Overall home sales were down 6.4 percent locally in 2014. (WJBC file photo)
By Adam Studzinski
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington-Normal saw a dip in overall housing sales in 2014.
However, the 6.4 percent drop isn't drawing much concern, especially considering how poorly the year started. Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors Amanda Wycoff said she's actually mostly pleased with how the year ended up.
"We all know what happened at the beginning of 2014; that first quarter was really cold and really snowy," said Wycoff. "So our numbers were down for first quarter, but I think for quarters two through four we looked really, really good."
Wycoff said her only concern was the 34.7 percent drop in new home sales.
"New construction means jobs," said Wycoff. "When a builder decides to dig a hole they're employing a multitude of different contractors and if you choose not to build that house all those people are going to be looking for work."
Wycoff added a new home brings about $82,000 into the local economy. She said it's hard to explain why new home sales struggled.
"Implementation of new building codes and the improved energy efficiency requirements add to the cost of building a home," said Wycoff. "I also think that due to the economic crisis that we had, and we are recovering from, I think that took a lot of the small builders out of building."
As for existing home sales, which were down 3.8 percent, Wycoff was pleased with that area.
"I'm very happy with the overall housing market for existing homes. We've all got our fingers crossed that this winter's going to continue to be mild," she said.
Wycoff hoped to see better numbers in 2015 said she's "very, very optimistic" about the housing industry in the next year.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].
