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portion of Macoupin.
"The market is still very good, it's just that it's not going at the same pace as it was in 2004 and 2005," Suguitan
said. "Those were record-breaking years and you can't expect to keep up at that pace. It would be impossible. Even though we
had a slight decrease, 2006 was still a great year in real estate. And with such a small change in a year's time, I think
it's safe to say that the market will remain strong throughout 2007."
Suguitan also reported that sale prices remained virtually unchanged from 2005 to 2006 with a median price of $106,500,
with only a slight increase in the sale price of two-bedroom homes.
According to Suguitan, a statewide decrease of 8.9 percent was mostly influenced by a decrease in home sales in the
Chicagoland area, which represents nearly 70 percent of all home sales in the state for 2006. The Chicagoland Primary
Metropolitan Statistical Area reported a decrease of 12.6 percent for the year. Sales in the Chicagoland area totaled
116,463 homes sold, down from the 133,305 sold in 2005. The total number of homes sold in the entire state of Illinois in
2006 was 167,860.
"Our portion of the state has probably been able to maintain sales at a steady pace because the numbers over a period of
time have not had tremendous increases or drops," said Suguitan. "New home construction has taken a slight hit, but the
market is still very good. I suspect new home construction is slowing because customer demand in the price range has dropped
off. Builders will build to meet the demand and the expectations of the buyer, but people aren't looking in the price range
of $250,000 to $300,000 right now. The homebuilders know how to adjust for the change in the market and will expect it to
pick up again soon," he added.
Stephanie Tonnies, chief executive officer for the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois, has a similarly positive
outlook for home sales in 2007 and beyond.
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The counties represented by the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois, which includes St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph
and portions of Clinton County, saw an overall increase of 4.7 percent in sales in 2006 as compared to 2005. Randolph County
had the largest increase in 2006 in sales with 31.1 percent.
"Sales have remained strong in our portion of the state because we have a low unemployment rate, Scott Air Force Base is
expanding right now, we continue to have great interest rates and the region's investment in our infrastructure like the New
Mississippi River Bridge (project) has definitely helped us in sustaining growth," Tonnies said. "Infrastructure is
generally good for housing because people then have more options for living in more rural areas if they can more easily
commute to the urban center. Well-planned infrastructure also helps in attracting industry to the area, which affects the
economy in many ways. Overall, I think sales will continue to be strong because people know that purchasing a home is still
a safe, long-term investment."
How did the Illinois housing market compare to other states in the nation? According to Robert Zoretich, president of the
Illinois Association of Realtors, the Illinois housing market weathered a year of contradictions in sales during 2006.
"It was also a year of contradictions experienced across the nation, with continued modest but positive price
appreciation," said Zoretich, "which shows the relative market stability of our region."
Coming off the housing boom's peak year of 2005, year 2006 was the fourth-best year for total home sales in Illinois, he
said.
"Illinois realtors are optimistic about the year ahead given the underlying strength of the market, which is supported by
affordable mortgage interest rates at 45-year lows, gains in the Illinois economy such as jobs, and the overall demand for
homeownership," Zoretich said.
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