Home sales were down 9.8 percent in the Peoria area for the 2nd quarter that ended June 30th.
More than 1,560 homes sold during April, May and June. But that was 70 fewer than last year.
Total home sales for the year are also 5.3-percent lower.
Jana Heffron is the president of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors. She says it’s likely a normal market correction after several years of growth.
Heffron says the Peoria area also remains one of the most affordable places to live in the nation. The median sale price in the second quarter was $122,612. That’s less than half the nation median home sale price that stood at $252,800.
That average home price was $144,510, down about one-percent.
Heffron says there are elements of a perfect storm for those thinking about home ownership. “We have interest rates hovering around that 4-percent mark. We have home prices steady but slightly down. But then when you look at the grand scheme of what’s available. This is the time of year where there’s a little more supply that normal. So for buyers who are out looking this is a great time for them to do so.”
Houses selling between the $175,000 and $225,000 mark are tending to sell the quickest, spending an average of 69 days on the market. But the market-wide average days listed before sold was 79 and that’s down from the same time last year when it was 85 days.
The luxury home market: $500,000 and above had the most growth last quarter. It expanded by 3-percent. But that was after being down for a while.
Heffron says for those thinking of buying now might also what to consider Fannie Mae is increasing their debt to income ratio at the end of the month. It’s going from 45 to 50 percent. Heffron says that’s targeted at getting more millennials with student loan debt into home ownership, but it will benefit everyone.