July Home Sales and Median Price in Metro Chicago Area Delivered Gains as Housing Market Found Firmer Footing, RE/MAX Reports

CHICAGO, Aug. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The metropolitan Chicago housing market found firmer footing in July, posting modest gains in both sales activity and median sales price, RE/MAX reports. That followed two months of declining sales activity compared to the same months in 2017, even as the median sales price continued to rise.

Total July home sales in the seven-county region totaled 11,370 units, up +1.4% from July of last year. Sales had fallen -1.2% in May and -5.8% in June. The July median sales price gained +2% to $255,000, the highest median price for July since 2008.

One constant in the Chicago housing market for several years has been the trend toward lower average market times, which is the period between when a home is listed and when it goes under contract. The July average shrank to 61 days from 66 days a year earlier, continuing an unbroken string of year-over-year declines that began in January 2016. It is the lowest market time for any month since RE/MAX began tracking that data in 2005.

"The inventory of homes for sale has expanded a bit, though so far that increase is limited to the attached-home market," explained Jeff LaGrange, Vice President of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Region. "At the same time, demand for affordable detached homes seems to be benefitting those areas where homes priced under $350,000 are more plentiful, which includes the outlying suburbs and some parts of Chicago.

July sales of homes priced from $100,000 to $349,999 totaled 7,488 units in the metro area, +4.2% more than sold in July last year. Sales of homes priced between $350,000 and $999,999 were essentially unchanged, declining by 5 units. 

"With mortgage interest rates trending upward along with home values, affordability is becoming a bigger issue for buyers," said LaGrange. "Fortunately, an area as diverse as metro Chicago offers buyers many options at different price points."

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.

July home sales rose in five counties, with Kendall gaining +9.2%, McHenry and Will each up +7.1%, Kane up +4.1% and Cook gaining +1.4%, Sales fell -3.5% in DuPage and -3.4% in Lake.

The median sales price rose in six counties and Chicago, topped by a +10.1% increase in Kendall. Also gaining were McHenry, up +4.7%, Will, up +4.5%, Kane, up +4.3%, DuPage, up +3.6%, and Cook, up +0.8%, while Chicago's median price rose +1.7%. In Lake County, the median fell -1.4%.

Sales of Detached Homes

Detached-home sales were 7,181 units in the metro area, a +1.9% increase over the prior July. The median sales price also gained +1.9% to $275,000, and average market time hit another record low at 68 days, down from 76 days a year earlier.

Sales activity increased most notably in the outlying counties of Kendall, Will, McHenry and Kane, rising +17.3% in Kendall, +8.3% in Will, +7.4% in McHenry and +4.1% in Kane, while Cook gained +1.6%. Sales fell -4.3% in Lake and -3.7% in DuPage. However, Chicago recorded the most impressive performance, gaining +12.3%. Driving that result were sales increases in such modestly priced neighborhoods as Edison Park, Portage Park, Roseland, Auburn-Gresham and Morgan Park, which all saw July sales rise by at least 10 units.

The median sales price of detached homes rose in six counties and Chicago, led by gains of +9.1% in Kendall and +6.5% in Kane. Other increases were +3.3% in Will, +2.8% in DuPage, +1.9% in Cook, which included a gain of +2% in Chicago, and +1.6% in McHenry. The Lake County median declined -1.9%.

Sales of Attached Homes

July attached-home sales totaled 4,189, +0.6% more than in 2017, and their median sales price climbed +1.4% to $212,000.  Attached sales increased +1.1% in Cook, +4% in Kane, +5.8% in McHenry and +2.7% in Will, were unchanged in Chicago, but declined -11.9% in Kendall, -3% in DuPage and -0.4% in Lake.

However, demand for attached homes still appears strong, with the average market time down to 49 days, making July the first month to record a sub-50-day market time since 2005.

RE/MAX Northern Illinois has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989 providing a full range of residential and commercial services. 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. 

SOURCE RE/MAX Northern Illinois