RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate: Third Quarter Saw High-End Home Sales Gain in Suburbs, Slow in City

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Nov 02, 2016, 05:32 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sales in the metro Chicago luxury home market slowed slightly during the third quarter, with city and suburban luxury sales moving in opposite directions. The RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate reports that 728 properties sold for at least $1 million during the quarter. That compares to 742 sales in the same quarter last year, a 2 percent decrease.

Positive news in the suburbs, where luxury sales rose 5.5 percent to 420 units, was offset by slowing sales in the City of Chicago, where activity declined 10.5 percent to 308 units.

For the first nine months of 2016, luxury sales totaled 1,907 units, up from 1,864 sales during the same period last year, an increase of 2 percent.

The RE/MAX report is a quarterly analysis of $1 million-plus home sales in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties from data compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED).

Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois, pointed out that there continues to be a large inventory of luxury homes for sale in the metro Chicago area. The inventory of homes listed for at least $1 million was 3,344 units at the end of September, up from 2,722 one year earlier, a 23 percent increase.

"We're seeing the impact of that expansive inventory play out in two ways," Kreider explained. "The time needed to sell a luxury home is increasing, and while home prices generally have been rising, in the luxury market any increases are relatively small."

The average market time for luxury homes sold during the third quarter was 136 days, up from 120 days a year earlier. The median sales price for the quarter was $1,333,004, an increase of 1.8 percent over the third quarter of 2015.

City of Chicago Luxury Sales

Luxury home sales in Chicago during the third quarter included 167 detached homes and 141 attached homes. The latter category includes condominium and cooperative apartments, as well as many townhouses.

Sales of luxury detached homes fell 17 percent when compared to sales during the third quarter of 2015. Their median sales price was unchanged at $1,400,000. Average market time for the quarter rose from 96 days last year to 102 days this year, but that was substantially faster than the 150-day average recorded in the second quarter of this year.

Sales of detached homes fell in five of the seven city neighborhoods where luxury properties are concentrated. Sales in West Town held steady, while Logan Square recorded a 5 unit increase. However, luxury sales were down 16 percent in North Center, 36 percent in Lincoln Square, 45 percent in the Near Northside, 34 percent in Lincoln Park and 29 percent in Lake View.

Sales of attached luxury homes held relatively steady, slipping just 1 unit from the sales recorded during last year's third quarter. The median sales price dipped 3.6 percent to $1,342,500, while average market time fell to 107 days from 110 days a year earlier.

Attached luxury sales rose 36 percent in Lincoln Park and held steady in the Near North Side, but fell 27 percent in the Loop and 38 percent in the Near South Side.

Suburban Luxury Sales

In the Chicago suburbs, the 5.5 percent increase in luxury sales during the third quarter was accompanied by a rise in the median sales price to $1,300,000, 2 percent more than the same period in 2015. The average market time rose to 158 days from 136 days a year earlier.

There were 1,019 luxury sales in the suburbs during the first nine months of 2016, an increase of 5 percent over the same period last year.

The leading suburban communities for luxury sales enjoyed a strong third quarter. Sales activity rose 39 percent in Winnetka, 55 percent in Hinsdale, 29 percent in Lake Forest and 14 percent in Wilmette. The median sales price rose 4 percent in Winnetka and 3 percent in Wilmette and Hinsdale while falling less than 1 percent in Lake Forest.

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 2,300 sales associates and 106 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 104,000+ sales associates in 90+ nations.