February Delivered Rising Home Prices Despite Reduced Sales Activity in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market, RE/MAX Reports

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Mar 13, 2014, 07:07 ET

CHICAGO, March 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Residential sales in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market during February followed a pattern similar to that established in January, with prices rising but the pace of sales slowing when compared to the same month last year, according to an analysis by RE/MAX.

The continuation of bitter winter weather and a smaller quantity of homes for sale appear to be the primary factors causing reduced sales activity. Mortgage interest rates, which remain comfortably under 5 percent for 30-year fixed-rate loans, continue providing stimulus to the housing market.

The median sales price of all attached and detached homes sold in the Chicago area last month rose 13 percent to $157,900 when compared to the results for February 2013, while the number of homes changing hands dipped 8 percent to 5,507 units. Homes sold in February spent an average of 110 days on the market before going under contract – or 33 days less than a year earlier.

There were 29,483 homes listed for sale at the end of February in the metro area. That is 2.5 percent more than at the end of January but 12 percent fewer than in February 2013. The RE/MAX analysis is based on sales data for attached and detached homes gathered by MRED LLC, the regional multiple listing service.

Homes sold as foreclosures or short sales accounted for 45 percent of February sales this year compared to 49 percent a year earlier. Sales of this type tend to peak as a percentage of total sales during the winter months. Foreclosed properties alone accounted for 33 percent of all February home sales. The median sales price for a foreclosure was $85,000, 9 percent more than a year ago.

Among the seven metro counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will, six saw the median sales price of a home rise in February.

The median price rose 16 percent in Cook, including a 12 percent increase in Chicago. Other gains were 14 percent in Kendall, 10 percent in DuPage, 8 percent in Kane, 6 percent in McHenry and 5 percent in Will. Lake County's average price fell 9 percent,

Sales of attached homes generated slightly stronger results than did the detached segment of the market during February. The median sales price for attached homes in the metro area was $130,000, a 13 percent year-over-year increase. The number of attached homes sold totaled 2,117 units, which represented a 4 percent year-over-year decline. Average market time was 104 days, down from 138 days a year earlier.

February sales of detached homes in the seven-county area totaled 3,390 units, 10 percent below the total for the same month last year. The median sales price rose 11 percent to $174,000. Average market time fell to 114 days from 146 days a year earlier.

RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of 2,000 sales associates and 100 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its www.illinoisproperty.com provides comprehensive information about the network and about residential and commercial property for sale in the region. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX, LLC, a global real estate organization with 90,000+ sales associates in 90+ nations.