MARKET SNAPSHOT — CITY OF CHICAGO
*The City of Chicago Market Snapshot represents the residential real estate activity within the 77 officially defined Chicago community areas as provided by the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
- 2,875 properties were sold in the City of Chicago in August 2021. This is an 0.2% decrease from August 2020.
- The median sales price in the City of Chicago for August 2021 was $335,000, the same as this time last year.
- The City of Chicago saw listings average 58 days on the market until contract, an 18.3% decrease from August 2020.
- Check out the August 2021 FastStats.
STATE OF THE MARKET
- The booming U.S. housing market has spilled over to the rental market, which has seen demand for apartment and single-family rentals skyrocket this year, as high sales prices and an inadequate supply of available housing have forced many prospective buyers to rent for the foreseeable future. Increased demand for housing, along with an improving economy, has competition for rental units soaring, and landlords are taking note, with the national median rent increasing 11.4% in 2021 so far, according to Apartment List.
- In new construction, home builders continue to struggle to meet buyer demand, as housing starts nationwide dropped 7% last month, according to the Commerce Department. Single-family home construction declined 4.5%, and multi-family home construction, which includes condos and apartment buildings, was also down, falling by 13%. Labor shortages, rising material costs, and supply-chain setbacks continue to challenge builders, with some projects temporarily paused due to availability and cost of materials.
- “After an anomaly of a year, we may be seeing seasonality come back into play,” Nykea Pippion McGriff, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of strategic growth at Coldwell Banker Realty, said. “During the month of August, sales prices held steady and residents settled into their homes as the school year began. As summer turns to fall, this could be a great time to reach out to your REALTOR® and start, or re-start, your search.”
INVENTORY
- The City of Chicago’s inventory is down 17.2%, from 10,485 homes in August 2020 to 8,682 homes in August 2021.
- The month’s supply of inventory decreased 36.0%, from 5.0 in August 2020 to 3.2 in August 2021.