October Rebound in Chicago-Area Home Sales Hampered by Continued Slowdown at Low End of Market, RE/MAX Reports

CHICAGO, Nov. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Activity in the Chicago-area housing market enjoyed an October rebound after a noticeable slump in September, according to an analysis by RE/MAX Northern Illinois, but the sales slowdown persisted at the lower end.

Total home sales in the seven-county metro area were off -0.4% in October to 8,896 units, down from 8,931 units in the same month last year. That compares to a sales drop of -10.9% in September.  What's more, the small October decline was more than accounted for by homes selling for less than $200,000. This year, 3,553 units sold in that price range, -7.2% fewer than one year earlier.

"Interest rates have been rising, and the buyers most impacted by that and by rising home prices are first-timers purchasing at the low end of the price spectrum," said Jeff LaGrange, Vice President of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Region. "We're seeing that play out in the current sales results. Meanwhile, the number of homes selling for $200,000 or more was up +3.8% in October, and sales of homes selling at $1 million or more climbed +14.5%."   

The median October home sales price in the metro area was $230,850, up +3.1% from a year earlier. The average market time for homes sold last month was 72 days, two days less than October 2017.

"Looking at the October numbers in their historical context, it's clear how relatively strong the market is today," noted LaGrange. "Overall, it's fair to say that this October is better than any we've seen since 2006 at the peak of the housing boom when there were 9,044 sales, a median price of $244,900 and an average market time of 94 days."

Sales data used by RE/MAX 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.

Among the seven metro counties, sales were up in four, topped by a gain of +8.2% in McHenry, and down in three, most notably a -9.2% decline in Kane. Other gains were +5.8% in Lake, +3.4% in Will and +2.7% in Kendall.  Sales declined -1.8% in Cook and -0.6% in DuPage. The median sales price rose in six counties, gaining +4% in Cook, +1.8% in DuPage, +3.7% in Kane, +2.7% in Lake, +7.8% in McHenry and +6% in Will. In Kendall the median price fell -4.2%. As for Chicago, the city had a -0.5% dip in sales, while the median sales price climbed +3.2% to $271,000.

Sales of Detached Homes

Sales of detached homes in the metro area gained +0.5% in October, based on sales of 5,649 properties. The median sales price climbed +3.5% to $249,900, and average market time fell to 78 days this year from 82 days in October 2017. One factor helping boost sales was the +4.8% increase in detached homes for sale, which now equals a 4.3-month supply, up from a 3-month supply at the end of May. 

Sales activity rose +11.5% in Lake, +9.2% in McHenry, +4.6% in Kendall and +2.6% in Will, but fell -7.6% in Kane, -5.4% in DuPage and -0.8% in Cook, despite a +3.3% increase in Chicago.

The median sales price rose in five counties and Chicago, gaining +8% in McHenry, +5.2% in Cook and +4.5% in Chicago, +5.5% in Kane, +4.6% in Will and +1.1% in DuPage.  There were declines of -3.7% in Lake and -2% in Kendall.

Sales of Attached Homes

Attached sales totaled 3,247 units in October, down -1.9% from a year earlier. The median sales price gained +1.9% to $191,500. Sales fell in both Cook County as whole, off -3.1%, and in Chicago, off -3.3%. Helping keep the overall decline low were gains in the two counties ranking immediately below Cook in attached sales. DuPage gained +7.5% and Will was up +6.1%. Sales also were up +4.3% in McHenry, but fell -14.2% in Kane, -9.5% in Lake and -1.9% in Kendall. 

The median sales price for attached homes rose in six counties, gaining +9.1% in Kane, +7.2% in Kendall, +4.8% in McHenry, +4.1% in DuPage, +2.9% in Will and +1.7% in Cook, even as it fell -1% in Chicago.  Lake was the one county with a decline, falling -4.9%.

RE/MAX Northern Illinois has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. With more than 2,200 sales associates and 106 offices throughout the area, RE/MAX Northern Illinois has helped thousands of families with their home buying and selling needs. For more information, visit www.remax.com or download the RE/MAX mobile real estate app. 

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SOURCE RE/MAX Network