The Champaign County Association of Realtors (CCAR) is reporting strong activity early in March prior to the global coronavirus pandemic slowdown.
Champaign County area home sales rose 12.06 percent compared to March 2019 while there were also increases in both median and average home sale prices.
CCAR reported there were 223 sales in March 2020, compared to 199 sales in March 2019.
The March median home sale price for the Champaign County area stood at $155,000, up 6.9 percent from $145,000 in March a year ago.
“The housing market was solid heading into March as gains were reported in the month for both home sales and home sale prices over one year ago. Real estate is deemed an “essential service” in Illinois and safety precautions are being taken to limit showing activity to ‘essential’ showings only following social distancing rules,” said Julie Roth, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “While open houses are not allowed currently, many REALTORS® are adapting and conducting virtual showings using technology via video, Skype, Facebook Live and other virtual staging options to showcase properties to avoid unnecessary traffic. Closings are being done with social distancing precautions in mind and limited to signing partners only and electronically in some cases.”
During March there were 262 pending home sales reported, down by 10.3 percent from 292 pending sales in March of 2019.
Roth said that the March data is probably the last to reflect the pre-pandemic impact on home sales.
The National Association of Realtors reports that sales of existing homes fell 8.5% in March compared to the month prior.
