Illinois and Chicago Metro 1Q 2008 Housing Numbers

For the first quarter of 2008 the median home price in Illinois was $187,500 down from $196,000 (a decrease of 4.3%) a year prior. However, the median home price in Chicago was $295,000, up from $280,000 (an increase of 5.4%) from the same time last year. The median price is where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS(R) (IAR) first quarter report, total home sales (which include single-family homes and condominiums) totaled 21,576, down 27.0 percent from 29,553 home sales in the first quarter of 2007. The average sale price however was up 0.9 percent to $252,899 from $250,576 for the same period a year earlier.

If you look at just the Chicago metropolitan area the news was pretty good as well. The median home price dipped slightly from $244,900 to $243,500 (0.6% decrease), but the average sale price in the Chicago metropolitan area was $323,227, up from $311,615 (3.7% increase) for the same period a year prior.

Overall, I believe these numbers were pretty good. There still remains a lot of inventory out there, but it appears market prices in the Chicagoland area have not been affected as much as other parts of the country.