Home sales across the Quad Cities were up by 8.2 percent in the first six months of 2012 over the same period a year earlier, according to the Quad City Area Realtor Association.

The median sale price in June for the Quad Cities was $126,500, down 2.1 percent from the median sale price of $129,250 recorded by the Quad City Area Realtor Association for the same month last year.

In Rock Island County, 625 homes were sold in the first six months of 2012, an increase of 22.3 percent compared to the first half of 2011. But the median home price fell 1.4 percent from $106,450 to $105,000, a report from the Illinois Association of Realtors found. The median sale price in June for Illinois was $155,000.

Ruhl & Ruhl Realtors in Davenport reported strong growth in sales so far this year and a reduction in the number of houses on the market, a positive sign that could put upward pressure on prices.

"Properties are selling faster than we can list them," said Ruhl & Ruhl President Caroline Ruhl. "We really need more properties listed for us to sell."

Homes are selling quicker, the Quad City Area Realtor Association found, spending an average of 66 days on the market across the Quad Cities, compared to 70 days last year.

Foreclosure activity in Rock Island County has decreased for three months in a row.

In June, 55 housing units received a foreclosure filing, down from 65 in May and 86 in April, according to RealtyTrac, which collects information on the foreclosure market. In Scott County, there were 48 foreclosure filings in June, down from 117 in May.

Shane Johnson, CEO of the Quad City Area Realtor Association, said the local market had remained "very stable" in recent years. Buyers and sellers who held back from entering the market because of the rocky economy where starting to become active, he said, fueling an increase in sales.

Across both Illinois and Iowa, the first half of the year has produced strong growth in home sales. In Illinois, sales were up 19.9 percent, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors, while in Iowa sales were up by 14.8 percent, numbers from the Iowa Association of Realtors show.






-Home sales
Jan-June 2012 Jan-June 2011
Quad Cities 1,879 1,737
Illinois 58,290 48,610 
Iowa 16,409 14,291
-Median sale price
June 2012 June 2011
Quad Cities $126,500 $129,250
Illinois $155,000 $150,000
Iowa $139,742 $135,000
Source: Illinois Association of Realtors, Quad City Area Realtor Association