Local Housing Market Report Rockford, IL and Surrounding Regions

Now that we are approaching the last quarter of this year, we can start to see how 2021 compares to the previous year. Of course, we need to note that 2020 was far from a normal year in many respects.

In March and April last year, the real estate market came to an abrupt halt because of Covid. Surprisingly, by June we were off to the races and homes were selling at a record pace. Despite the temporary lockdown, we ended the year with a 9% increase in home sales.

Making any comparisons to last year will certainly require an asterisk, but in general it has been a robust market all year.

Here are a few statistics to show just how healthy the market is today:

• Rockford area homes are selling in an average of 13 days which is faster than the rest of the state and the country as a whole.

• We have seen significant growth in the average price of homes. The three month rolling average is now $174,073.

• Interest rates remain in the low 3% range, and sometimes even dip below 3%.

As I have mentioned before in previous articles, one of the reasons that our existing home market is so strong is that there is very little new construction going on these days. Right now the high price of raw materials and the difficulty in obtaining some mechanical components are causing the home building industry to struggle. Eventually the supply chain will correct itself and as local home prices continue to rise, new construction will become more of an attractive option for buyers.

One factor that is still a big unknown is whether ending the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions will generate an influx of bank-owned properties.

While there may be some foreclosures, the fact that home prices have risen so well in the last few years, it would seem that owners who can no longer afford their home do have some equity. Because they have some equity, they may be able to sell before being forced to walk away without proceeds.

Jonathan R. Krause

President, Gambino Realtors

www.GoGambino.com

3815 N. Mulford Road Rockford, IL 61114 815.282.2222

5330 Williams Drive Roscoe, IL 61073 815.623.3333