Illinois Realtors group had wrong home sale prices

(Crain's) — Illinois Assn. of Realtors said Monday that it has erred on reporting monthly Chicago sales data for May and possibly every month for the past three years.

The organization corrected its reporting after being questioned by the Chicago Tribune, the publication said in a report published on its website.

Last month, the Illinois Assn. of Realtors said that the median price of an existing condo sold for $299,000 in May, a 10.3% increase over the same month the previous year. Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, however, said that the correct number for May was $243,000, which means the median price of a condo sold in Chicago that month was down 23% from May 2010, according to the Tribune's report.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Assn. of Realtors told the Tribune that May was not the only month with questionable data. Median prices for condos and single-family homes in Chicago may have to be revised for the past three years.