PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Local realtors are saying the Peoria County housing market is thriving in its current state.
Data from the Peoria Area Association of Realtors shows buyers are purchasing just as fast as sellers can post.
Real estate agents said in an industry that revolves around buying on time, the increase in home sales all comes down to low-interest rates and low inventory.
Tara Mehlenbeck, a Peoria county resident, said when she found out last July that she’d be taking over her family’s company Cast Technologies, one of her first tasks was moving from Oregon back to Peoria.
“It was hectic because the market was very hot,” Mehlenbeck said.
She said more specifically the market was both hot and competitive. She said after finding her house online, she had less than a day to act.
“We saw the house and in that afternoon we put an offer in on the house,” Mehlenbeck said.
It was a quick turn around but one she said is not uncommon in today’s market.
“Within 24 hours a house on the market will go fast,” Mehlenbeck said.
Mehlenbeck is just one of the hundreds in the area taking advantage of the benefits of buying today. Jill Barclay, a real estate agent with EXP Realtors, said Peoria County home sales are up 41% compared to last year.
“Springtime is here and it’s more competitive than ever,” Barclay said. “I’ve never seen a real estate market like this in all my years. So, if you’re going to sell, I would get your home prepped, I would expedite. If you were thinking about selling next year, then sell now.”
She said with the market’s low interest rates and low inventory, pending sales are also up 48% from last March.
Barclay said around this time last year there were 872 home listings and now there’s approximately 359. She said as fewer homes become available, the demand increases from people wanting to buy what’s out there.
“We see appointments overlapping where it’s almost like an open house forum,” Barclay said. “Where you might have two or three different buyers, agents in some properties.”
However, she said the increase in home sales generates more money into the local economy.
“Anytime we sell a home in the Peoria Metropolitan area, they say that in bring in around $22,000 revenue for our area and that’s huge,” Barclay said.
She also said Peoria is listed as one of the top 20 most affordable places to live for an area its size which also tempts people to buy in the area.
