It's no secret that new home prices have soared since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rising prices and historically high interest rates have made homeownership out of reach for a growing number of Americans. As a result, homes in some areas have been sitting on the market for months.
But that's not the case everywhere.
Demand continues to be relatively high in many regions, including in Illinois.
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Three Illinois metro areas were named among America's 30 hottest housing markets based on data compiled from Realtor.com, according to the financial publication 24/7 Wall Street, which conducted the study.
Rockford landed at number four on the list, with a "hotness" score of 98.15 out of 100 and a median list price of $199,999.
"Hotness" is a term used by Realtor that accounts for how long homes are on the market and several measures of supply and demand logistics, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
Peoria ranked halfway down the list, securing the 15th spot. Its "hotness" score was 88.42 out of 100 and the median list price was $149,900. The third and final Illinois metro area to make the list was Springfield.
With a hotness score of 85.91 out of 100 and a median list price of $168,950, the state capital region took the 25th spot. According to 24/7 Wall Street, despite rising prices nationwide, homes remain relatively affordable in most of the 30 places on the list.
In all but six of the metro areas, the typical list price was below the comparable national median. You may have noticed that nearly all regions that made the rankings were in the Midwest and Northeast.
Among them were Racine and Milwaukee-Waukesha in Wisconsin and Lafayette-West Lafayette in Indiana.
Detailed information about the Rockford, Peoria and markets is below:
Rockford
- Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 98.15 out of 100
- Time a house typically spends on the market: 40 days
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: -23.1%
- Median list price: $199,900
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: +17.7%
Peoria
- Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 88.42 out of 100
- Time a house typically spends on the market: 48 days
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: -12.0%
- Median list price: $149,900
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: +7.2%
Springfield
- Hotness index score, Dec. 2023: 85.91 out of 100
- Time a house typically spends on the market: 49 days
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: +8.9%
- Median list price: $168,950
- Year-over-year change in median days on market: +2.4%
