Tag: IAR

SPRINGFIELD, IL - February 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fueled by the tax credit incentive, home sales rebounded in the latter half of the year with Illinois buyers gaining some long-awaited confidence bolstered by low mortgage interest rates and moderating home prices. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) fourth quarter 2009 report, Illinois home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) totaled 29,822 in the fourth quarter, up 35.6 percent from 21,986 home sales in the same period a year ago. For the year 2009, total sales were down 1.4 percent with 107,613 homes sold compared to 109,195 sales in 2008

More than half of home buyers in the 2009 Profile of Illinois Home Buyers and Sellers were first-time buyers, due in large part to the first-time homebuyer tax credit stimulus and increased affordability in home prices in the last year. The survey results released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) found 51% of buyers were first-time buyers, compared to 47% nationwide (a figure which has averaged closer to 40% nationwide since 2001). When asked about the primary reason for timing of the home purchase, 46% of first-time buyers said it was just the right time.

Springfield, IL - December 15, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- More optimism in terms of year-over-year home sales increases is projected in 2010 while the declines in median prices continue but at a lower rate of decline, according to the 2010 Illinois Housing Market Forecast released by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and prepared by economists from the University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL).