SPRINGFIELD (April 17, 2018) Capital Area REALTORS® (CAR) Multiple Listing Service statistics for March show year-over-year increases in pending sales and foreclosure sales with a decline in homes sold, new listings, median home sale price, total inventory and months supply of inventory. Cumulative days on market until sale remained unchanged.
The number of homes sold in the Capital Area decreased 5.8 percent in March of 2018 with 292 homes sold, compared to 310 homes sold in March of 2017. The rolling 12 month average for homes sold on an annualized basis was 3,894 in March of 2018, reflecting a 1 percent increase from the prior March, according to REALTOR Ed Mahoney of RE/MAX Professionals and president of the organization.
For the month of March 2018, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $120,900, a decrease of 3.2 percent from the $124,900 March 2017 price. For year-to-date through March of 2018 the median home sale price was $118,000, down 0.8 percent from the $119,000 price during the same period last year. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.
On a positive note, Mahoney indicated that the 414 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) in March 2018 were up, reflecting an increase of 5.3 percent over the 393 pending sales during the same time period in 2017.
The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Chicago has announced its 2018 Downpayment Plus Program which is an attractive loan program available to its member banks that enable them to provide downpayment and closing cost assistance to help income-eligible customers achieve homeownership. “This could result in as much as $6,000 in assistance for an eligible buyer with as little as $2,000 down! I would encourage interested buyers to contact a member bank to learn more about this fantastic program, said Mahoney.”
Months inventory is the best indicator of a buyer’s or seller’s market, and this figure continued its descent, from 3.8 months in March of 2017 to 3.3 months in March of 2018 signaling a continuation of a seller’s market. Mahoney noted that homes selling above $500,000 still have excess inventory – 11.1 months to be exact.
The 30 foreclosure sales in February of 2018 accounted for 10.3 percent of all sales, up from the 21 foreclosure sales (or 6.7 percent of all sales) during the prior March.
The average cumulative days on market until sale for all home sales was unchanged in March 2018 at 105 days.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 4.44 percent in March 2018, reflecting a slight up-tick over the 4.20 average rate during March of 2017.
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.
Click here for statistical reports.
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