NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors is at 1161 Tebala Blvd. in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Homes for sale in the Rockford region have started to sit on the market longer, but prices continue to rise on a year-over-year basis.
The latest report from the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors shows the average price of a home sold in February was $170,530, an increase of 7% from February 2022. That marks the 33rd-straight month that home-sale prices in region increased over the previous year.
But the rapid pace that homes were selling last year has cooled. Homes spent an averaged 35 days on the market in February, the second-straight month selling took more than 30 days. Last year, homes sold at a record-setting pace after about 20 days on the market, and it took about 23 days to sell the year before.
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The number of homes for sale in Boone, Winnebago and Ogle counties also continues to fall. There were 222 properties on the market in February, down nearly 13% from 255 in February 2022. This was the 37th straight month of falling or stagnant inventory, according to the Realtors’ group.
“Buyers are out in force, but sellers — unwilling to trade a low mortgage rate for today’s higher rate — are staying on the sidelines, and that means inventory remains lower than normal for this time of year,” said Conor Brown, CEO of NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. “Sellers are afraid to put their homes on the market if they need to buy another house because they worry they are not going to find (another home).”
The monthly average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.26% in February, roughly flat from the previous month, according to FreddiMac data. However, that rate was 3.76% in February 2022.
“High interest rates are grabbing all the attention when the bigger issue in the market is not having enough supply to meet demand,” Brown said. “The spring market is stalling because we don’t have enough properties to sell.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas