Market Trends June 2018

1. Ranches and/or First Floor Master Bedrooms are in demand due to many buyers downsizing from larger homes

2. Homes, Town Homes, or Condos close or in downtown Geneva, as buyers want to enjoy the ability to walk to all the amenities

3. Homes that are in a good location and have been well kept or updated under $400,000, as buyers do not want to pay to do major remodeling or the time it takes to do the projects

4. Town Homes under $300,000 are making a strong comeback as younger and older buyers like the low taxes and maintenance free lifestyle--many have another home in warmer climate and split time between the two

Positives:

1.  The median home price currently in St. Charles has gone from $343,000 (2017) to $362,000 (2018), a 5.5% increase.  The cause for this was that many savvy buyers stepped in when some of the larger luxury homes got to a price that was hard to pass up.  Not a trend, but in this market segment it is more of a case by case basis. 

2.  Town home prices in both St. Charles (a 7.4% increase) and Geneva ( a 7.5% increase) showed a healthy increase in sales price and demand.

Negatives:

1. The Number of homes sold in St. Charles, Batavia, and Geneva year to date are all currently down quite a bit from June 2017

2.  The Number of homes currently under contract in July is also a lot lower than this time last year

The market has had a nice run up in the last 2-3 years, relativity low rates, and a spark in demand created a stable market.  It's only normal to see some softness in demand and pricing as rates rise, plus the IL economy still continues to create other problems for everyone locally.   So we are cautious for the rest of 2018 and will look at the year-end numbers and reevaluate our opinion of what 2019 may be like.  Inventory levels are low in some segments and demand for the "Hot Trends" mentioned above are still strong.