Housing Slump Over? Rockford Home Sales Rocket Up

Rockford- September homes sales boomed according to the Rockford area retailers, lowering housing inventory to levels not seen since before the Great Recession.  Rockford Area Realtors report selling 364 properties in September, up 17% over 311 homes sold in September 2011, the third straight month of year-over-year increases.

Sellers did need to hold the line of prices.  The three-month average rolling sales price of $106,403 was just above last September's average of $106,022.

"The last three months of the year have been encouraging," said Steve Bois, CEO,

Rockford Area Realtors in a news release. "National housing economists now feel we've turned the corner."

He adds the other big news locally is the drop in housing inventory to its lowest level in six years. A total of 2,485 properties were on the market in September, the lowest level since April 2006, when 2,437 homes were for sale, a year before the housing recession began.  The amount of time it takes to sell a home also dropped to the lowest level since May 2007. "Inventories typically drive prices," Bois explained. "As home prices rise, more folks will come back into the market. This housing market is showing a forward momentum that wasn't apparent last year, or even earlier this year."

Record low interest rates are part of the appeal for buyers. Rockford Area Realtors report local mortgage interest rates on Thursday reached an all-time average low of 3.36% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan. They say mortgage rates are likely to remain near record lows following the Federal Reserve's plan to purchase $40 billion in mortgages a month into the foreseeable future.