Joliet Market Report for April 2008

Almost daily the newpaper and television news organizations have a story about the housing market and its impact on the economy. The fact that gets lost in the doom and gloom reporting is that real estate is LOCAL. The sales activity and inventory levels in one part of the country are very different than those in another part of the country. Real estate is so local that specific neighborhoods and towns within a region can be experiencing different sales activity.

The truth is in the numbers, so here is a quick examination of what is happening in the Joliet real estate market.

Detached Single Family Homes

• Active Listings: 872
• Listings Under Contract: 155
• Sales closed during April: 67

These numbers indicate that we have a current absorbtion rate of 13 months for single family homes in Joliet.  What this means is that if sales keep pace with the April rate, we have enough inventory on the market that it will take 13 months to sell it all if no other houses are listed.   The positive spin in all of this is the large number of properties under contract.  These are transactions that should close in the near future.  This number sits at 155 and tells me that the pace of sales is picking up.  As we track the numbers in future months it will give a good indication of where the Joliet real estate market is headed.

Attached Single Family Homes

• Active Listings: 221
• Listings Under Contract: 30
• Sales closed during April: 12
  

This segment of the market is glutted with inventory. . .the absorbtion rate sits just above 18 months.  Again, on a positive note, there are 30 listings under contract, more than double what closed in April.

 Numbers for the whole Joliet real estate market are only part of the picture.  Again, real estate is local, very local.  Studying a certain neighborhood or price range will give a more specific picture of what to expect if you are buying or selling a Joliet home.

 If you would like to see the numbers for your neighborhood, please don't hesitate to contact me.