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Northwest Illinois has employment opportunities in aerospace
manufacturing and in three hospital systems. Stellantis plans to
reopen the former Chrysler plant in Belvidere, although the
timeline for the project remains uncertain. A new casino is
scheduled to open in late August.
According to Northwest Alliance of Realtors CEO Conor Brown,
Rockford has an incredibly small inventory of housing for the
number of jobs coming to the area.
“Our days on-market is only 18, which for some people may sound
like a lot, but it’s barely anything. We’re really starving for
new housing starts,” Brown said.
Brown said that the city of Rockford and the public school
district have offered a property tax rebate on new construction.
“If you build a new house and, say your tax bill is ten grand,
you’re going to get $7,500 rebated back to you for the next
three years,” Brown said.
Brown added that housing values are up and demand is outpacing
inventory.
According to the Northwest Alliance of Realtors, Rockford area
home prices have increased more than 50% in the last four years.
The market has turned around dramatically in the last decade.
Brown serves as CEO of the Northwest Alliance and also as
treasurer of the Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce. He said
Rockford is celebrating its success and its recent recognition
from the Wall Street Journal as the top real estate market in
the United States.
“They actually referenced a story about ten years ago where we
were classified as the Underwater Mortgage Capital of America,”
Brown said.
Brown added that people with jobs tend to purchase homes. He
said the region is short of the number of houses needed to meet
employment demands.
“Our Region One Planning Council, which is the federal planning
entity for our region, estimates that we need about 5,600 new
housing units by 2028,” Brown said.
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