Millennials driving competitive real estate market in Illinois
February 8, 2022It was a red-hot real estate market in Illinois last year, and millennials looking to buy their first home were a driving force behind it.
Illinois home sales increased nearly 12% and median prices rose about 11% in 2021 compared to the year before.
A wave of first time millennial home buyers entered into the market eager to purchase their own homes. As a result, low inventories made the market that much more competitive.
Jaime Seale with the real estate data company Clever said research shows 90% of millennials said they would make an offer on a home without seeing it in person.
“I think it really has to do with the competitiveness of the market,” Seale said. “You see a house that looks good, you have to jump on it. You might not have time to schedule a showing.”
Home ownership is also taking a bigger chunk out of paychecks. Nearly half of the millennials surveyed by Clever said they expect to max out their budgets when buying a home, with 33% planning to purchase a home that costs more than the median U.S. home price of about $405,000.
The median sales price for a home in Illinois in December 2021 was $244,000, up 7.3% from December 2020.
The tight housing market is forcing some to make an offer on a second or third choice. Clever’s research shows 82% of millennials are more likely than boomers (62%) to purchase a fixer-upper, but 1 in 4 who do so regret it.
Once they take the plunge, some don’t plan to stay there long. According to the Clever survey, nearly a third of millennials (31%) plan to live in their homes for less than five years.
Seale expects the market to calm down a bit this year, but she said it will still present challenges for millennials.
“I think it is going to stabilize, but home buyers, especially millennials, are still expecting a lot of obstacles,” said Deale. “Expect to pay more than asking price and expect to have other bidders on the same home.”
This article was originally posted on Millennials driving competitive real estate market in Illinois
