By Adam Studzinski
BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington-Normal home sales continue to trend ahead of 2015.
Overall sales are up 2.8 percent in 2016. Association of Realtors President Ed Neaves said sales dipped a bit between August and September, which is typical this time of year.
“As we get into the fall, families have already relocated if they were relocating for educational purposes to get the kids into class and then school,” said Neaves. “There’s less homes on the market typically and there’s less buyers.”
Existing home sales are up for the year by 3.2 percent. New construction remains down for the year by 3 percent, although that represents a difference of just four homes. Neaves explained materials and labor for new homes are on the rise.
“In a healthy market the difference between a new home and a pre-owned home that have the same amenities, same square footage, should be about a 20 percent differential in price,” said Neaves. “But with the pre-owned market right now there’s as much as a 30 or 40 percent difference.”
Neaves partially attributed the overall increase to this point in the year to higher consumer confidence.
Adam Studzinski can be reached at adam.studzinski@cumulus.com.
