Champaign County Existing Home Sales Up In March

Despite the harsh winter, sales of existing homes in Champaign County have been rising every month since December, when compared to a year ago. And last month was no exception.

The Champaign County Association of Realtors reports 173 homes sold in March, an 8.1% increase from March of last year.

Realtors Association President Phil Trautman says March is typically the start of the spring home buying season ---- and he says the gains during winter months are a promising sign.

 “I’ve had personally had more buyers coming out of the woodwork, showing activity, already this spring than the same time last year”, said Trautman. “And it looks like it’s going to remain strong.”

Trautman says he’s encouraged by recent reports of job growth in Champaign-Urbana, which he expects to lead to more people looking to buy houses.

The sharpest jumps in home sales came in Western Champaign County, including Mahomet (29 sales, up 45% from a year ago) … the North Region, including Rantoul (21 sales, nearly double from last year) … and in Urbana (up 36%, to 34 homes sold).

The median home sale price for March in Champaign County was $122,500. That’s down 7.54% from a year ago. Trautman says that’s the first decrease he’s seen in a while. He thinks it may reflect an increase in first-time buyers, or investors looking to pick up low-price homes for the rental market.