C.A.R.’s market snapshot helps prepare you to answer questions about Chicago’s real estate industry, while projecting confidence and consistency as a voice for Chicago REALTORS®. If you would like to discuss any of your upcoming media or other public speaking opportunities, contact Jessica Kern, Director of Marketing & Communications or Maria Dickman, Communications Specialist.
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®.- In March 2017, 2,511 homes sold in the City of Chicago. This is a 16.8 percent increase from March 2016.
- The median sales price in the City of Chicago for March 2017 was $293,000, up 8.9 percent from this time last year.
- The City of Chicago saw listings average 95 days on the market until contract, a 1.1 percent increase from 94 days in March 2016.
- Check out the March 2017 FastStats.
STATE OF THE MARKET
- We can comfortably consider the first quarter to have been a good start for residential real estate in 2017. There was certainly plenty to worry over when the year began. Aside from new national leadership in Washington, DC, and the policy shifts that can occur during such transitions, there was also the matter of continuous low housing supply, steadily rising mortgage rates and ever-increasing home prices. Nevertheless, sales have held their own in year-over-year comparisons and should improve during the busiest months of the real estate sales cycle.
- The U.S. economy has improved for several quarters in a row, which has helped wage growth and retail consumption increase in year-over-year comparisons. Couple that with an unemployment rate that has been holding steady or dropping both nationally and in many localities, and consumer confidence is on the rise. As the economy improves, home sales tend to go up. It isn’t much more complex than that right now. Rising mortgage rates could slow growth eventually, but rate increases should be thought of as little more than a byproduct of a stronger economy and stronger demand.
INVENTORY
- City of Chicago inventory is down 9.8 percent, from 8,784 homes in March 2016, to 7,926 in March 2017.
- In the City of Chicago, the month’s supply of inventory is down 10.8 percent, from 3.7 in March 2016 to 3.3 in March 2017.
INFOGRAPHIC
