What's Going On With The Real Estate Market?

Are you curious about what’s been going on in our crazy local real estate market? In this episode of The Rocky Borders, I’m going to give last quarter’s market updates for the Rockford, Illinois and Janesville and Beloit, Wisconsin areas. We’ll examine the numbers to give you an idea of what you can expect for the coming months.

Last Quarter’s Market

The market has been crazy on both sides of the border in recent times. In the last three months, we've had 1,615 close sales, which puts us above the previous quarter. The average list price was $183,405 with a sold price of $182,748. This means the list of sale price was 99.6%, which is also up from the previous quarter. Over half of these homes were sold in Winnebago County.

We currently have 924 houses with sales pending, with an average list price of $194,188 and a median time on the market of 5 days. The last quarter continued to be a very competitive market for home buyers. As a buyer, it was more important than ever to be strong with your offer and to minimize contingencies. So as we have mentioned before, make sure you have your pre-approval before going to see houses as you will set yourself up for potential disappointment if you don’t.

The data tells us that houses that are priced well and that are in good condition sell for top dollar and super quick. So if you're a seller, you're going to want to make sure that you price your home correctly and it presents super well. If you're a buyer, you want to make sure that if you see a house that is priced right and in good condition you don't want to sleep on it. Make sure you make an offer right away.

North Of The Border

In the last three months, we've had 581 close sales north of the border in Rock County—putting us above last quarter. The average days on market was just 17 days, which was below last quarter. The average list price was $228,000 with an average sold price of $234,000 which is up from the last quarter’s average sales price. Yes, you just heard that right: the average sold price was above the list price for the entire Rock County location in the second quarter.

This means that the average sale price was 103% of the  price. This is also up from last quarter. Of the 581 houses sold in Rock County, 274 were in Janesville and 155 were in Beloit. This means that 74% of the total sales in the entire county took place in these two cities. An interesting and noteworthy statistic is that homes sold between $100,000 and $150,000 had market exposure of just 10 days and sold for 105% of list price.

There are currently 364 houses under contract in Rock County. As you can see, last quarter was insane. Buyers had more competition with other buyers and had to make decisions even quicker than in the past. Contingencies were significantly reduced if not eliminated. Creativity was the name of the game into homeownership. Thankfully, the battle of the second quarter is over.

Current Trends

Currently, we have about 658 houses on the market available for sale. The average days on market for active and available homes is 66 days for Northern Illinois’ multiple listing service. Let's break that down by a few popular areas.

In Winnebago County, the average list price is $208,000 with an average of 37 days on the market. Boone County has an average list price of about $325,000 and 41 days on the market. We are still in a seller's market, as we have roughly 1/3 more houses pending compared to what we have available for sale.

I think that we're going to continue to see more inventory hit the market for the next 30 to 45 days. So if you're looking to buy a house with a little less competition, now's your time to do it. Currently, we have roughly 163 homes available for sale. The average days on market for active and available homes is 43 days for the South Central Wisconsin MLS.

Benoit has 43 homes for sale with an average list price of $203,000 with 27 days on the market. Janesville, on the other hand, has 55 homes for sale with an average list price of $280,000 and 31 days on the market. Again, we’re still in a definitive seller's market as we have roughly 44% more houses pending compared to what we have available for sale.

It feels as if we are seeing more inventory, and sellers are starting to review offers as they come in rather than setting a date to review offers. We feel that this is because sellers don't want to miss a buyer writing an offer right away and losing out on getting top dollar. Buyers are excited that there are more houses to choose from, but they also cannot sleep on making a decision on the house for the price right and in great condition.

What To Expect Next

Now that we know where the market has been and where it’s at, what can we expect going forward? In the areas north of the border, we're likely to see more inventory until the end of August. After that, we may face a squeeze.

Home values are likely to rise from 5% to 7%. In the next quarter, interest rates will remain flat. We feel that Beloit will narrow the gap in home sales and values with Janesville. This is due to its continued economic growth and Janesville pricing some buyers.

North of the border in and around Janesville and Beloit and south of the border in and around Rockford and Rockton will see the housing market continue to move super quick for top dollar. While we're seeing more inventory, that inventory is going just as quickly as it's coming in. We're still seeing a lot of buyers, which is super good.

If you have any questions regarding the current market or you're thinking about making a move, please reach out to us and we’d be happy to help. Don’t forget to also subscribe to my channel so you never miss an episode of The Rocky Borders. Stay tuned to see what I feature next!