SPRINGFIELD (May 9, 2017) Capital Area REALTORS® (CAR) Multiple Listing Service statistics for April show year-over-year declines in the median home sale price, closed sales, pending sales, days on market, new listings, total inventory, and months supply of inventory.
For the month of April 2017, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $114,000, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the $115,000 April 2016 price. For the year-to-date through April of 2017 the median home sale price was $116,000, up 3.6 percent over the same period last year. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
The number of homes sold in the Capital Area increased decreased by 13.2 percent in April of 2017 with 323 homes sold, compared to 373 homes sold in April of 2016. For year-to-date through April of 2017 the number of homes sold was 1,002, down 4.7 percent from the same period last year. “Limited inventory in the bread and butter segment of our market (e.g., homes between $100,000 - 175,000) is hurting our overall home sales,” according to REALTOR John Klemm of Sangamon Realty and president of the organization.
Pending sales (mutually accepted offers) in April 2017 amounted to 419, a decrease of 2.8 percent from the same time period in 2016.
The 23 foreclosure sales in April of 2017 accounted for 7.1 percent of all sales, down from the 32 foreclosure sales (or 8.6 percent of all sales) during the prior April.
The average cumulative days on market for all home sales decreased in April 2017 to 94 days, down from 101 days in April of 2016.
“Approximately 80 percent of all homes sold during April of 2017 were less than $175,000,” according to Klemm.
Months supply of inventory of homes available for purchase was 3.6 months in April 2017 as compared to 3.9 during the prior April. “The popular price range of $100,000-175,000 experienced the tightest inventory at 2.8 months,” said Klemm. “Factors contributing to this continued low inventory include the fact that new construction starts are at a ten-year low and many investors who purchased foreclosure properties in recent years are realizing attractive cash flow and unwilling to part with these properties, thus making it difficult to move up the rung of homeownership,” according to Klemm.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.0 percent in April 2017, up from the 3.6 average rate during April of 2016.
The Capital Area REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 800 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area’s Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at
www.SeeHouses.com.
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