Area home sales up for 6th month - U.S. home sales plunge nearly 17% in December after tax credit deadline extended

Area home sales up for 6th month - U.S. home sales plunge nearly 17% in December after tax credit deadline extended
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
10:40 a.m. CST, January 25, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-chicago-home-sales,0,1278819.story


Sales of existing homes in the Chicago area recorded a sixth month of year-over-year improvement in December, giving more validation to the notion that the local housing market may finally be stabilizing.

The Illinois Association of Realtors reported Monday that there were 5,752 existing single-family homes and condos sold in December, a 33 percent increase from the 4,320 homes sold in December 2008.

Increased sales in the year's second half meant that for the year as a whole, sales slipped only 0.2 percent form 2008, to 69,290 homes sold in the Chicago area.

Prices are still down substantially for a year ago. The December 2009 median price in the Chicago area was $183,000, down 10.4 percent from a year ago. On a year-over-year basis, the effect of foreclosures and short sales sent the median home price down 18.3 percent to $196,000. The median price means half the homes were sold for more and half for less.

Among the eight counties in the Chicago area, several reported significant gains in sales volume. In Cook County, for instance, December sales jumped almost 43 percent from a year earlier while the median price dipped 10.7 percent, to $183,000.

Likewise, month-over-month sales gains were 21.5 percent in Lake County; 19.1 percent in DuPage County; 31.6 percent in Kane County; 46.3 percent in McHenry County; 18.8 percent in Will County; 12 percent in Grundy County; and 9.3 percent in Kendall County. DeKalb County was the only county to see sales fall -- 15 homes sold there in December, compared to 56 in December 2008.

Many observers had thought that December's numbers would be lackluster because first-time homebuyers rushed to get purchases closed before a Nov. 30 tax credit deadline. The program has since been expanded and extended until the spring.

In Chicago, sales of single-family homes and condos rose 39.8 percent to 1,768 sales and the median price fell 10.6 percent to $210,000. That meant for the year, Chicago homes sales were down 7.4 percent to 19,401 homes sold. The median price for the year was $225,000, a 22.4 percent decrease from 2008.

The local market may not continue its positive trends past the first quarter, however. Illinois' unemployment rate reached 11.1 percent in December, above the national rate, and the state has recorded 24 months of job declines since Decenber 2007.

The Obama administration is studying how to better help the unemployed keep their homes, rather than have them fall into foreclosure if they are no longer able to meet their mortgage payments.

mepodmolik@tribune.com