November 2019 Market Snapshot

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®.
  • 1,660 properties were sold in the City of Chicago in November 2019. This is a 10.3 percent decrease from November 2018.
  • The median sales price in the City of Chicago for November 2019 was $270,000, up 3.1 percent from this time last year.
  • The City of Chicago saw listings average 80 days on the market until contract, the same as in November 2018.
  • Check out the November 2019 FastStats.

STATE OF THE MARKET

  • In November, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark rate for the third time this year. This action was widely anticipated by the market. Mortgage rates have remained steady this month and are still down more than 1 percent from last year at this time. Residential new construction activity continues to rise nationally. The U.S. Commerce Department reports that new housing permits rose 5% in October to a new 12-year high of 1.46 million units.
  • While many economic signs are quite strong, total household debt has been rising for twenty-one consecutive quarters and is now $1.3 trillion higher than the previous peak of $12.68 trillion in 2008. While delinquency rates remain low across most debt types (including mortgages), higher consumer debt loads can limit future household spending capability and increase risk if the economy slows down.
  • “When you see an inventory decrease, like we did last month, you’ll likely also see a decline in closed sales, as well,” Maurice Hampton, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and owner of Centered International Realty, said. “Both are accompanied by a decline in days on market and uptick in median sales price. Clearly, the demand is there, but inventory isn’t.”

INVENTORY

  • The City of Chicago’s inventory is down 6.6 percent, from 9,091 homes in November 2018 to 8,487 homes in November 2019.
  • The month’s supply of inventory declined 5.0 percent, from 4.0 in November 2018 to 3.8 in November 2019.