The latest IRIS Research Proļ¬le has offered an interesting insight into the current state of affairs in Illawarra, both in terms of the economic situation as well as the ongoing progress of the Illawarra real estate market.

According to the report, a grand total of 3,468 houses were sold in Illawarra during 2012, a slight drop of 1.1 per cent when compared to the number recorded the year before.

Meanwhile unit sales were recorded at 1,487 over this period, while 456 land lots were also sold.

The good news for those looking to purchase property in Illawarra is that the median house price in this region fell 0.5 per cent to $432,000 in 2012.

At the same time, there was an even more significant decrease in the median unit price, with this dropping 5.2 per cent to reach $330,000.

Similar drops were recorded when IRIS looked at the area of Wollongong in isolation, where median house prices and unit prices fell 3.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.

That means that those looking at property for sale in Wollongong can expect to pay around $435,000 for an average house, or $338,000 for an average unit.

In comparison, the average median house price in Sydney stood at $660,000 at the release of the February 1 RP Data-Rismark report, while the average unit price was $489,000.

The only Illawarra regions which saw an increase in median house prices were Shellharbour (0.8 per cent) and Kiama (0.4 per cent).

Meanwhile, the IRIS report has also profiled a number of large developments which were taking place in Illawarra throughout 2012 – all of which will be ensuring that more jobs and profits are following into the region.

The biggest such development listed by IRIS is the Port Kembla Outer Harbour Expansion, which is worth an approximate $600 million.

That was followed by the Shellharbour City Centre Square Expansion, the Soy Bean Processing and Bio Diesel Plant in Port Kembla and the Princes Highway upgrade between Mount Pleasant and Toolijooa Road in Gerringong – all of which are worth between $200 million and $310 million and are currently under construction.