Champaign County area residential home sales rallied forward in September nearly matching the sales pace of last year, according to the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. CCAR reports a total of 215 homes were sold in September, one less from last year of 216 sales.
Meanwhile, the median home sale price rose 2.58 percent to $159,000 in September from $155,000 from September a year ago. The median is a typical market price where half the home sold for more, half for less.
The average home sale price decreased 1.37 percent in September to $169,488 from $171,835 in September a year ago.
The year-to-date number of homes sales decreased 8.01 percent with 2,136 sales through September of this year, compared to 2,322 from the same period a year ago.
“We definitely saw an uptick in home sales activity this September which nearly matched last year’s pace off by just one sale,” said Julie Roth, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “While we typically experience a cooldown in home sales activity in the fall when school resumes, quite the opposite, there has been a steady pace of sales as pending home sales have increased significantly as well. Pending sales (those under contract and awaiting closing) rose 30 percent this month which points to eager buyer sentiment, and lower mortgage rates are making it that much easier for buyers to qualify for a mortgage.”
New listings increased sharply from a year ago by 24 percent to 266 homes across the area in September. Houses were on the market an average of 78 days compared to 73 days a year ago.
Pending sales, a sign of future real estate activity, were up 30 percent to 184 pending home sales from 141 a year ago. Pending sales for the month of September reflect the total number of active listings that went under contract and area awaiting closing, usually 30 to 60 days in the future. Inventory of homes for sale declined slightly by 2.9 percent to 884 homes.
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage for the month of September was 3.61 percent according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, down from 4.63 percent in September of 2018 and down from 3.62 percent in August of 2019. For the week ending October 18th, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.69 percent
“This has been an unusual year for home sale activity as we have seen weaker home sales and a market struggling overall despite favorable affordability factors including enticingly low mortgage interest rates,” said Roth. “From a seller standpoint, stronger sales volume should be an encouraging sign and motivation that now might be the right time to sell, as there are fewer homes on the market than there were at this time last year and overall less competition.”
Statewide home sales were up 1.3 percent in September at 12,854 home sales versus 12,687 a year ago, according to the Illinois REALTORS®. The statewide median home sale price stood at $200,000 in September 2019 up 1.5 percent from $197,000 in September of 2018.
Nationally home sales were up 3.9 percent from a year ago in September according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that despite historically low mortgage rates, sales have not commensurately increased, in part due to a low level of new housing options. “We must continue to beat the drum for more inventory,” said Yun, who has called for additional home construction for over a year.
The Champaign County Association of REALTORS® is a voluntary trade organization serving Champaign County and surrounding areas and is the leading resource for REALTOR® members and an advocate for homeownership and private property rights. Statistics are from residential sales within the Champaign County area. Data compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC as available on October 14, 2019.