CHICAGO—Statewide home sales last month declined from the number sold in August, but the pace was still ahead of the previous September, according to the Illinois Association of REALTORS®.

Total sales, including condos, in September 2015 totaled 13,794, up 5.6% from September 2014 when 13,058 homes sold. And the statewide median price in September 2015 rose to $172,000, a 6.2% gain over last September.

“The fall housing market has shown little sign that there's any significant weakening in demand,” says Mike Drews, president of the state association and broker-associate with Charles B. Doss & Co. in Aurora. “While we always see a seasonal slowdown this year, this month's numbers were quite strong, and indeed were the best sales numbers for September in a decade.”

Still, available housing inventory remained tight with 70,547 homes for sale, a 10% decline from last September when sellers put 78,373 homes on the market.

The gains were seen throughout much of the metro region. In Cook and the other eight counties surrounding Chicago, home sales in September 2015 totaled 9,753, an increase of 5.3% from the 9,261 sales in September 2014. The median price in the region was $207,570, up 6.4% from the $195,000 seen last September.

The city of Chicago saw sales of 2,358 homes in September 2015, up 5.2% from last year when 2,242 homes were sold. But the median price of a Chicago home was $250,000, up only 0.4% over last September when the median price was $249,000.

“The annual pattern of home sales continues with modest annual gains but negative month-over-month growth rates,” says Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “The dampening effect of less-than-expected job growth has not yet affected the housing market and housing prices continue to climb modestly. At the state level, the median price index, adjusted for inflation, is 91% of the 2008 peak; for Chicago, the comparable figure is 86%.”

“With increased sales and even stronger median price numbers, the Chicago market still shows a lot of life as we enter the last few months of the year,” says Dan Wagner, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and senior vice president of government relations for The Inland Real Estate Group. “The continued low number of homes available for sale shows consumers are still very much interested in buying.”

Instant Insights /

Strong Home Sales Continue in September

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