The Bloomington-Normal real estate market is off to a strong start in 2019, with sales and prices up even as low inventory continues to make it a seller’s market.
Following a strong 2018, the number of existing homes sold in the first two months of 2019 rose 10.6 percent over 2018, the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The average price of a resold home is now $167,556, up 7.4 percent from a year ago, BNAR reported.
“The real story is the lack of inventory, which has created a stronger seller’s market,” said BNAR President Danell Moberly. “During the first two months of the year, local Realtors listed fewer homes than they did in 2018 during that same time period.”
Overall inventory—the number of homes on the market—is down about two-thirds below 2018 levels, Moberly said. That follows a national trend, Moberly said.
The market for newly built homes continues to evaporate, also following a national trend. Just four new homes were built and sold in January and February 2019, BNAR reported. New-construction sales declined 37 percent in 2018, to just 86 homes sold, BNAR reported previously.
One reason for the decline: “There are good values in resale homes,” Moberly said.
About two-thirds of McLean County residents live in owned-occupied households, according to 2017 Census data. The rest are renters.
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