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The total number of residential homes sold in the Champaign County area decreased 12.75 percent in August with 260 homes sold compared to 298 sales in August of 2018. The year-to-date number of home sales are off by 8.93 percent with 1,918 homes reported sold so far this year.

Meanwhile, the median home sale price rose 14 percent to $165,500 in August from $145,000 in the same month a year ago. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less. The year-to-date August 2019 median sale price stood at $155,000 up 1.51 percent through the same period a year ago when the price reported in at $152,700.

The average home sale price rose 11.52 percent in August to $191,651 from $171,853 in August a year ago.

Inventory levels declined slightly by 1.0 percent to 905 homes. New listings were up overall by 5.2 percent to 303 across the area in August. Houses were on the market for an average of 75 days, down 1.9 percent compared to 76 days a year ago in August.

Pending sales, a sign of future real estate activity, were up 4.9 percent to 213 pending home sales from 203 a year ago. Pending sales for the month of August reflect the total number of active listings that went under contract and are awaiting closing, usually 30 to 60 days in the future.

“Consumer optimism in the market should remain steady in the fall as low mortgage rates persist, attracting future potential buyers looking to purchase a home and helping to increase their purchasing power,” said Eric Porter, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®.  “While consumers remain confident in the market, domestic and global economic issues and potential uncertainty may continue to cloud the market this fall.”

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage for the month of August was 3.62 percent according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, down from 4.55 percent in August of 2018 and down from 3.77 percent in July of 2019. For the week ending September 19^th, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.73 percent.

“More supply of moderately priced homes is needed to help close the gap on what buyers are searching for and what’s on the market,” said Porter.  “As summer winds down and competition lessons, buyers may find greater negotiating power with sellers in order to entice a sale.”

According to the July National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Index, though home sales will get a short-term boost from lower mortgage rates, nationally existing home sales are likely to be flat at 5.34 million in 2019. The Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Sept. 18^th in efforts to cushion the economy from a major slowdown. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun indicates the Federal Reserve should have been bolder and made a deeper rate cut, given current low inflation rates. “The housing sector has been broadly underperforming but there is huge upward potential there that will help our overall economy grow,” he said in the August NAR Existing Home Sales Report.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index inched up 0.1 points to reach a new high point in August. Falling mortgage rates were primarily responsible for the trend, as more people expected lower mortgage rates will continue on the horizon as well as expectations it would be easier to qualify for a mortgage.

The post Champaign County Area Median Home Prices Increase in August first appeared on SJO Daily.

The total number of residential homes sold in the Champaign County area decreased 12.75 percent in August with 260 homes sold compared to 298 sales in August of 2018. The year-to-date number of home sales are off by 8.93 percent with 1,918 homes reported sold so far this year.

Meanwhile, the median home sale price rose 14 percent to $165,500 in August from $145,000 in the same month a year ago. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less. The year-to-date August 2019 median sale price stood at $155,000 up 1.51 percent through the same period a year ago when the price reported in at $152,700.

The average home sale price rose 11.52 percent in August to $191,651 from $171,853 in August a year ago.

Inventory levels declined slightly by 1.0 percent to 905 homes. New listings were up overall by 5.2 percent to 303 across the area in August. Houses were on the market for an average of 75 days, down 1.9 percent compared to 76 days a year ago in August.

Pending sales, a sign of future real estate activity, were up 4.9 percent to 213 pending home sales from 203 a year ago. Pending sales for the month of August reflect the total number of active listings that went under contract and are awaiting closing, usually 30 to 60 days in the future.“Consumer optimism in the market should remain steady in the fall as low mortgage rates persist, attracting future potential buyers looking to purchase a home and helping to increase their purchasing power,” said Eric Porter, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®.  “While consumers remain confident in the market, domestic and global economic issues and potential uncertainty may continue to cloud the market this fall.”

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the month of August was 3.62 percent according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, down from 4.55 percent in August of 2018 and down from 3.77 percent in July of 2019. For the week ending September 19^th, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.73 percent.         

“More supply of moderately priced homes is needed to help close the gap on what buyers are searching for and what’s on the market,” said Porter.  “As summer winds down and competition lessons, buyers may find greater negotiating power with sellers in order to entice a sale.”

According to the July National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Index, though home sales will get a short-term boost from lower mortgage rates, nationally existing home sales are likely to be flat at 5.34 million in 2019. The Federal Reserve voted to cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Sept. 18^th in efforts to cushion the economy from a major slowdown. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun indicates the Federal Reserve should have been bolder and made a deeper rate cut, given current low inflation rates. “The housing sector has been broadly underperforming but there is huge upward potential there that will help our overall economy grow,” he said in the August NAR Existing Home Sales Report.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index inched up 0.1 points to reach a new high point in August. Falling mortgage rates were primarily responsible for the trend, as more people expected lower mortgage rates will continue on the horizon as well as expectations it would be easier to qualify for a mortgage.

The Champaign County Association of REALTORS® is a voluntary trade organization serving Champaign County and surrounding areas and is a leading resource and an advocate for homeownership and private property rights. Statistics are from residential sales within Champaign County area. Data compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC as available on September 14, 2019.

The post Champaign County Area Median Home Prices Increase in August first appeared on SJO Daily.

Residential home sales weakened in July in the Champaign County area while the median home sale price rose 2.62 percent, according to the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. As lower mortgage rates are prompting more buyers to enter the market, it’s putting pressure on the already tight inventory. The total number of homes sold in Champaign County decreased 12.15 percent in July of 2018 with 282 homes sold, compared to 321 homes sold in July of 2019. The year-to-date total number of homes sales are down slightly to 1,654 sales, off 8.52 percent from 1,808 homes sold through July a year ago.

For the month of July 2019, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $156,400, up 2.62 percent from $152,000 in July 2018. The average home sale price stood at $177,056, down 0.13 percent from $177,287 last July.

Pending home sales showed a modest gain. There were 226 pending sales in July, up 6.1 percent from 213 a year ago. Pending sales for the month of July reflect the total number of active listings that went under contract and are awaiting closing, usually 30 to 60 days in the future.

“With mortgage rates at near historic lows and nearly a full percentage point lower than they were last year at this time, this certainly is an attractive incentive for homebuyers,” said Eric Porter, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “Low mortgage rates and a thriving labor market should help to boost the housing market in the latter half of this year, given that the economy does not incur a significant slowdown.”

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage for the month of July was 3.76 percent according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, down from 4.52 percent in July 2018 and down from 3.80 percent in June of 2019. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.60 percent for the week ending August 15, 2019, unchanged from the previous week.

“Even while we have experienced a softer housing market so far this year, we are seeing prices continue to gain traction.” said Porter. “Historic low rates may entice more buyers to enter the market but flat inventory growth is impeding significant sales growth. Some would-be sellers are simply hesitating from moving forward during this peak buying season even while this does present an ideal opportunity for home sales.”

Inventory of homes for sale declined 4.5 percent in July to 868 homes from 909 homes in July of 2018.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority has launched a new, limited-time grant to help homebuyers across Illinois afford their closing costs. Through the new IHDA Advantage Subsidy program, IHDA will give eligible homeowners who meet income requirements an outright grant of either $1,500 or $2,500 depending on household income to pay for closing costs associated with their home purchase. The grant can be layered with IHDA’s current Down Payment Assistance (DPA) programs, allowing homebuyers to receive anywhere from $8,500 to $12,500 in assistance when purchasing a home. In 2018, IHDA was able to help 5,500 people buy a home through two DPA programs: 1stHome Mortgage and Access Mortgage. Visit www.ihdamortgage.org to learn more.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®, reports June’s contract signings indicate that buyers are both enthusiastic about the market and of the potential wealth gain, but he added that home builders need to increase inventory. “Homes are selling at a breakneck pace, in less than a month, on average, for existing homes and three months to newly constructed homes,” he said. “Furthermore, homeowners’ equity in real estate has doubled over the past six years to now nearly $16 trillion. But the number of potential buyers exceeds the number of homes available. We need to see sizeable growth in inventory, particularly of entry-level homes, to ensure wider access to homeownership.”

The post Champaign County home sales slow in July first appeared on SJO Daily.

The median home sale price in June for the Champaign County area was $163,500 down 2.39 percent from $167,900 in June of 2018. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The average home sale price in June for the Champaign County area was $189,427, a 2.89 percent decrease from $195,064 in June of 2018.

Year-to-date home sales for the entire Champaign County area through June of 2019 totaled 1,368, down 8 percent from 1,487 in June of 2018.

“Tighter inventory continues to put a damper on the overall growth of home sale market activity. With a shortage of homes in the low to mid-level price ranges, that may mean a longer search for first-time buyers. In reviewing overall June data, the number of days it took to sell a home is decreasing which indicates peaked interest in homebuying,” indicates Eric Porter, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “Mortgage rates have dipped below four percent and there is potential they may drop even further if the Federal Reserve takes action to lower rates again this year. Buying a home at this low rate means consumers can most likely afford more than they expected.”

Inventory remains tight across the region as there were 815 residential homes on the market in June, down 7.3 percent from 879 a year ago. New listings were down 19.7 percent to 285 homes as compared to 355 last year.

The number of days on market held steady at 86 days in June, the same as last year.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) was 3.80 percent, down from 4.57 percent in June of 2018 and down from 4.05 percent in May 2019. For the week ending July 18^th, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage moved up to 3.81 percent after three weeks of holding steady.

National Association of REALTORS® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is optimistic about positive growth in market activity. In the NAR May Pending Home Sales report, he indicated consumer confidence about home buying has risen and expects more activity in the coming months. “The Federal Reserve may cut interest rates one more time this year, but there is no guarantee mortgage rates will fall from these already historically low points,” Yun said. “Job creation and a rise in inventory will nonetheless drive more buyers to enter the market.”

“We are optimistic that the second half of 2019 will drive a stronger market fueled by low mortgage rates, consumer confidence and strong labor market conditions,” said Porter. “There is a need for more inventory on the market and this is especially great news for sellers who have put off getting their homes on the market and who may be wanting to make their own move. Eager buyers are out there looking for the right property and we are starting to see more competitive bidding in the market for current listings as inventory is straining to keep pace in the most competitive price ranges.”

A separate report from the National Association of REALTORS indicates a decline in global growth and low housing inventory contributed to a drop in foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate over the past year. NAR’s Profile of International Transactions in U.S. Residential Real Estate 2019 revealed that foreign buyers purchased $77.9 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from the 2019 survey reference period (April 2018 through March 2019), a 36% decline from the level reached in the previous 12 months ($121 billion).

The post Champaign County Home Sales and Median Prices Ease in June first appeared on SJO Daily.