Bloomington-Normal home sales rose in early 2016

Posted on April 20, 2016
sale pending
Home sales in Bloomington-Normal rose 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016. (Photo courtesy Dan Moyle/flickr)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Home buying continues to go up in Bloomington-Normal as the numbers from the first three months of 2016.

The local housing market saw a 2.6 percent increase in homes bought in early 2016 compared to last year. Bloomnigton-Normal Association of Realtors President Karen Stailey-Lander said people have been itching to get into new homes for a while.

“I think the overall economy has certainly improved and to that’s helpful,” Stailey-Lander said. “When we go through a period like we did, I think there’s a lot of pent-up desire to have a new home. If they’ve put off buying a new home for the last few years, they are really ready.”

New construction saw an increase in prices, but a slight decrease in units since last year. Stailey-Lander said now is still a good time to buy with several loan and grant programs out there for both new and existing homebuyers.

Pending sales rose 10 percent over last year. Stailey-Lander said one thing that could stifle the gains in the housing market would be an increase in interest rates, but there is no timeline on when that could happen.

Stailey-Lander said she expects the next quarter to be a prime selling time of the year before things taper back down before school starts next fall.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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