SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE

Will County has not been spared as housing sales dip across the nation. But the good news is... Cool Home Market Makes Buyers Boss

By Andrea Hein - Staff Writer

A downturn in the local and national housing market has area builders searching for ways to bring in buyers. "Sales have been slow at best," Jeremy Sentman of Nuemann Homes told Joliet plan commissioners recently regarding the NeuStoneshire subdivision.

Sentman, who is vice president of acquisition and planning, was presenting to the commission new housing designs for the subdivision Neumann is building at Theodore Street and County Line Road.

The models, some of which are from other Midwestern markets, will be offered in addition to the subdivision's existing designs but are slightly smaller, city records show.

For awhile the fast-growing areas in Will and Grundy counties were insulated from the cooling market in other parts of the country, said John Latimer, president of Will-Grundy Counties Home Builders and Associates, a trade group.

But builders with local projects have been feeling the pinch during 2006. "The tract builders, they've really pulled back a lot," said Latimer of the companies that construct large subdivisions with a set number of models. Custom and semi-custom builders also have seen a decline in sales, said Latimer, who also owns Latimer Construction, a Morris-based custom builder.

The middle-range of the market, or homes selling from approximately $250,000. to $400,000 has experienced the largest slowdown, Latimer said.

Buyers are also canceling contracts on new homes because they have had a hard time selling their existing residences. "There is a lot of inventory on the market," Latimer said.

Third-quarter sales of existing homes dipped 18 percent in the Chicago region and 19.4 percent in Will County, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors. Data for the month of October shows Chicago region sales down 15.4 percent from the year before, but statewide sales only declined 9.7 percent.

The downturn is good news for new home buyers who can take advantage of the incentives builders are offering. Both real estate agent groups and new home builders predict sales will increase by the spring. "The housing market is gaining some traction as we come off the boom years and return to a more normal and healthy housing market," Robert Zoretich, the Illinois Association of Realtors' president, said in a release. "Going forward, a number of key economic fundamentals will support housing in Illinois, including job growth, attractive mortgage interest rates and strong demand from baby boomers and immigrant buyers."