By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — In her first two years in the real estate business, Alli Bernardi Insko has seen homes fly off the market at record pace and prices break all-time highs.
One thing she’s never seen: A housing market that’s flush with an abundance of homes for sale.
Insko started as a Realtor with Dickerson & Nieman in January 2021, when there were 359 homes on the market compared to 910 the same month a year before, a 60% decline. Those inventory issues have held for her entire career.
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New data released Wednesday by the Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors shows April was the 28th straight month of inventory numbers falling or holding steady in Boone, Winnebago and Ogle counties. Inventory levels dropped nearly 23% from 260 homes in April 2022 to 201 last month.
The lack of available homes for sale makes it tough for some buyers to even find a listing they like, Insko said.
“My buyers have become a little bit worn out,” she said. “It’s just kind of been a beat down.”
April’s inventory was the second lowest on record. In March, the end-of-month inventory dropped below 200 for the first time since the Realtors organization has been tracking data. The 195 homes for sale at the end of March was a record low.
“The inventory of homes for sale is down from last year and below pre-pandemic numbers, and that means we’re very much in a sellers’ market,” said Conor Brown, CEO of Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors.
The record low inventory can make it difficult for Realtors like Insko to keep their potential buyers engaged.
“Anytime anything close to what they’re looking for comes on (the market), I will still send that just to let them know, ‘hey I’m thinking about you,'” she said.
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She also encourages people to see homes in person, which she said can reveal benefits or flaws not seen in photographs. And she counsels her clients through the emotional toll of being outbid when they put an offer on a home.
“There’s a lot of competition because there’s a lot more buyers, still, then there are homes available,” she said.
“We are 100% therapists,” Insko said. “This is the biggest investment that people make in their lives. As much as it’s a business conversation, it’s also a very personal one, too. It’s such an honor when people trust us and reach out to us.”
The inventory of homes for sale is roughly a third of what it was before the pandemic. The monthly average of 370 homes for sale in 2022 was down 64% from an average of 1,029 in 2019.
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The combination of low inventory and strong demand has continued to push prices up. April’s average sale price of $178,761 was 9% higher than the April 2022 price of $163,937, according to Realtors’ data. It marked the 35th straight month of higher monthly average prices over the previous year.
“Housing markets have cooled slightly, but demand hasn’t and remains strong largely due to the shortage of homes on the market,” Brown said. “The combination of a low supply of listings and higher demand, driven by low mortgage rates, meant homes saw record appreciation in the past few years.”
Brown said homeowners are sitting on a wealth of equity that could make now the right time to sell.
“Educating homeowners on their equity can be a huge motivator, letting them know about opportunities to take advantage of the current housing market,” he said.
He said homeowners should consider making a move now as the market hits its peak in spring and summer.
“We know what you’re probably thinking right now: where will homeowners go if they sell their house?” he said. “With more inventory to choose from this past month, the current low supply in the market will be advantageous, particularly for those looking to downsize and smaller investors who wish to cash in some of the single-family homes they own.”
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The pace at which homes have sold in the region has started to slow. It took an average 26 days on the market in April for a home to sell compared to 23 the same month a year ago. This comes after much of 2021 and 2022 saw homes selling at record pace, including an average of just 10 days on the market in July 2022.
“I really enjoyed the fast pace of it because I felt like I was busy, and I felt like I was getting a lot done,” Insko said. “People talked about it being crazy, but that was all I knew. That was normal for me.”
Brown said the biggest challenge in the region’s housing market continues to be low inventory.
“The housing market needs more homes for sale to meet the demand of today’s buyers,” he said. “If you’ve thought about selling, now’s the time to connect with a Realtor to take advantage of the many current benefits in the Rockford housing market.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas