Home sales rebounded in 2012
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16:30
- Written by The Peorian
Real estate sales in the Peoria area ended a six-year slide in 2012 as they gained 16.8 percent over 2011, according to numbers released by the Peoria Area Association of Realtors.
Peoria was part of a national recovery in home sales, the association said, as average and median prices also were higher in 2012 over the previous year.
There were 4,912 homes sold in 2012 in the area covered by PAAR, an increase from 4,206 sold in 2011. That includes single-family residences and condominiums. While a marked increase from the previous year, sales have been below 5,000 a year since 2008. The record number of sales in one year is 6,152, recorded in 2005.
The median selling price in 2012 was $122,000, up 6.1 percent from the median selling price of $115,000 recorded in 2011 and the highest the median price has reached in the Peoria area. The median is the typical market price, where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
The average price in 2012 was $146,356, up 6.7 percent from 2011, when the average price was $137,162 and the highest ever recorded by PAAR. The average is the total of all the home sales prices added together and divided by the number of homes sold, the association said. It was the third consecutive year the average price increased.
"We came into 2012 cautiously optimistic and have been very happy with the continued recovery of the residential real estate market. The increased average and median sales prices are positive indicators that the market is getting stronger," said John Purple, president of the association of realtors and a broker at Re/Max Unlimited. "In fact, we continued to see momentum during November and December, a time of year when the real estate business tends to slow down for the holidays."
Noting that inventory was down 22.3 percent, to 2,012 homes for sale, and the month's supply of inventory was down to 4.9 months from 7.3 months in 2011, Purple said PAAR believes "this is a balanced market — a win-win for buyers and sellers. With interest rates still at close-to-record lows and stable pricing – all indicators are pointing to a good spring market."
Below is a table showing the number of sales and prices for the last 10 years. The Association of Realtors started recording median sales prices in 2006.
YEAR SALES AVE. PRICE MEDIAN PRICE
2012 4,912 $146,356 $122,000
2011 4,210 $137,345 $115,000
2010 4,318 $136,829 $113,000
- 2009 4,491 $134,404 $114,500
2008 5,142 $138,650 $114,646
2007 5,820 $139,663 $115,000
2006 6,139 $135,675 $110,000
2005 6,152 $129,930
2004 5,795 $119,342
2003 5,525 $114,807
