RE/MAX: Housing Market Rebounded in 1st Half of 2012

The highly-anticipated rebound of the housing market in the Chicago area happened in the first half of 2012, according to a release by RE/MAX. 

Home sales were 22 percent higher during the first half of 2012 than the first half of 2011, according to RE/MAX. While median home prices were 3 percent lower than 2011, there was an increase in median home prices both in May and June. 

“First-half results certainly indicate that both home sales and values in the Chicago-area housing market are on the upswing,” said Laura Ortoleva, a spokesperson for the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network in a release.

House Sales 

Will County saw some of the largest gains in detached home sales (single family homes) with 29 percent. 

House Prices 

In Will County, the median sale prices of homes declined 5.5 percent from the first half of 2011 to the first half of 2012. 

Market Time 

The average time a home was on the market for the first half of the year fell from 180 days in 2011 to 166 days in 2012. The average market time for June was 149 days, a full month less than the average market time in March.

Attached Homes (Condominiums and Townhomes)

Big gains were seen in the Chicago area in terms of sales of attached homes, but not in median prices. Average market time declined by 13 days for the entire metro area and tumbled as much as 36 days in Will County.

Foreclosures 

Distressed properties accounted for 41.6 percent of all home sales during the first half of the year, 2.4 percent less than same period in 2011.

In June, distressed sales were 33.5 percent of the market.