MRED Blog

The U.S. economy has been pretty even so far this year. Usually when new figures are released, they paint a pretty picture worthy of putting above the fireplace in that purchased new home. Recently, some numbers for the first quarter were adjusted to show a slight contraction in the economy. The initial response from Wall Street was unfavorable, but the correction itself is truly a mere blip. Nobody is predicting that the market will take a sudden turn.

New Listings in Chicagoland were up 0.2 percent for detached homes and 6.6 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 21.0 percent for detached homes and 19.9 percent for attached properties.

The Median Sales Price was up 8.3 percent to $222,000 for detached homes and 8.0 percent to $189,000 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 11.5 percent for detached units and 9.8 percent for attached units.

One interesting effect of a weaker-than-expected economy is that the Federal Reserve does not seem ready to raise short-term interest rates during summer, as some had suggested might happen. New projections indicate that rates will remain the same until September at the earliest. The dominant storylines in housing are decidedly not negative these days. Instead, you’re more likely to see top sales and luxury living highlighted than the woes of foreclosures and short sales.

MRED real estate professionals can log into MREDLLC.com and click on the Statistics tab to get the latest Lender Mediated and Monthly Market Indicators Reports. You can also click on the Local Market Updates choice under the Statistics tab and use our Interactive Market Analytics map for the latest local market metrics.

Any questions? Please contact MRED’s Help Desk at 630-955-2755 or help.desk@MREDLLC.com.