Home sale prices show rise from October

By Alex Gary

BusinessRockford.com

The average sale prices of homes sold by Rockford-area Realtors showed a slight uptick in November from October, a positive note in a month where total sales showed another dramatic decline.

In November, members of the Rockford Area Realtors sold 233 homes and condominiums, down nearly 37 percent from last year’s November sales of 368. It also was the second-lowest total of 2008 — in January Realtors sold 233 homes — and second-lowest monthly total since before 1990.

For the year, Realtors have now sold 3,723 houses and condominiums at an average price of $138,571. The average price is running 4 percent below 2007’s average through November of $144,284. But the average at the end of November was slightly higher than the average of $138,478 at the end of October, according to Rockford Area Realtors statistics.

Although sale prices continue to lag behind 2007 numbers, prices have held up here better than the state as a whole. In the third quarter, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors, sale prices throughout Illinois were 5 percent lower than 2007 and down 6 percent in the Chicago area.

On Sunday, the Register Star is publishing a breakdown of home and condominium sales by ZIP code in Boone, Ogle and Winnebago counties through the first three quarters of 2008. The Register Star’s data includes all home sales, including homes sold by estates or through foreclosure without the involvement of a Realtor.

Reach Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary at agary@rrstar.com or at 815-987-1339.