July Home Sales up 16% From Year Ago In Champaign County

Summer is the busiest time of the year for home sales. And home sales in Champaign County are at their busiest since the housing bubble burst. The Champaign County Realtors Association reports that 322 homes were sold last month, up 16.24 percent from July of last year.

Realtors Association President Todd Salen said home sales have continued to grow in Champaign County, despite the recent rise in mortgage rates.

“With the increase in mortgage rates, we’re seeing that for the last 60 days, that it’s not slowing down, which I think is indicative of that fact that we live in a stable community. Champaign-Urbana, Champaign County is a stable place to be, and the housing market reflects that," said Salen.

But Salen said he expects home sales --- and the level of sales growth compared to last year --- to slow down in the next few months.

“Naturally, home sales slow down once school starts,” said Salen. “But I think that we’re going to see sales --- I won’t say they’ll be less than they were last year. But I don’t see that we’ll see double-digit growth in the next few months.”

Salen said one sign of a coming slowdown in growth is the increase in pending home sales for July --- at 274, they are up just 1.48 percent from a year ago. 

Salen believes that Champaign County home sales are not limited by a lack of willing buyers, but by a shortage of homes on the market. He said those homes that do come on the market tend to sell quickly, especially the lower-priced homes preferred by first-time home buyers.