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Month’s of Supply – Chicago’s Improving Real Estate Market.

May 13, 2012

There has been a lot of talk about the improving real estate market in some of Chicago’s neighborhoods. You’ve heard the stories of multiple offers, properties selling in just days and the lack of “nice” properties in the market.

The best way to evaluate this trend quantitatively is to look at the “months of supply” in the market. The definition of “months of supply” is taking the number of properties active in an current market and dividing by the total number of “sales” in the previous month. This tells us that if the trend of number of sales stays the same, there is a certain total months of supply left.

A stable real estate market has anywhere from 5-6 months of supply. A stable market will produce price appreciation consistent with inflation. If you get below 5 months of supply, the market becomes a seller’s market and you will see consistent price appreciation. There will be pressure on pricing if the market has more than 6 months of supply.

I’ve listed below the current (April 2012) Month’s of Supply figures for Cook County and some of its most popular neighborhoods and the change from 2011.

Cook County:  7.5 months and down 44.8% from a year ago.

Lincoln Park (60614):  6.8 months and down 49.2% from a year ago.

Lakeview (60657): 5.9 months and down 51.8% from a year ago.

Lakeview (60613): 7.3 months and down 55.4% from a year ago.

Roscoe Village (60618):  5.9 months and down 53% from a year ago.

River North (60654): 4.4 months and down 62.1% from a year ago.

Near North Side (60610): 5.6 months and down 59.6% from a year ago.

Streeterville/Gold Coast (60611): 9.0 months and down 32.2% from a year ago.

Bucktown/Wicker Park (60622): 5.7 months and down 50.5% from a year ago.

Logan Square (60624): 7.5 months and down 44.8% from a year ago.

As you can see, the trend line is quite encouraging.  The majority of future supply is going to have to come from resale properties.  New construction is few and far between.  Developers are having difficulty finding land or projects that “the numbers work”.

If you would like to review your property’s current value and/or start the process of purchasing a property, please don’t hesitate to call me.

*My local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) service (MRED’s THE THING) was used to provide the data for this post.

 

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1st Quarter, 2012 Results for River North Condos

1st Quarter, 2012 Results for River North Condos

April 18, 2012

Last week, I looked at single family and condominium sales in Lincoln Park and Lakeview. In this article, I want to simply look at how the condo market performed in River North. I reviewed the 60654 area code and used the multiple listing service to extract my data.

The River North condo market in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same time in 2011, the average sale price was down 5%. There was a slight increase in sales from 48 to 54 but it took a lot longer to sell a unit. The market time increased from 178 to 219 days.

As you can see, River North is still trying to find its water mark. The new construction supply is almost gone as buildings like Silver Tower are sold out so that will have a positive effect on the resale market. On the resale front, the lack of comps in the summer and fall of 2011 have made it somewhat difficult to price units effectively. From personal experience, once the right price is put on a unit in River North, it is selling fairly quickly with multiple offers some cases. This spring market has been strong for River North. The 2nd Quarter results should be encouraging.

If you are looking for a property in River North, please call me. I know the area extremely well.

By Jim | Posted in Homeownership | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

1st Quarter, 2012 Results for Lakeview Real Estate

April 11, 2012

 A few days ago, I posted the encouraging results for the Lincoln Park neighborhood.  As I mentioned, I used the local multiple listing service used by Realtors to extract my data.  The results for Lakeview real estate for the 1st quarter in 2012 compared to the same period a year ago was mixed.

For sales of single family homes, the average sales price was up 4.9% in the 1st quarter. The average price jumped from $1,227,701 in 2011 to $1,288,114.  Total sales dropped from 19 to 17.  Market time dropped 28 days.

The condo market didn’t fare as well as the average sales price dropped from $315,366 to $299,697 or right at 5.0%  The number of sales did increase pretty dramatically from 180 to 235 or 30%.  Market time stayed just about the same.

Again, the results are mixed but signs of a real estate market firming up are present.  Even though the average price for a condo is down during the period, to see a 30% jump in sales is saying that the market doesn’t want to wait much longer.

Again, every property is different so if I can help you evaluate the value of a certain property, please let me know.  I’m hear to help.

By Jim | Posted in Homeownership | Comments Off
1st Quarter, 2012 Results for Lincoln Park Real Estate

1st Quarter, 2012 Results for Lincoln Park Real Estate

April 9, 2012

As a lot of you know, I am constantly tracking the data behind the local real estate markets where I assist my clients.

Lincoln Park has been one of the more stable markets and the numbers that I am about to reveal will also show that this neighborhood is showing great signs of a rebound.

In the single family home market, the average sales price in the 1st quarter of 2012 was $1,630,096. This number is up 9.8% from the same quarter in 2011. Total sales also increased from 18 to 29. Market Time dropped by 16 days.

The numbers for condominiums were also very encouraging. The average sales price increased in the 1st quarter of 2012 by 9.2% from $404.448 to $441,763. Total sales increased from 124 to 142 for the same period a year earlier. Market Time dropped by 30 days holding at 142 days.

As you can see, there is cause for cautious optimism. The numbers speak for themselves. The data I am providing is directly off the multiple listing service used by Realtors selling in Lincoln Park.

Each property is different. If I can help you examine the approximate value you of your property, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d love to help.

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2011 in Review – Single Family Home Sales in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown, Wicker Park and Roscoe Village

January 19, 2012

Over the next few days, I’m going to be talking about real estate sales trends for Single Family Homes and Condos in the neighborhoods that I specialize. After 3 years of price declines, 2011 was a year that we started to see some price stabilization for homes in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Roscoe Village, North Center, Wicker Park,  Bucktown and Logan Square. I am going to start by looking at single family residences in these neighborhoods.

In Lincoln Park, average prices dropped another 3.8% in 2011 compared to 2010. The shocking stat is that transactions were down 52% There were 300 sales in 2010 and only 144 reported in 2011. On average, it took 144 days on the market to sell compared to 187 days in 2010. The final sales price was 91.4% of list price.

In Lakeview, we saw the average price of a SFH increase 2.0% to $1,121,125 compared to $1,098,365 in 2010. Transactions dropped 48% compared to 2010. The market time decreased 17 days to 155 days. The average final sale was 90.7.% of asking.

In Bucktown, Wicker Park and Logan Square. the average price of a home stayed almost the same dropping just 1% from $732,764 to $722,175. Transactions dropped 44% and market time increased 27% to 188 days. The final sales price was 90.7% of asking.

In Roscoe Village and North Center, prices increased an average of 3.3% in 2011 compared to 2010. Transactions dropped 44% in that same time frame. Market time stayed about the same at 116 days. Homes sold for an average of 90.6% of ask.

Probably, the most interesting stat is the percentage drop in transactions from year to year with prices staying pretty level on average.  This normally spells big time trouble for housing prices, but these markets were resilient in 2011 through another economically tough year.

If you are interested in an individual market report on your home, I would be happy to provide you a report of active and closed listings in your neighborhood over the last 6 months.  My contact information is on the bottom of the page.

 

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A Glance at Burley Elementary School

A Glance at Burley Elementary School

December 1, 2011

Burley Elementary School, located at 1630 W. Barry on the north side of Chicago and has been creating a lot of buzz within the parent community for a couple of years now. The Burley parents I know really like the school, the staff, the parent community and the location..  Burley is a neighborhood school meaning you have to live within the neighborhood coordinates for your children to attend this public school

 

 

Official School Name: Augustus H. Burley Elementary School

Address:

1630 W. Barry Ave

Chicago, IL 60657

Phone: 773-534-5475

Fax: 773-534-5786

Website: www.burley.cps.k12.il.us

Contacts:

Principal:  Barbara Ann Kent

Other: Catherine Plocher

School Calendar

Links and Resources

Coordinates

I used the Chicago Public Schools school interactive map to define the coordinates.  Before buying real estate, you need to use the map to verify that property’s exact school district.  In a nutshell, you need to live on the following streets to be able to attend Burley:

1200 block to and including the 1700 block of W. School on the south side of the street.

1200 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Melrose.

1200 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Belmont.

1200 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Fletcher.

1300 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Nelson.

1300 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Barry.

1300 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Wellington.

1300 block to and including the 1700 block of W. Oakdale.

1300 block to and including the 1700 block of W. George.

1400 block to/including the 1700 block of Wolfram.

Small stretch on the north side of Diversey from Paulina to Honore.

Note:  The east side of Racine is not included, but the west side should be included from  Fletcher to School.  As a rule, the opposite side of the boundary streets are not included, but make sure to check the map.

Real Estate

Within the last year, there were 8 new construction single family homes built and closed in the Burley school district.  The top sale was at 1722 W. Barry and sold for $2,265,000, however the majority of the homes were sold in the 1.2m to 1.3m range. Most of these homes are frame construction, about 4000 sq feet with 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. The median market time was 116 days. Currently, I can tell you that some of these homes are starting to sell prior to being completely built.

Here is the data on re-sales of single family homes.  In the last 12 months, the median price over 39 sales was $1,020,000 and the range was wide with the lowest sale at $360,000 (tear down) to the highest at $3,650,000.

I also looked at condos and townhomes during the same period.  For properties with at least 3 bedrooms,  the average sale price was $496,000.

School Rating

Burley has a Great School rating of 8 with top ratings from parents.  See the review.

CPS’s “Burley at a Glance”

Walk Score

The location of the school (1630 W. Barry) is in “Walker’s Paradise”.  It scored a terrific 98 out of 100 on Walkscore.com

This report proves why Burley Elementary is so popular with parents.   If you need assistance locating a home in the Burley school district or any of the other school districts on the north side of Chicago, please let me know.  I am parent myself with school age children so I understand the needs of a family.  My contact information can be found on the bottom of this page.

Have a terrific day,   Jim
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Support Small Business Saturday

November 23, 2011

Small businesses are the gas and oil that power our economic engine. Please join me in supporting Small Business Saturday on November 26th.

One small business that my family and I will be supporting on the 26th is Jason Home and Garden. It’s been a family tradition, even before the kids were born, to go to Jason’s and pick out our Christmas Tree. The wonderful family from Wisconsin always remembers us and makes it a really cool event for the the kids.  YouTube Preview Image

 

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Chicago’s Christkindlmarket – A Must See!

November 21, 2011

YouTube Preview ImageNow that our girls are at an easier age to get out and enjoy our fine city, we have made “staycations” a staple of our annual travel budget. The holidays are a great time to get out and see Chicago. One of the highlights is the Christkindlmarket located at the Daley Plaza.

It takes on a German theme with over 25 vendors selling German and European crafts, gifts, German food and a spiced wine (glühwein). Many of the vendors are native Germans.

It’s a terrific way to spend an evening during the holiday season. It opens on November 23 and wraps up on Christmas Eve.

Here are some websites with more information:

http://www.christkindlmarket.com/

http://www.choosechicago.com

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Chicago’s Thanksgiving Parade

November 18, 2011

YouTube Preview Image   Get your Thanksgiving started with McDonald’s annual Thanksgiving Parade at 8:00 am on Thanksgiving Morning. More details here:

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2011 -Q3 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey

November 14, 2011

It is my belief that the quarterly Fannie Mae National Housing Survey is one of the most important documents created  define to current attitude towards housing. The Q3, 2011 version focuses a lot on the attitudes of people who know someone that has had to default on a mortgage. The general population is still pessimistic, but most still feel home ownership is a good investment. Here are some highlights:

  • 64% of the general population (and 69% of homeowners) believe that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
  • 68% think that now is a good time to buy a home
  • 63% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home.
  • 70% of renters think that owning is superior to renting
  • 96% of homeowners see homeownership as a positive experience (4% see it as a negative experience) while 83% of renters see renting as a positive experience (15% see it as a negative experience)

Interesting stuff for sure.  I will tell you that my clients and those I meet in my local market place are very driven by the current state of the equity markets.  This current state of Europe and how the market reacts to the “headlines” drives real estate traffic.

Anyway, if you have a minute, you should read the 2011-Q3 Fannie Mae National Housing Survey.

If you have questions about the local real estate market in your Chicago neighborhood, please contact me.  I’d love to give you my thoughts.

By Jim | Posted in Homeownership | Tagged | Comments Off