The state’s economy has dramatically improved over the past few years, and with it the housing market should see continued growth, a University of Illinois economist told the state’s REALTORS® on Wednesday.

“Brisk sales, relatively low inventories and significant changes in prices,” are hallmarks of a housing recovery, said Dr. Geoffrey Hewings.

“The overhang of foreclosures would have suggested price recovery would have taken longer,” Hewings said.

Some of the uptick can be attributed to sustained job growth in the state. Although far short of employment levels seen in the early 2000s, Illinois has notched four years of job additions.

Hewings, head of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at U of I, monitors housing data for IAR. He said his analysis points to continued price and sales growth, although not at the same levels seen in 2013.

Hewings also told those attending a Business Issues and License Law Forum in East Peoria that REAL was coming out with an index that would take a deeper look at some of the movement in the housing market.

The new index looks at characteristics of houses that are sold in the state, and may better reflect trends that are evident in smaller metro markets.

Hewings full report can be found here.