The Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) identified the cause of its inconsistent price calculations previously reported, and published a new report of Chicago’s median prices.

According to a press release, the program IAR uses to compute its data was not recognizing several of the data fields, which eliminated, on average, 11 percent of the records each month. This created a higher median price than in actuality.

IAR corrected their sequel program, and all data from the inception of the city of Chicago reports (2008) has been verified. All reports since November 2010 have been adjusted to reflect the inclusion of this data.

Statewide, the median price of home sales in June 2011 was $150,000, up 7.1 percent from May, and down 11.7 percent from June 2010. In the Chicagoland Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) the median price was also up 5.9 percent from May, at $180,000, but still down 13.3 percent from 2010.

Dr. Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory (REAL) of the University of Illinois, says that the market will reach its peak in July.

“Comparing the housing market in 2011 with 2010, the sales volume in the third quarter of 2011 is expected to surpass the third quarter of 2010 by 30 percent,” Hewings said. “This means the effect of the homebuyer tax credit will finally fade out in Illinois starting July 2011; some of the increase in the annual sales can be attributed to the significant decline that took place in 2010 when the effect of the withdrawal of the housing credit resulted in a sharp drop in housing sales for several months in a row.”

Specifically in the city of Chicago, year-over-year median price for single family and condominiums was up 8.9 percent from May, at $207,000, but down 11.6 percent when compared to June 2010.

When it comes to mortgages, in June 2011 the monthly average commitment rate for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage was 4.53 percent in the North Central region, lower than June of 2010.

Realtor Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, ABR, CRB, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors and the development and operations coordinator for Traders Realty in Peoria, explains there are two top issues with mortgages that Realtors are addressing in Congress.

“According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2011 National Housing Pulse survey 82 percent of respondents said not having enough money for the down payment and closing costs are among the chief obstacles for buying a home, followed by job security,” Whitehurst said. “The survey also found that two-thirds of Americans oppose eliminating the mortgage interest tax deduction (MID).”