March Home Prices Rise, Sales Fall

CHICAGO—Spring may have arrived, but the long months of harsh winter weather is still exerting downward pressure on statewide home sales, according to officials from the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. The organization just published statistics which show a decline in March home sales, at least compared to March 2013, and a decline in available inventory. At the same time, however, median prices increased as a healthy number of buyers competed to purchase the shrinking number of for-sale homes.

“We usually have a pretty good number of listings that come on in February,” Phil Chiles, president of the state association and broker-associate with the Real Estate Group in downstate Springfield, tells GlobeSt.com. “This year we didn’t get that influx.”