Realtors of Southwestern Illinois reports mostly-higher monthly home sales
BELLEVILLE – The Realtors Association of Southwestern Illinois says home sales climbed in three of its four reporting counties during the month of May 2015, compared to the same time frame one year ago.
The just-released housing statistics show St. Clair, Monroe and Randolph Counties reporting an increase in year-to-date home sales in May 2015 compared to May of last year. Additionally, St. Clair, Randolph, and Monroe Counties also recorded a monthly increase in home sales in May 2015 compared to last May.
Realtors in St. Clair County sold 7.6 percent more homes in May 2015 compared to May of last year. In that same comparison, Monroe County recorded a 25 percent increase in home sales, while Randolph County saw a 44.4 percent increase.
“As you can see in the May home sales report, the Metro-East housing market is strong,” states Christopher Mitchell, president of the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois. “Where the market has most recently been geared in favor of buyers for the last few years, we are starting to see it turn towards sellers as the number of days on market is decreasing and the median home prices rising.: This news is not bad news for buyers though, he said. According to CoreLogic, 90 percent of U.S. homeowners now have positive home equity, meaning that rising home prices equal a return to home equity for more homeowners.
In regards to the median home prices rising, the Metro East continued to see increases in May 2015 compared to May 2014. St. Clair County recorded an increase of 14.4 percent this May compared to last May. Additionally, Monroe County reported a 11.6 percent increase, while Clinton County reported a 3.4 percent increase. The median home price for Monroe and St. Clair counties is the highest median home price recorded for May in over five years. The Metro-East fell in line with the state, as Illinois reported an 8.7 percent increase in statewide median home price compared to May 2014.
The year-to-date home sales in the Metro East continued to see gains in May. St. Clair County recorded a 16.8 percent increase in year-to-date home sales compared to May 2014. Year-to-date home sales increased by 37.1 percent in Monroe County and 16.7 percent in Randolph County.
The housing statistics are as follows:
Statistics are provided by the SIR/MLS, Inc. and the Illinois Association of Realtors.
The Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois is a voluntary trade association located in Belleville whose nearly 900 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry.
RASI primarily serves the Illinois Metro-East market area, including St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph and Clinton Counties, except for the easternmost townships of Irishtown, Clement, Lake, East Fork, Meridian and Brookside.
