Illinois home prices moved higher in November while home sales slowed slightly as consumers began to turn their attention to the holidays, data from Illinois REALTORS® show.

Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in November totaled 11,608 homes sold, down 1.6 percent from 11,800 in November 2017.

The statewide median price in November was $190,000, up 2.7 percent from November 2017, when the median price was $185,000. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

“The headwinds that homebuyers have confronted all year are no less evident as we prepare to close out 2018,” said Ed Neaves, Illinois REALTORS® president-elect and managing broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Snyder Real Estate in Bloomington. “Median prices continue to post strong growth, but the increases are occurring against a backdrop of continued inventory contraction.”

The time it took to sell a home in November averaged 54 days, down from 58 days a year ago. Available inventory totaled 53,929 homes for sale, a 2.4 percent decline from 55,276 homes in November 2017.

According to the data, home sales in the Moline-Rock Island MSA (Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties) totaled 222, a 24.0 percent increase while the median price was up 17.9 percent to $112,000; and the Rockford MSA (Boone and Winnebago counties) totaled 419 units, a 10.6 percent increase while the median price was up 5.3 percent to $120,000.

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.90 percent in November, an increase from 4.83 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In November 2017, it averaged 3.90 percent.

In the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in November totaled 8,021 homes sold, down 2.8 percent from November 2017 sales of 8,251 homes. The median price in November was $232,500 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 3.3 percent from $225,000 in November 2017.

“Prices continue to grow modestly, but the forecast for the next three months suggests a slowing trend,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois. “Consumer sentiment indicators suggest concerns about the short-term outlook with volatility in the stock market and rising interest rates dampening expectations.”

According to the data, forty-one (41) Illinois counties reported sales gains for November over previous-year numbers, including McHenry County, up 12.0 percent with 440 units sold; McLean County, up 1.9 percent with 161 units sold; and Peoria County, up 1.0 percent with 208 units sold. Forty-eight (48) counties showed year-over-year median price increases including Will County, up 7.9 percent to $219,000; Madison County, up 5.7 percent to $133,450; and Champaign County, up 4.2 percent to $144,850.

The city of Chicago saw year-over-year home sales decrease 8.5 percent with 1,793 sales in November, compared to 1,959 a year ago. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in November was $262,000 up 2.3 percent compared to November 2017 when it was $256,000.

“The seasonality of the market is clearly at play,” said Tommy Choi, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and broker at Keller Williams Chicago – Lincoln Park. “Prices are fairly stable, market time is on par from last year and while inventory is still slightly down compared to last year, it’s evening out, as well. This bodes well for both buyers and sellers heading into the holiday season.”

Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 27 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of Dec. 7, 2018 for the period Nov. 1 through Nov. 30, 2018. The Chicago Metro Area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.

Illinois REALTORS® is a voluntary trade association whose more than 47,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition to serving the professional needs of its members, Illinois REALTORS® works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by recommending and promoting legislation to safeguard and advance the interest of real property ownership.

Find Illinois housing stats, data, the University of Illinois REAL forecast and more at www.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.