Will 2025 be a better year to buy a home in the metro-east? See latest real estate prices
After a period of strongly favoring sellers and requiring buyers to make concessions to compete, the metro-east housing market is inching toward balance heading into the new year.
Supply in southwest Illinois has increased to be closer to meeting demand, with 1,000 more local listings than there were this time last year, Alyssa Boyer, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Pinnacle based at an O’Fallon office, said in a Nov. 14 interview with the News-Democrat. Alyssa Boyer and her husband, Matthew Boyer, work together.
“There’s still a lack of inventory,” Alyssa Boyer noted.
Boyer said she recently listed a home that went pending within 24 hours of the open house, and move-in ready homes that are priced appropriately are going pending within six days, on average. Most local homes are taking closer to 30 days, though.
A stable and balanced market requires about 3.5 months of inventory, Matthew Boyer said, and the current market has 2.7 months worth of inventory, compared to less than two months in recent years.
This time of year is typically less busy for home sales with the holidays and children being in the middle of a school year, but spring and summer are usually more active. This fall is still busier than last year’s, however, Alyssa Boyer said.
Homes are spending a few days longer on the market on average this year, which will help buyers in a time when home values have increased, Matthew Boyer said. As supply increases, the market should become more balanced, especially as interest rates decline.
The metro-east will likely see a 9% to 11% jump in sales in 2025, Alyssa Boyer said, as buyers seek lower interest rates.
“I do fear that it will be a similar competition to kind of what we saw in 2021, if there’s still a lack of inventory. It’s going to be the multiple asking, multiple offers on properties and we’re going to project to see maybe five plus offers on a property,” she said.
Increased inventory could provide a cushion for a buying frenzy, though.
One of southwestern Illinois’ most competitive housing markets is in the Wolf Branch school district, Alyssa Boyer said. Some buyers are seeking Belleville out for the Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence, as well.
Many sellers are still securing offers above asking price, but buyers are more able to negotiate favorable terms for closing costs and inspections than in the peak of the seller’s market, Alyssa Boyer said. The Boyers describe the metro-east’s current real estate market as still favoring seller’s, but trending healthier.
“This previous market was so bad especially for first-time home buyers, who don’t really have a lot of options, they don’t have a lot of extra money, they’re not established, so they were stuck just taking what the sellers were willing to give them because they, the agents, everybody knew that those sellers most likely had seven or eight offers in their back pocket,” Matthew Boyer said.
St. Clair County homes have seen a slight increase in home values over the last year, popular housing site Zillow reports, with a 1.3% bump bringing the average home value to $163,837.
Here’s how current median listing prices compare across metro-east cities, according to listings on another popular site, Realtor.com:
- Belleville: Median listing price of $180,000
- O’Fallon: $335,000
- Fairview Heights: $179,900
- Shiloh: $352,400
- Swansea: $230,000
- Mascoutah: $325,000
- East St. Louis: $48,000
- Smithton: $348,900
- Edwardsville: $372,500
- Granite City: $120,000
- Collinsville: $200,000
- Glen Carbon: $322,500
Tips for homebuyers and sellers
Here are some tips for buyers to navigate the market successfully and make their offers stand out, from the Boyers:
Work with a good, reputable real estate agent.
Choose a local lender.
Consider securing financing before working with an agent, although many agents can probably help you connect with a lender if needed.
Consider buying in off-peak times if you’re trying to get into a popular neighborhood.
Depending on the situation, you may want to put down extra earnest money if there are multiple offers.
Here are some tips for sellers:
Contact a local real estate agent to look at your home and run some comps.
Declutter to make the home more visually appealing to buyers.
Update paint colors.
Consider pricing below your absolute best-case scenario sale price to increase the odds of receiving competing offers.
Good practices for first-time buyers include doing research and making a plan before jumping into the process, sorting out your credit beforehand, paying off debt and building up your savings, if possible.
Do you have a question about real estate in Illinois for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
