was a full percentage point lower in December of 2002, at 6.14 percent, compared to 7.15 percent in December 2001. Last month's average interest rate was the lowest of the year, down from 6.15 percent in November. The average mortgage rates were calculated through the Primary Mortgage Market Survey, conducted by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
Existing home sales in the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) increased 20.7 percent to 5,595 last month, compared to the December 2001 sales total of 4,634. The median price of existing, single-family home sales in the Chicago PMSA rose 13.6 percent to $210,000.
The Chicagoland PMSA includes the counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Will, Grundy and Kendall, and consists of data from the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois, which includes 11 boards and associations of REALTORS®.
The Illinois Association of REALTORS® is a statewide trade association whose 41,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry.
Source: Illinois Association of REALTORS
