Chicago Area Home Sales Statistics from May 2010
- Home sales in the Chicago area jumped 33.6 percent last month compared to May 2009.
- May was the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth.
- May home sales were up 7.2 percent compared to the previous month.
- In the greater Chicago area, the median home price fell 4.8 percent to $190,500.
- However, in the city of Chicago, prices jumped up 2.2 percent from May 2009, to $230,000.
- In the Midwest, existing home sales saw a 22% increase last month when compared to May 2009.
National Home Sales Statistics from May 2010
- Home sales across the nation slipped 2.2 percent.
- A third of the home sales in May were from foreclosures or distressed properties.
- Existing home sales in the U.S. increased 19.2 percent from a year ago.
- However, existing homes dropped from April to May, the first drop in 3 months.
Do the statistics show signs of recovery?
Although the existing homes sales for the nation were down from last month, this doesn’t necessarily mean bad news for the real estate market over all. In most regions of the country, existing home sales were steady. In the western United States, we even saw gains.News coverage across the country has been negative about the national home sales statistics, since many realtors predicted outstanding May statistics due to the tax credit deadline. The good news is that the number of people opting to buy Chicago homes went up. The large inventory of short sale and foreclosure properties that moved in the past month in our city boosted the number of existing home sales, as opposed to new construction units. Chicago outperforming the national average is a good sign for our local real estate market.
Another sign of recovery is that, despite the high numbers of discounted properties sold, home prices rose in the city of Chicago as well. Prices were higher than May of 2009, indicating a stronger and more balanced market. The existing home inventory is also shrinking, a good sign that the market is healing.
According the National Association of Realtors’ official press release,”Existing-home sales remained at elevated levels in May on buyer response to the tax credit, characterized by stabilizing home prices and historically low mortgage interest rates.” Although the boost in sales from the home buyer credit deadline wasn’t as pronounced as many expected, consistent numbers are still a positive trend for realtors and shoppers in the Chicago market.
