CHICAGO—The strong start to Illinois' spring housing market continued in April with gains in year-over-year home sales and median home prices, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. The trade association found that statewide home sales in April totaled 12,822, up 6.6% from April 2014 when 12,032 homes sold. And the statewide median price rose to $170,000, a 9.7% gain over April 2014's statewide median of $155,000.

Using a slightly different methodology, RE/MAX recently reported that 9,037 units in the seven-county metro area were sold last month, 7.5% more than in April 2014. Furthermore, the firm found that the median home sales price in this region was $210,000, an 11% boost over the prior April.

"Throughout Illinois we are seeing tight housing inventories and this dynamic is providing encouragement for homeowners to get their property on the market," says Jim Kinney, president of the realtors' association and vice president for luxury sales at Baird & Warner in Chicago. "Demand is so high right now that buyers are willing to pay the prices that result from the decreased number of homes on the market this spring."

Furthermore, the time it took to sell a home in April averaged 78 days statewide, down from 82 days a year ago. But available housing inventory remained tight with 65,568 homes for sale, a 4.8% decline from April 2014 when there were 68,898 homes.

In the nine-county metro area, home sales in April 2015 totaled 9,155, an increase of 7.4% from the 8,522 sales in April 2014. And the median price was $210,000, up 10.5% from $190,000 in April 2014.

“The housing recovery continues with solid gains in prices and sales anticipated for the next three months,” says Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “The influence of foreclosed properties on the Chicago metropolitan market as a whole seems to be diminishing in aggregate although important at the very local level.”

The city of Chicago saw sales of 2,386 homes in April 2015, up 5.8% from last year when 2,256 homes were sold. The median price of a home in Chicago was $275,000, up 10% over April 2014 when median price was $250,000.

“In Chicago, year-over-year sales and price gains are a clear sign that buyers are enthusiastic about making a purchase now despite a fewer number of homes available for sale,” says Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and co-president of Realty & Mortgage Co. “With interest rates so low, we expect more buyers to seize the opportunity to make an investment. Homeowners who enter the market can anticipate strong sales prices as this trend has continued all year.”