Today, the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) reported that residential sales in the city of Chicago increased by 2.1% since last year, with 1,528 sales in February 2016 compared to 1,497 sales in February 2015. The median sale price increased by 12.3% ($238,000 in February 2016 compared to $212,000 in February 2015). Homes in the city of Chicago were on the market an average of 60 days, down from 68 days last February.
In IAR’s press release, Dan Wagner, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and senior vice president for government relations for the Inland Real Estate Group, said “Now is the time to sell your home if you’ve been thinking about doing that. Compared to last year, the median sales price for all closed sales is up about 12 percent and there is a faster turnaround time between when a home is listed and when it sells.”
The following charts summarize median price and sales trends:
The University of Illinois Regional Economics Applications Laboratory estimates moderate increases in Chicago area* annual sales levels, with changes ranging from 5.9% to 7.7% on average compared to last year for March, April and May 2016. Other notes from the forecast report include:
- Median prices in the Chicago area are estimated to post year-over-year gains of +4.5% in March, +6.6% in April and +7.1% in May.
- In February 2016, at the previous 12 month average sales rate, the Chicago area had enough housing inventory for 3.1 months (down from 4.0 months a year ago). However, the supply of homes above $700K continues to increase in both Illinois and the Chicago area.
- The pending home sales index, a leading indicator based on contract signings, was 201.2 in February (100=average pending sales in 2008). The number of homes put under contract in the Chicago area was greater than last year (up 31.4% from February 2015) and significantly greater than last month (up 45.8% from January 2016).
The press release, city of Chicago report, and forecast report are available on the IAR website.
*Chicago PMSA: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.
Note: The Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) transitioned to a new reporting system in December 2012 that resulted in revisions to previously reported data. IAR data is subject to revision by reporting Multiple Listing Service affiliates. For more information, please refer to the IAR website.
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