CHICAGO—After experiencing a slowdown in 2014, home sales have proceeded quite robustly this summer. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network, for example, reports that sales made by its more than 2,250 brokers exceeded $1 billion in July, the second consecutive month they hit that milestone and the first time that has happened since 2007.

The RE/MAX network saw its closed sales volume for July rise 18% from the same month last year. And transactions closed by RE/MAX brokers in the region are up 24% through the first seven months of this year, giving the network a faster rate of sales growth than the regional housing market as a whole. In the seven-county Chicago metro area, for example, the number of homes sold rose 9% for the January-July period.

“This year the housing recovery is making itself felt strongly across the state,” says Jim Merrion, regional director of the Elgin, IL-based RE/MAX Northern Illinois network. He also attributes the network's faster growth to its use of an array of digital tools, including mobile applications.

According to Merrion, the regional housing market is moving to a more balanced position compared to 2013 and 2014, “when sellers definitely had the upper hand.” He noted, however, that there are segments of the market, in Chicago and some suburbs, where demand for homes is so strong that buyers can find shopping a challenge and have to move quickly once they do find a home.

But with at least a three-month supply of homes on the market, Merrion sees an improved environment for buyers. At the same time, the average number of days needed to sell a home has stabilized after declining by nearly 50% from 2012 to 2014 in the seven-county metro area.

“The modest increase we've seen recently in mortgage interest rates hasn't hurt the housing market because by any historic standard, the rates remain a bargain and there is ample funding available,” Merrion says. “Plus the economy seems to be improving at a steady pace with consistent employment growth, all of which helps households feel more confident about a home purchase.”

Instant Insights /

RE/MAX Hits $1 Billion in July Sales

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