Area home prices hit 19-month high, sales up 14 percent over last year

Staff Report

The average price of Rockford-area homes sold keeps climbing. The three-month rolling average home price in the Rockford area reached $112,679 in July, the highest in 19 months, according to new statistics released by Rockford Area Realtors.

The rolling average was 9.7 percent above the average price of $102,761 in July 2011, marking the third-straight month of year-over-year price increases, and the highest average price since January 2011 when it hit $117,520.

The number of homes sold was also significantly higher this July. A total of 364 homes were sold, 14 percent higher than 318 properties sold in July 2011. This marks 13 out of the last 14 months of year-over-year increases in number of homes sold by association members. Historically, sales drop 8.3 percent from June to July, according to association stats going back to 1998.

“Is the housing market actually recovering?” asked Steve Bois, CEO of Rockford Area Realtors. “In July, we saw the highest monthly total of home sales this year and the highest level in 14 months, with the highest sales price in 19 months. These trends are definitely positive and show another strong month of continuous recovery in the marketplace.”

Sales for the first seven months this year are at 2,063 homes, 19 percent more homes sold than 1,734 homes sold from January to July 2011. Bois added that pending sales for August are at a 28-month high, another indicator of a growing house market. “Hitting bottom in 2011, housing sales and prices have been significantly improving this year,” Bois explained.

Bois said the housing market is strengthened by a gradually recovering economy, supported locally by the manufacturing sector.

“The great recession ended in June 2009,” Bois said, “with the current recovery a bit muted compared with past deep recession recovery cycles. But, manufacturing has been growing at twice the trend for the past 36 months, industrial production is forecast to rise at a solid 3.5 percent rate this year, and the recovery has been broad-based with vehicle and primary metals manufacturing leading the way.”

From the Aug. 8-14, 2012, issue