Central Illinois Market Update For May 2018

The latest numbers are in for Central Illinois real estate. Here are some of the important things that changed over the last year.

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I’m here today to give you a Central Illinois market update for the month of May. I took a look at the numbers and compared them to those from May 2017, and here’s what I found:

• Home sales are up by 9.3%.
• The average sale price is down by 8.8%.
• The days on market stayed the same.
• The inventory also stayed the same.

Home sales are up by 9.3%.

In addition, we saved our sellers 2.43% over the average that was listed on the MLS, which equated to an extra $3,645 in their pockets on average. 

If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Central Illinois or know somebody else who is, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you soon.

Our August Market Update Is Hot off the Presses

The latest numbers from our market are in, and they’re hot off the presses. As it turns out, August of 2017 was the best month we’ve seen in over six years.

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The numbers for our August market are hot off the presses, and I’m here to share them with you today.

These statistics are a great indicator of where our market is and where it’s headed. Locally, this August was the best month we’ve seen in over six years.

With 160 houses selling this August, we’ve seen a 24% growth from the number of homes that sold in August of 2016. The number of total home sales this year, up until the end of August, is now nearly even to what we saw last year, thanks to this boost.

Between January and August of this year, a total of 887 homes were sold. In 2016 during that same time, the number of sold homes was 886.

Houses are also selling faster this year than they were in 2016. In fact, the current average for days on market is 83, which is 30% less than the average a year ago.

There is one small piece of news that isn’t so good, which is that the average sale price is down by 8%.

This August was the best month we’ve seen in over six years.

Nevertheless, our market is mostly seeing positive trends. We are in a balanced market when it comes to price ranges below $250,000. This means that there is an equal number of buyers and sellers.

However, price points above $250,000 are still seeing a buyer’s market.

For further information on our current market, you can reference this chart.
 
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What Kinds of Homes Sell the Fastest in the Decatur Area?

Lately we've received a lot of questions about which kinds of homes are selling the fastest in our market. Here's what we're seeing.

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Which homes in Decatur do we see sell the fastest?

I'm in and out of hundreds of homes every month, and I can tell you that the renovated and updated homes with new appliances, fresh paint, and new carpet seem to sell a lot faster than all other homes on the market.

Recently, the average time for a home to sell in the Decatur market was about 130 days. However, some listings that are updated and move-in ready have sold in a week or faster as the spring market heats up.

If you're buying a home soon, be sure to have your mortgage pre-approval letter ready, which allows you to jump on a home quickly if you find one you love.

If you're thinking about selling your house or you've tried to sell and it didn't work out, consider some of these updates like new carpet or a fresh coat of paint on the walls. As we're seeing, it can make all the difference in getting your home sold.

Updated and renovated homes can sell in a week or less in our market.

Over the last year, there have been just over 1,000 home sales in the Decatur area and about 497 of them were priced between $50,000 and $125,000. In the $125,000 to $200,000 range, we had 190 sales, making up another big chunk of sales. Only 50 homes between $200,000 and $250,000 sold, and 30 between $250,000 and $300,000. Finally, 36 total homes sold in price points over $300,000.

That should give you an idea of how each price point moves, but remember that homes that are updated or renovated are selling quickly regardless of their price point.

If you have any questions about our market or you're thinking of selling your house, give us a call or send us an email soon. We're always happy to help!

Your 2017 Real Estate Market Snapshot

Today I want to give you a final recap of our 2016 numbers and let you know what's going on in our real estate market so far in 2017. 

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Today I want to give you an idea of what our real estate market is doing. I’ll go over some numbers from the end of the year last year and give you an update on what’s happening now in 2017.

In 2016, the number of sales was down 1.7% compared to the year before, the average sales price was up 3.2%, and inventory was down 10%.

However, 2016 was a fantastic year for our team. Our sales were up 22.9%, which is amazing! We couldn’t have done that without your support and business. Thank you so much!

In other news, the spring market has already started. People have already started putting their homes on the market, and buyers are already out looking! That probably has something to do with the fact that our weather hasn’t been too cold, and people feel comfortable listing sooner than normal.

Nicer weather has kick-started the spring market!

We find that houses that are priced right and are move-in ready are selling right away. Buyers want a house that offers the most value and in their eyes, a move-in ready home in their price range is worth snatching off the market.
 
If you are looking to buy or sell a home, or if you have any questions about real estate in our area, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Should You Be Worried About the Real Estate Market?

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Real estate is hyperlocalized, so when you hear sensational headlines about the national real estate market, it may not apply to us. However, our local market has certainly picked up steam in the last few weeks.

Our average sale price increased by 11%, but inventory is down by 12%. Homes are selling for a lot more money because bidding wars are happening on good homes. If you have a home to sell, it’s a great time to put it on the market. You can expect a quick sale and a great price.

The number of cash buyers is still pretty high because we have a lot of investors coming in, buying homes, and renting them out. In fact, 34% of our sales were from cash buyers. 

Our absorption rate is at 4.5% which means that we’re situated in a seller’s market. If no new homes came onto the market, our inventory would be gone in 4.5 months. If you’re a buyer you need to hurry up and purchase a home, and if you’re selling, you need to get on the market quickly before other sellers list their homes and drive prices down.

Buyers should keep in mind that interest rates are still incredibly low. Although the market doesn’t currently favor you, you can still save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of your loan by locking in a low interest rate.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help buying or selling!

Are We at the Top of the Market in Central Illinois?

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Where is the Decatur area market heading? What can you expect from it in the coming year? These are questions we hear all the time, so today we’ll take a look at some of the recent market trends in order to answer them!

So far this year, 86 single-family homes have sold, which is a whopping 43% more sales than we saw at this point in 2015. In other words, 2016 is off to a stellar start. The downside is that we’re down as far as our listing inventory is concerned: there are only 502 active single-family homes on the market right now, 14% less than at this point in 2015. Because homes are selling at such a high rate and inventory is so low, the average sales price has jumped 27% to $109,704. 
 

Our average list-to-sale price at Glenda Williamson Realty was 96%, so the homes we listed sold for about 96% of what the seller was asking. Additionally, the average days on market for our team ran about 90 days faster than the market average! In other words, sellers who list with us get their homes sold a whole lot faster!

All of this means that now is a fantastic time to list your home or buy a new one. There isn’t much competition out there and people have a lot of buying power! It’s unclear how much longer these conditions will last, so don’t wait if you’re ready to make a move.

If you would like more information about the state of our current market, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you with any of your real estate needs. 

What You Need to Know About Central Illinois Real Estate

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Today I wanted to provide you with a real estate market update for the Central Illinois marketplace. We're going to run over some numbers and then tell you what they mean for you!

• There are 4.6% less single family homes available than in April of last year
• 35% of homes purchased this year were purchased with cash
• There is currently 4.8 months of inventory available
• The average sale price is just over $96,000, which is a slight increase over April of last year
• We've had 360 homes sell this year, which is up over last year
• The number of homes on the market has fallen, but the number of sales has risen
• Interest rates are still below 4%, which is incredibly low and will save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan
• If you bought a $100,000 home when rates were only 1% higher, you would be paying an extra $21,000 in interest over the lifetime of the loan

Hopefully this information has been helpful to you! If you need any assistance when you're buying or selling in Central Illinois, please don't hesitate to contact us!

Central Illinois Real Estate Market Update for Spring 2014

The Central Illinois area has a vast selection of different properties within attractive price ranges. If you're considering buying a home CLICK HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're wanting to place your home on the market, GO HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. If you have any other questions about your property's value or the current market trends, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at (217) 875-8081.

A lot of my clients have been asking me about what is going on with the real estate market here in Decatur. I thought I would provide you with a little update as we head into the summer selling season. This blog is my way of educating my clients in order for them to make smarter decisions in regards to Central Illinois real estate.

The good news is that last week more houses went under contract and more houses sold than any other week in the last 2 years.

This is a good sign, because the year started off terribly when in January we had only sold 59 homes, which is the lowest number I can remember in over 35 years of real estate.

However, by the end of April in 2014, the total number of houses that were sold had decreased by 18% from last year. There was also a 9% decrease in the average sale price from last year, and inventory has also fallen by 3.2%.
The good news from all of this is that the average days on market is down by 12.8%.

So, we have less homes on the market this year, but they are selling quicker than last year. There is also the fact that we just had our best week in sales in more than 35 years. I believe that things are looking up this summer, and we can expect the market in Decatur and Central Illinois to pick up rapidly.

Thanks so much for watching this first installment of my video blog. The goal of this is to educate my clients and provide them with pertinent real estate information so that they can make informed decisions in the real estate market. I want you to maximize your opportunities.

So, if you're looking for real estate in Decatur or Central Illinois, then please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached via phone or email.

Thanks for tuning in!