This year’s red-hot housing market continued in April with statewide home sales and prices climbing again, particularly in contrast to a year ago when Illinois was in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by Illinois REALTORS®.

Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in April 2021 totaled 16,623 homes sold, up 35.3 percent from 12,289 in April 2020.

The statewide median price in April was $260,000, up 14.5 percent from $227,000 in April 2020. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

“Yes, we should celebrate April’s home sales exceeding expectations and being the strongest in years. That is a nice sign of buyer confidence heading into the summer,” said Sue Miller, president of Illinois REALTORS® and designated managing broker of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in McHenry. “But we still must address the lack of available housing of all kinds. This inventory shortage is causing the dream of homeownership to be deferred for far too many Illinoisians.”

It took an average of 38 days to sell a home in April, down from 53 days a year ago.  Homes for sale totaled 24,749, a 48.7 percent decline from April 2020 when there were 48,232 homes on the market.

According to the data, home sales in the Metro East MSA (Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties) totaled 847 sales, a 27.6 percent increase while the median price rose 5.0 percent to $156,900. In the Carbondale-Marion MSA (Jackson and Williamson counties) home sales totaled 124, a 39.3 percent increase. The median price increased 7.7 percent to $118,500.

The monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.06 percent in April 2021, a decrease from 3.08 percent the previous month, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In April 2020, it averaged 3.31 percent.

Last month, 12,142 homes (single-family and condominiums) were sold in the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, a 39.7 percent increase from the 8,692 homes sold in April 2020.

The median home sale price in April 2021 was $310,000 in the Chicago Metro Area, an increase of 14.8 percent from $270,000 in April 2020.

“While consumer sentiment indices increased, there was a marked difference in attitudes towards home purchases,” said Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, emeritus director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory. “The Fannie Mae index revealed that the percentage of those who feel it is a good time to buy a home decreased from 53 percent to 47 percent, while on the other hand, the percentage who feel it is a bad time to buy increased from 40 percent to 48 percent. These changes reflect the continuing low inventory problem and the lack of housing variety that seem to override the attractive interest rates that are still available.”

In the city of Chicago, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in April 2021 totaled 3,283 homes sold, up 59.6 percent from April 2020 sales of 2,057 homes.

The median price of a home in Chicago in April 2021 was $374,000, up 10.7 percent compared to April 2020 when it was $338,000.

“The market in April was hot! The steep year-over-year increase in closed sales and median price shows the hesitancy of buyers and sellers at the beginning of the pandemic last April compared to the comfort they are feeling in the market now,” said Nykea Pippion McGriff, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of brokerage services at Coldwell Banker Realty. “Over the last few months, it seems like buyers have re-evaluated their desires, and we’ve seen a considerable uptick in the condo market, which is also a signal of buyer confidence and comfort moving into summer.”

Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 23 participating Illinois REALTORS® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of May 7, 2021 for the period April 1 through April 30, 2021. 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 50,000 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 and the University of Illinois REAL forecast at www.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats.