Suburban REALTORS(R) Group Sees Start of Housing Market Thaw

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ — The number of single-family detached homes under contract to sell rose by 10 percent in January, according to statistics released today by the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS(R) (MORe). It was the second straight month of year-to-year growth in homes under contract (but not yet closed) in the west and south suburbs. “It’s a positive sign that a housing rebound is taking shape in the western and southern Chicago suburbs,” said Mike Drews, president-elect of MORe, the second-largest REALTOR(R) member organization in Illinois. “People are more optimistic,” said Drews, a Realtor with Prudential-Doss in the Aurora and Oswego areas.

Drews and MORe President Ahmed Badat said lower home prices and advantageous mortgage loan options are spurring a surge into the market.

“The statistics show that buyers are warming up to making moves and taking advantage of rates,” said Badat, of AMB Realty and Investment Resource in Lisle. “It’s good to see this movement.” For example, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans allow a qualified buyer to put a 3.5 percent down payment on a home valued up to $365,500, Drews said. And since FHA guarantees the loan, banks are more willing to offer them. MORe measured activity on single-family detached homes in about 120 southern and western suburban communities through information from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. December’s numbers in the same communities also were 2 percent higher than the previous year.

The average 10 percent increase across the 120-community area was fueled by dramatic increases in some towns, where the numbers of homes under contract leaped by double- and triple-digit percentages. Standouts in the south suburbs were South Holland (140 percent increase from a year ago); University Park (1,000 percent); Country Club Hills (61 percent); Chicago Heights (480 percent); Hazel Crest (216 percent); and Matteson (100 percent). In the DuPage County area, activity was highest in Glendale Heights (112 percent increase from a year ago); Hinsdale (100 percent); West Chicago (55 percent); and Villa Park (36 percent). Outstanding numbers were posted in the western Cook communities of Melrose Park (600 percent increase from a year ago); Westchester (83 percent); and Maywood (150 percent).

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