Real Estate News
Local Housing Market
Rockford Ranked As Country’s Top Housing Market In New Wall Street Journal Report
April 25, 2024 - The city is now home to the top real estate market in the country, according to a new ranking released Thursday by the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com.
The housing market ranking evaluates the real estate market and economic health of the 200 most populous metro areas in the country. The Rockford metro area was the only one in Illinois to crack the Top 50. Peoria landed at 59.
“It’s a great validation of what we’re seeing locally in the market with our year-over-year price increases, hitting our record highs,” said Conor Brown, CEO of the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. “We know we’re such an affordable market, but we have seen an influx of people from Chicagoland and elsewhere coming into the market being so impressed with how much they can buy, and they’re really helping drive the prices.”
Jefferson students earn career in real estate as alternative to college
June 6, 2024- Four Jefferson students have taken advantage of an opportunity to work in the real estate industry, straight after graduating high school.
Alan Mendoza, Michel Palacios, Victor Ojeda, and Adan Herrera have their hearts set on the real estate industry, and a local agency has helped them get a jump start on their careers.
“My uncles have always done real estate, so I was just interested in doing it myself,” he said. “I just want to follow their steps.”
Palacios has family connections as well.
“My grandma has three houses in Chicago now, and so she’s my role model,” Palacios said. “She said she needs someone to pass it [the business] on to.”
Stateline businesses affected by rising rent rates
June 13, 2024 -A new survey states around 40% of small business in the state of Illinois were unable to pay their rent in the month of May, after an 11% increase in April.
Team Leader of Burke Realty Group Justin Burke shares these high rent rates are not only affecting businesses, but consumers as well.
“The unfortunate thing is that those increases get passed onto the consumer,” he said. “A lot of times people like to point to greed, and while that may be true to a certain extent, it is also a lot more likely they are doing business at the cost of their rent increases and other increases that they’re seeing across the board.”
Cassandra Rausch-Nelson, co-owner of Skin Deep Studio says regardless of the high rates, it’s important to support your customers first.
Rockford Chamber of Commerce talks real estate, new library
June 27, 2024- The Rockford Chamber of Commerce updates area businesses during a meeting on the new public library and the city’s real estate.
Anne O’Keefe, the Rockford Public Library’s assistant director for Community Engagement, said the library successfully opened Saturday, but budget issues caused the building to be about 20,000 square feet smaller than the old library.
“Please, when you come, be amazed and then be patient,” O’Keefe said. “There are a few glitches in our systems. You can rent a room, but not everything is in the system yet.”
O’Keefe said the most important parts of the library – book checkouts and quiet, safe study spaces – are not an issue.
Rockford-Area Housing Market Sets Another Price Record As Inventory Rises For First Time In 3 Years
July 3, 2024 - Home sale prices in the region set another record high as the inventory of houses on the market increased for the first time in more than three years.
The three-month rolling average price of a home sold in Winnebago, Boone and Ogle counties was $210,089 in May, according to the latest data from the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. That price is up nearly 60% in five years, and it’s up 12% from May 2023.
“Homeowners are seeing unprecedented rises in their home equity,” said Conor Brown, CEO of the NorthWest Illinois Alliance of Realtors. “Home prices have surged 50% since the start of 2020, easily outstripping the gains seen in recent decades.”
The inventory of homes for sale rose 7% to 229 from 214 in May 2023, according to the Realtors group. That’s the first time that inventory has increased in three and a half years, although it’s still below the historical average.