The Illinois Association of Realtors just reported on March home sales in the Chicago area and once again the numbers show a huge jump over last year. March sales were up 45.4% year over year. In just the city alone sales were up 49.7%.
The graph above plots not only the home sales by month going back to January 2006 but it also plots the 12 month moving average, which is showing a clear trend upwards in the last year. Also, all March data points are flagged red for easy comparison. As you can see this March is even above 2008 levels.
None of this should be a surprise since the new homebuyer tax credit has been spurring sales (it expires in 8 days). However, the last time I examined where the increase in home sales was coming from it it turned out that it was mostly homes below $200,000. I don’t expect this month’s numbers to be any different.
I’m one of those stats! Bought my first home this past December. 🙂 This entry is featured on today’s “Hot on ChicagoNow:”
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/hot-on-chicagonow/2010/04/hot-on-chicagonow-april-22-2010.html