SAVOY – Despite cold and snow, home sales in Champaign County proved stronger in January than they did a year earlier.

A total of 107 home sales were closed in January, compared with 88 home sales in January 2010, according to the Champaign County Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Service.

But the association's president, Max Mitchell, said it's not likely many people were cutting deals on homes during the depths of the deep freeze.

Most of the sales probably were transacted earlier but didn't end up closing until January, he said.

Even so, the uptick in sale closings in January was welcome after dismal statewide figures were released last week for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Those figures showed a 26.6 percent drop in home sales in Illinois from the fourth quarter of 2009, largely the result of the expiration of the first-time home buyers tax credit.

Meanwhile, the median sales price of Illinois homes fell 7 percent, from $154,900 to $144,000. That means half the homes sold had prices less than $144,000, while the other half were priced higher than $144,000.

Though people trying to sell homes may be discouraged, Mitchell said the market is a good one for buyers.

"Affordability conditions remain good for first-time buyers with creditworthiness and lending documentation," he said.

But buyers may not want to wait too long.

"Interest rates have increased from the low-to-middle 4 percent range up to the 5.25 percent range last week," Mitchell said. "That's good reason for people to get out and look at houses and get qualified for loans."

Busey Bank, for instance, listed a 5.125 percent rate Monday for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Other encouraging news from the January report for Champaign County:

– Sales volume for January totaled $15.4 million, up from $12.5 million in January 2010.

– The average selling price in January was $144,241, up from $142,426 a year earlier.

Though January sales were stronger than the previous January, they weren't as strong as December's. In December, 150 homes were sold, at a sales volume of $19.3 million.

As of Monday, the local Multiple Listing Service showed 1,856 residential properties available, Mitchell said. The median price was about $133,000, and the average time on the market was 140 days – roughly 4 1/2 months.

The Multiple Listing Service figures reflect not only single-family homes in Champaign County, but also some in Piatt and Douglas counties.

Last year, more than 53 percent of Illinois home buyers were first-time buyers, according to a statement released by Sheryl Grider Whitehurst, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors.

She said first-time buyers can get help from the Illinois Housing Development Authority's SmartMove loan programs. They provide up to $6,000 in down payment and closing-cost assistance as a 10-year, zero-percent forgivable loan.

More information about SmartMove mortgage products is available at http://www.ihda.org.