Jacksonville, IL Real Estate & Homes for Sale | realtor.com® (2024)

FAQs

Is now a good time to buy a house in Illinois? ›

Illinois Housing Market Conditions

The current real estate market conditions in Illinois are becoming favorable for home buyers. Here's how: Lower Mortgage Rates: The interest rates for home loans have decreased to 7.01%, marking a decline from approximately 8% in the preceding year of 2023.

1. Best Time to Sell Your House for a Higher Price. May, June, and July are the best months to sell your house in Illinois. The median sale price of houses in June 2023 was $294,300, which is expected to rise in 2024.

What Does Contingent Mean? As a general term, contingent means “upon certain conditions being met.” In the context of real estate, it means that the buyer and seller have agreed to the terms of a purchase and sale agreement, but only if certain conditions are met.

As of April 2024, zillow.com is the most visited Real Estate website in the United States, attracting 278.99M monthly visits. craigslist.org follows with 168.24M visits, and realtor.com records 101.84M visits.

If getting the lowest price possible is your main priority, consider searching for a home in November or December. There won't be as many houses to choose from compared to the spring and summer months, but you'll face less competition and a higher likelihood of purchasing a home below the asking price.

What is the housing market like right now? In May 2024, home prices in Illinois were up 7.4% compared to last year, selling for a median price. On average, the number of homes sold was up 0.6% year over year and there were 13,529 homes sold in May this year, up 13,447 homes sold in May last year.

According to Fannie Mae's April 2024 Home Purchase Sentiment Index, about two-thirds of respondents — 67 percent — feel it is a good time to sell.

Nationally, the best time to sell a house is March if you're trying to sell quickly, while the best time to maximize profit is July. Zillow recommends listing your home for sale in March, but no later than Labor Day, based on historical market trends.

The amount you may want to reduce your home's asking price depends on many factors, including the median price in your area, what comparable homes nearby are selling for and the length of time the home has been on the market. According to a Zillow study, the average price cut is 2.9 percent of the list price.

Contingent – With No Kick-Out Clause

This means the seller can't accept another buyer's offer unless the current buyer can't meet the conditions of their offer. This provision protects the current buyer because they can't be “kicked out” unless they don't meet the contingencies.

Can a seller back out of a contingent offer? ›

If the seller's situation aligns with a contingency, they are free to walk away. But if it doesn't, trying to back out can be costly and futile.

If a home is listed as pending, all contingencies have been met and the sale is further down the closing path, with most of the paperwork in place — but the transaction has not yet been completed. You are more likely to be successful making an offer on a contingent home than a pending one.

Zillow is the best real estate website for homebuyers and sellers because it offers a robust suite of tools that are also great for landlords, renters, agents, and other home professionals.

An exclusive right to sell listing is the most widely-used listing agreement. Under this agreement, the broker has the exclusive right to market the property for a specified period of time.

Mortgage rates are expected to come down in 2024, and inventory and home sales are likely to increase. Homebuyers and sellers can also expect prices to continue to rise, albeit at a slower clip than the past couple of years.

Median prices are forecast to grow throughout 2024 within a narrower range compared with 2023. On a year-over-year basis, these gains are predicted to range from 3.8% to 9.6% for Illinois and 2.0% to 8.3% for the Chicago PMSA (See Figures: Illinois Median Home Sales and Chicago Median Home Sales Price).

And as you might imagine, recessions are a risky time to buy a home. If you lose your job, for example, a lender will be much less likely to approve your loan application. Even if a recession doesn't affect you directly, if your area is hard-hit, that could have a serious effect on the local real estate market.