March year-over-year home sales fell in Illinois as the number of available homes dipped to its lowest mark since 2008, according to data from Illinois REALTORS®.

In March 2024, statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) of 10,024 homes sold was 11.9 percent lower than the 11,374 sold in March 2023. There were only 15,268 homes for sale statewide in March, a 14.2 percent drop from the 17,795 available at the same time last year.

The statewide median price of $282,000 in March 2024 was 9.5 percent higher than it was the year before at $257,500. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

“The record low inventory of available homes has fallen to a 16-year low in Illinois, and remarkably, homebuyers and home sellers continue to find success using REALTORS® to achieve their goals,” says Matt Silver, Illinois REALTORS® 2024 President and partner and senior broker for Corcoran Urban Real Estate in Chicago.

In the nine-county Chicago Metro Area, March 2024 home sales (single-family and condominiums) totaled 6,794 homes sold, down 14.1 percent from March 2023 sales of 7,911 homes. In March 2024, there were only 10,409 homes for sale in the Chicago Metro Area, a 15.5 percent decrease from 12,318 homes on the market in March 2023. The median price of a home in the Chicago Metro Area in March 2024 was $339,900, up 9.6 percent from $310,000 in March 2023.

“The number of sales rose significantly from February to March in both Illinois and the Chicago PMSA,” said Dr. Daniel McMillen, Professor of Real Estate and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Business Administration. “Prices also increased. However, the number of sales is lower than at this time last year. Consumer confidence has been high for several months now, and sales traditionally increase significantly in spring. The number of sales and prices should continue to increase steadily over the next several months.”

The city of Chicago saw an 18.9 percent year-over-year home sales decrease in March 2024 with 1,790 sales, up from 2,208 the year before. In March 2024, there were only 4,216 homes for sale in the city of Chicago, a 16.4 percent decrease from 5,044 homes on the market in March 2023. The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in March 2024 was $359,000, up 7.3 percent from March 2023 when it was $334,450.

“This March, closed sales dipped, though median sales price increased and days on market shortened – this is evident of a busy spring season in Chicago amid a pinched inventory market,” said Drussy Hernandez, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of brokerage services for Coldwell Banker Realty in Chicago.

Sales and price information are generated by Multiple Listing Service closed sales reported by 22 participating Illinois REALTOR® local boards and associations including Midwest Real Estate Data LLC data as of April 16, 2024, for the period March 1 through March 31, 2024. 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.

Based on the Freddie Mac data, the monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.82 percent in March 2024, up from the previous month of 6.78 percent. The March 2023 average was 6.54 percent.

Find Illinois housing stats, data and the March 2024 forecast from the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business Administration at http://www.illinoisrealtors.org/marketstats/.