So, January is always seasonally slow, then over the last few years, early February basically becomes the start of the more active spring market. This rush usually lasts from 2nd week of February to the 1st week of July. As this chart shows, that was not the case in 2019. The number of homes sold were down in St. Charles and Batavia, and massively down in the Elburn market. Geneva has stayed very hot! Pricing is still a case by case basis, depending on the homes location, floor plan, and interior finishes. I would say prices for the most part are just stable, some segments are declining and some are increasing slightly.
I think the awful weather and the political uncertainty in this country (Tariffs, large stock market declines, and interest rates fluctuations) all lead to a very slow start for real estate in 2019. Town homes sales were worse than houses with huge declines in the number of town homes across the board in St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia-- Some of that weakness was due to general low inventory levels too.
Real estate is cyclical, as mortgage rates went lower and some uncertainty was removed---the local market also got much, much stronger. Around mid April, we have seen buyers step in and all segments in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, South Elgin, and Elburn rebounded. Again pricing is still case by case, but we forecast strong sales activity for the rest of June and July.
As with anything, data can change on a dime, so it helps to have market leaders like us keeping our pulse on all market factors. With the upcoming election year and some uncertainty at the state level, we are still cautious, but demand will be strong if rates continue to stay low and homes are priced properly.