Realtors in the Peoria area are touting improved consumer confidence and attractive mortgage rates for a slight gain in first quarter home sales.
There were 17 more single family homes and condos sold in the greater Peoria area during the first three months of 2017 compared to last year. That's a 1.7 percent increase.
Realtor's Association President Jana Heffron says it appears Caterpillar's decision to relocate its world headquarters to Chicago has had no bearing on Peoria area home buying.
"The consumers are starting to gain confidence. They're starting to realize that, absolutely there's not a huge impact across the board for our real estate market in central Illinois because of that one decision," Heffron said. Mortgage rates have held steady despite modest, recent benchmark rate increases by the Federal Reserve Board.
On the other hand, Heffron credits interest in what she calls Peoria's growing medical community for the slight upswing.
"We have an amazing four-year medical university here in the Peoria area now which, again, not a lot of people have been talking about, but it's bringing a lot of people to our area," Heffron added.
The challenge into the summer, according to Heffron, is to find enough homes to sell, especially in the below $225,000 price range.
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