October Home Sales Posted Modest Gains as Metro Chicago Residential Market Continues Thriving Despite Dwindling Inventory, RE/MAX Reports

ELGIN, Ill., Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The metro Chicago residential real estate market shook off the constraints posed by a dwindling inventory of homes for sale to post modest gains in October, RE/MAX reports. Compared to the same month last year, sales rose 2.7 percent to 8,931 units in the seven-county metro area, and the median sales price gained 2.3 percent to $224,000 despite a 9.2 percent decline in properties listed for sale.

The average time a home sold in October spent on the market before finding a buyer fell to 74 days from 83 days one year earlier. It is the shortest average market time for October since RE/MAX began tracking that data in 2005.

"The lack of inventory continues holding back sales, but demand for homes remains strong; that is especially true in the attached segment of the market," explained Chris Calomino, spokesperson for RE/MAX Northern Illinois. "Last year, attached homes accounted for 35.5 percent of October sales. This year they were 37.1 percent of the total. But whether a home is attached or detached, we're hearing from our brokers that properties in good condition and reasonably priced are selling quite quickly. We expect an active market right through the holiday season and into 2018."

The home sales data used for the RE/MAX analysis is collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service. It covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. Detached homes are typically stand-alone single-family dwellings. Attached homes include condominium and cooperative apartments along with townhouses. 

Total home sales activity rose in all seven metro counties, with DuPage the clear leader.  Sales there were up 6.9 percent, while the six other counties and the City of Chicago had gains of 3.7 percent or less. 

The median sales price rose in six counties, led by gains of 9.8 percent in Lake and 9.7 percent in Kendall. Elsewhere, the median price rose 2.5 percent or less, except in Kane County, where it fell 1.6 percent. Average market time shortened in all seven counties and ranged from as long as 85 days in McHenry to just 51 days in Kendall.

Attached Homes

October sales of attached homes in the metro area totaled 3,311 units, up 7.2 percent from the same month in 2016. The median sales price rose 3.3 percent to $188,000, and average market time declined to 60 days from 69 days a year earlier.

Sales activity and the median sales price were up in all seven counties and in Chicago. Sales in Cook accounted for 65.8 percent of all attached sales in the metro area and were up 5.3 percent from the year earlier level.  The sharpest gains in sales activity were in Kendall, up 23.8 percent, and McHenry, up 19.5 percent.

The median price rose just 1.9 percent in Cook, but gained 18.1 percent in McHenry and 17 percent in Lake. Other noteworthy increases were 8.9 percent in Will, 6.4 percent in Kendall and 5.7 percent in Chicago.  

Detached Homes       

The detached market posted uneven results in October.  Total sales rose just 0.3 percent to 5,620 homes, and the median price was up 2.8 percent to $241,500. It is the highest October median price since 2007. Average market time shortened to 82 days from 91 days a year earlier.

Sales activity rose in four counties and fell in three but the changes were generally small in both directions. The same was the case with median prices, which rose in six counties and fell less than 0.5 percent in Kane. The largest increases in median price were 9 percent in Kendall, 8.1 percent in Lake and 4.7 percent in DuPage. 

Sales in Chicago were up 3.3 percent, and the median price gained 0.5 percent to $220,000.

RE/MAX agents consistently rank among the most productive in the industry. In 2016, RE/MAX Northern Illinois agents averaged 18 transaction sides. RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989 and is continually growing. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of more than 2,250 sales associates and 105 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its mobile real estate app, available for download at www.illinoisproperty.com, provides comprehensive information about residential and commercial property for sale in the region. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX, a global real estate organization with 115,000+ sales associates in 100+ nations.

Contact:
Chris Calomino
RE/MAX Northern Illinois
847-586-5240

SOURCE RE/MAX Northern Illinois

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