Existing-home sales in Chicago and its suburbs racked up another slow month in September, but once again, median sales prices continue to beat their year-ago comparisons.
More Top Picks Wine Fridges
It was the third decline in both year-over-year and month-over month sales for both the city and the nine-county metropolitan area, according to data released Tuesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors.
In September, home sales fell 6.4 percent from a year ago, to 9,117 properties sold at a median price of $195,000. A year ago, the median price was $185,000.
Within Chicago, 2,187 homes were sold, down 8.7 percent from September 2013’s 2,395 properties. Last month’s median price of $250,000 was down 8.7 percent from a year earlier. Within the city, sales of single-family homes declined more than sales of condominiums, but the price gains of single-family homes fared better.
The median price of a single-family home sold in Chicago last month was $195,000, up 11.4 percent, versus $279,000 for a condo, a year-over-year gain of 2.4 percent.
More than 10,000 homes were on the market in the city and more than 45,000 in the metro area, similar to September 2013, yet marketing time continued to drop from a year ago. It took an average of 56 days for a property to go under contract in the suburbs and an average of 48 days in Chicago.
“Chicago’s fall housing market features bright spots for both buyers and sellers,” Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said in a statement. “Buyers can be encouraged by a rise in the number of homes available for sale this fall to give them a broader selection. Sellers also continue to be in a strong position with median sales prices posting year-over-year gains and homes selling more quickly.”
Nationally, sales of existing homes rebounded in September to their highest annual pace of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The 2.4 percent gain in September pushed home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million homes in September, from 5.05 million homes in August. Still, home sales nationally are 1.7 percent below their annualized level of 5.26 million properties in September 2013.