Chicago-area home sales fall 26% in first quarter

Chicago-area home sales fall 26% in first quarter
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
10:12 AM CDT, May 8, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-chicago-home-sales-may8,0,1935339.story


Despite progress seen in March, first-quarter home sales in the Chicago area dropped 26.4 percent, to 10,306 single-family homes and condos, from 2008's first quarter, the Illinois Association of Realtors said Friday.

The median sales price of a Chicago-area home was $187,500 in the quarter, a 22.8 percent decline from the period a year ago. The median price in the city fell 26.8 percent to $216,000. The median is the price at which half the homes sold for more and half for less.

For all of Illinois, first-quarter home sales were down 23.5 percent, to 16,748 sales.

The average rate on a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage in the Midwest during the quarter was 5.12 percent, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

Dave Hanna, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said irrational, overly stringent lending guidelines continue to keep "good buyers" out of the marketplace.

This week, the Federal Reserve said a larger share of banks tightened those requirements in the first quarter, making it more difficult for consumers to qualify for mortgages. The tightening came as the Fed said demand for prime mortgages posted its first increase since April 2007.