The Bloomington-Normal real estate market picked up a little in March, as the pace of sales quickened and prices continued their upward climb.
There were 222 homes sold in March, up from 210 sales in March 2017, according to the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors. Overall sales are down 8.9 percent after the first quarter of 2018 compared with the start of 2017, BNAR reported Monday.
“2018 has started off very strong, despite being off from 2017's numbers,” said BNAR President John Armstrong. “We have a little more inventory than last year, making it easier for buyers to find what they're looking for.”
That relatively low inventory continues to help drive up prices. The average price for a home sold in Bloomington-Normal is now $166,166, up 6.3 percent from a year ago, BNAR reported.
“The strength in our market is still prices are on the rise. This is happening because the strong buyer activity going on in the area,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong said there are a good amount of “move-up buyers” as well as first-time homebuyers.
The market for newly built homes continues to struggle. Only 22 new homes have been sold so far in 2018, down 40.5 percent from the first quarter of last year.
“In our area new construction is off from previous years. This is primarily because the lack of variety in home prices of new construction. Strong pending numbers will help future months’ closings.”
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