It’s that time of year again! As 2021 slowly winds to a close, REALTOR® associations across Illinois are making annual changes. This includes, foremost, inducting new leadership officers.

International buyers purchased 107,000 residential properties from April 2020 through March 2021, marking a 31% decline from the 154,000 residences bought the previous year.

“Here in the Chicago suburbs, we’re seeing developers start to address the shortage of inventory that we’ve been feeling for months.” — MORe Board of Directors President Linda Dressler

“We’re seeing similar pressures across the country, which is why the National Association of Realtors wants to create incentives for homebuilders to help meet the growing housing demand.” — MORe CEO John Gormley

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

The nationwide eviction moratorium put into place by the Centers for Disease Control last year last year will end sooner than expected, following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Increasing costs and declining availability of key building materials dampened builder sentiment, as higher costs have pushed some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers.

Detached single-family homes listed in the Chicago area are selling faster than ever, spending an unprecedented average of 53 days on the market in April, according to a report from the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe).

Special questions added to the National Association of Home Builders’ monthly builder survey found 90% or more of respondents had experienced shortages of plywood, oriented strand board, framing lumber and appliances, with most other materials also hard to come by.

The COVID pandemic has caused a shakeup in where, and how, many people work. That has helped propel a thriving housing market.

Year over year, however, pending home sales were up 57.1%, the NAR said, citing its monthly Pending Home Sales Index.

“Demand is robust throughout the country, but homebuyers continue to be held back by the lack of homes for sale and rapidly increasing home prices.” — MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan

Existing-home sales slid for the third month in a row in April, declining 2.7% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.85 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A recent NAHB survey shows that regulatory costs imposed by the government account for $93,870 (or 23.8%) of the current price of new homes.

Builder confidence was steady in May, carrying over April’s reading of 83 for another month, according to the most recent National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

Whether they’re still weary of going to a gym full of people or just looking to work off those extra pandemic pounds in privacy, homebuyers are increasingly prioritizing home exercise rooms.