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®.- 1,643 properties were sold in the City of Chicago in February 2021. This is a 9.9% increase from February 2020.
- The median sales price in the City of Chicago for February 2021 was $320,000, up 10.4% from this time last year.
- The City of Chicago saw listings average 99 days on the market until contract, a 13.2% decrease from February 2020.
- Check out the February 2021 FastStats.
STATE OF THE MARKET
- Mortgage interest rates ticked a bit higher in February, but remain below their February 2020 levels. Interest rates may rise a bit further in coming weeks, but according to Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater, “while there are multiple temporary factors driving up rates, the underlying economic fundamentals point to rates remaining in the low 3 percent range for the year.” With rates still at historically low levels, home sales are unlikely to be significantly impacted, though higher rates do impact affordability.
- For homeowners currently struggling due to COVID-19, government agencies are continuing efforts to help those in need. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced they will allow homeowners with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to receive an additional three months of forbearance, extending total payment relief to up to 18 months. Qualified homeowners must already be in a forbearance plan as of the end of February.
- “We are thrilled to see the strong market continue into February, which may lead to one of the strongest first quarters we’ve seen in the real estate market in years,” said Nykea Pippion McGriff, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and vice president of brokerage services at Coldwell Banker Realty. “February saw condo closed sales increase 16.2 percent, outpacing single-family home closed sales, which decreased 1.8 percent. Since single-family homes have been flying off the market since last summer, we are glad to see condo inventory drive February sales.”
INVENTORY
- The City of Chicago’s inventory is down 9.7%, from 8,328 homes in February 2020 to 7,523 homes in February 2021.
- The month’s supply of inventory decreased 13.2%, from 3.8 in February 2020 to 3.3 in February 2021.
