THE SHIFTING REAL ESTATE MARKET - ILLINOIS, CHICAGO BETTER OFF THAN OTHERS IN U.S.
THIRD QUARTER, 2007 - EXISTING HOME SALES FELL IN 46 STATES!
As detailed in an article in today's Wall Street Journal Online, new housing figures from the National Association of Realtors for the July-September quarter points up the national nature of the change in the housing market nationwide, versus the same period in 2006. Only two U.S. states showed sales increases last quarter - North Dakota, where home resales increased 2.9% over last year, and Vermont, where units sold edged up 0.8% from the year-ago quarter. (No home sales figures are available for Idaho and New Hampshire).
Across the country, sales of existing homes dropped 13.7% versus the third quarter, 2006. Projected units sold through 2007, according to NAR, will total 5.42 million - still, the industry trade group estimates, the fifth-biggest year for home resales on record. They emphasize, and we agree, that the real estate market is localized, not national. Sales figures vary dramatically from one metro market to the next.
Here in the Chicago area, housing units sold dropped 19.6% in the third quarter of this year, compared to the same quarter, 2006. At the same time, however the median sales price of homes in the Chicago Metro Area increased 4.2%, to $262,000, versus a $252,000 median price a year ago. See our recent blog posting, at BlogChicagoHomes.com, for more detail.
The U.S. states suffering the biggest drop in sales volume this year include Nevada, down 35%, and Florida, down 32%. Arizona housing units sold is down 30.9% this year, and California sales volume is off 27,8%.
Across the U.S., the number of defaults and foreclosures are up considerably this year over 2006. Many attribute the increase to overly-generous lending standards prevalent during the extended boom market of a couple of years ago. As defaults have increased, lenders have grown more particular about who will qualify for a mortgage loan, and the pool of potential buyers qualified to buy has dropped.
DEAN'S TEAM LEADER,
DEAN MOSS
