 A report by housing industry company RealtyTrac Inc. indicated that
18,870 properties in Illinois received a foreclosure filing in April
2010, the fourth-highest figure among all states.The state
experienced a hike of more than 38 percent in foreclosure activity
this April as compared with April 2009, while overall nationwide
foreclosure activity dropped by 2.4 percent.
Illinois avoided the brunt of initial foreclosures that was
caused in large part by speculative loans and markets, according to
Daren Blomquist, spokesman for RealtyTrac.
"What we're calling a second wave of foreclosures is being caused
now by underlying economic issues, namely unemployment, higher
unemployment, which is driving more foreclosures in states like
Illinois," Blomquist said.
One of out every 280 properties in Illinois received a
foreclosure filing this April, as compared with one out of every 387
properties in the United States.
Blomquist said that because Illinois was about a year behind the
initial foreclosure wave, he expected the state's rising rate of
foreclosures to begin to hit a plateau next year.
But the state's housing market may be in line for a turnaround,
according to statistics compiled by the Illinois Association of
Realtors.
A recent IAR report indicated that home sales in Illinois totaled
21,242 in the first quarter of 2010, a 23.5 percent increase from
the same time period last year.
Mike Onorato, president of the IAR and owner of a realty company
in Coal City, attributed the uptick in sales to a federal tax credit
for people buying their first homes.
"What happened as a result of all these increases in sales is
that we did see first-time homebuyers represent a large percentage
of that," he said. "So therefore, the price points at which
first-time homebuyers buy is going to be typically the lower end of
value in a typical marketplace. They are not the more expensive
homes; they're the more starter homes."
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The statewide median home price stayed close to constant between
the first quarters of 2010 and 2009. During the first quarter of
2010, the median price was $144,600, compared with $145,000 in 2009.
The state saw total home sales, which includes single-family
homes and condominiums, increase in 54 of 99 counties in the first
quarter of 2010 as compared with the same period in 2009.
Median home prices rose in 43 of 99 counties during those same
two time periods.
Seven counties saw an increase in both home sales and median home
prices: Grundy, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Madison, Rock Island and
Sangamon.
Onorato said the increases in the rate of foreclosures as well as
housing sales present "mixed news" for the state's housing industry
going forward.
"We're going to be looking to see how unemployment numbers do
because we think that's going to be real critical. But if we can see
a continued rise in consumer confidence, we think that will bode
very well for the future of our industry," he said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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