January 2013 Home Sales Jump in Geneva

By Lauren Williamson

Geneva leads the league among the Tri-Cities in the January real estate report compiled by the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors.

Geneva not only saw the largest percent increase, with 76.9 percent more homes sold year over year in January, but homes held their value better than those sold in neighbors Batavia and St. Charles. It's hard to say for sure from the stats provided, but those numbers hint strongly that Geneva saw fewer foreclosures in January 2013.

Twenty-three homes were sold in Geneva in January 2013 compared to 13 in January 2012. The median price dropped, but only by a little more than $11,000 per home—about a 3.5 percent difference.

Compare that to Batavia, where the median sale price of detached, single-family homes plummeted by more than 43 percent, and to St. Charles, where the price dropped by more than 21 percent.

In January, the median sale price was $129,000 in Batavia, about $251,000 in St. Charles and just short of $300,000 in Geneva.

The good news is that more homes were sold in the Tri-Cities than a year ago.

The number of St. Charles home sales continues a trend of year-to-year increases in the local housing market. St. Charles saw a 75.9 percent spike in December home sales to 51 homes, compared with just 29 homes sold a year earlier, MORe reported a month ago.

It's important to note that these totals fluctuate from month to month. To get a better idea of trends over time, see our previously published home-sale articles.

MORe gets its statistics from Midwest Real Estate Data.

Overall across the Chicago suburbs, sales of single-family detached homes rose 37.5 percent in January over the same month in 2012, according to MORe. 

MORe predicts February will be another month of local housing market growth, as the number of detached homes under contract in January 2013 was 60 percent higher than in January 2012. 

“I am encouraged to see yet another month of double-digit growth in sales volume in January,” said Tonya Corder, president of MORe and managing broker of Keller Williams Preferred Realty in Orland Park. “The opportunity available in today’s marketplace is almost unprecedented. Fasten your seat belts, because this promises to be an outstanding year for the Chicago area housing market.”

Number of homes sold

Median price

Town

2012

2011

Percent change

2012

2011

Percent change

Batavia

11

13

-15.4%

$129,000

$228,500

-43.5%

Geneva

23

13

76.9%

$299,990

$311,000

-3.5%

St. Charles

38

29

31%

$251,246

$320,000

-21.5%

SOURCE: Mainstreet Organization of Realtors