Home sales in the Peoria area were down a bit in 2019. But there are also fewer homes on the market.
That's according to a year-end analysis from the Peoria Area Association of Realtors. Kendra Sipes is their president.
She said sales were at about 2017 levels - and down 3.2 percent from 2018's bump. The average sales price was $137,938, down from $142,797 in 2018.
"We have a lot of buyer and sellers that are just kind of sitting tight right now," Sipes said. "Just waiting to see what is going to happen in the market."
She said though Caterpillar is still a major employer and the region's medical industry is growing, people aren't buying as big as they once did.
"A lot of people coming into our area are just being more conservative in their purchases, overall. Where they might have, one day, been a higher-price buyer, they're just coming back to Peoria and being a little more conservative," Sipes said.
She said some current homeowners are also hedging on "moving up" to a larger home in the present market as they wait to get a better deal on their property. She said she's encouraging a philosophy of "trading equities" to get people to explore buying a new home.
Sipes said there are fewer homes on the market now than in 2018. She said that smaller inventory, combined with low interest rates and a lower than the national average home price of $118,000 are factors that could bolster Peoria-area home sales in 2020.
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