2nd Quarter in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market Marked by Broad Gains in Home Prices, RE/MAX Reports

Chicago, IL, August 02, 2013 --(PR.com)-- A 10 percent increase in the median price of homes sold during the second quarter of 2013 confirms that rising home values now characterize the metropolitan Chicago real estate market, according to an analysis by RE/MAX that compared results for the quarter to the same period last year. The median sales price in the seven-county area during the April-June period was $189,000.

Monthly sales data has suggested for some time that prices were moving upward, and this is the third consecutive quarter in which the median price rose. However, the second quarter was the first of those to register an increase of more than 3 percent. The 10 percent gain is the largest percentage year-to-year increase in the metro Chicago median sales price for any quarter in the last eight years.

RE/MAX reported that the pace of sales continued to quicken. Total transactions closed during the quarter reached 31,246 in the metro area, a 28 percent increase, while the average amount of time it took for a newly listed home to go under contract was 115 days, or 44 days less than in the second quarter of 2012. It was the shortest quarterly average market time since the fourth quarter of 2006.

According to the RE/MAX analysis, three factors contributed to the positive trends in pricing and sales time:

1. Eager buyers spurred by an improving economy and concerns that both home prices and mortgage interest rates are heading higher;

2. A smaller inventory of homes for sale – 30 percent fewer homes were on the market at the end of this June than a year earlier;

3. A decline in the percentage of sales accounted for by foreclosures and short sales – down to 32 percent in the second quarter from 37 percent a year ago.

Sales activity as well as the median price increased in all seven metro counties and in Chicago. In transactions, McHenry County led the way with a 45 percent increase to 1,391 units. Elsewhere, Lake County gained 34 percent to 2,994 units; Kane County was up 32 percent to 2,202 units; DuPage County sales rose 31 percent to 3,929 units; Cook County activity climbed 26 percent to 17,682 units; Kendall County sales were up 24 percent to 588 units and Will County gained 18 percent to 2,456 units.

The median sales price for each county was: Cook, $189,250, up 13 percent; DuPage, $227,500, up 6 percent; Kane $169,250, up 9 percent; Kendall, $171,350, up 7 percent; Lake, $202,750, up 9 percent; McHenry, $156,000, up 6 percent; Will, $178,310, up 9 percent.

For the City of Chicago, the transaction total for the quarter was 8,015 units, a gain of 26 percent, while the median sales price was $235,000, an 18 percent increase.

Detached Homes

Sales of detached homes in the metro Chicago market rose 26 percent for the quarter to 19,549 units, while the median sales price increased 11 percent to $210,000. Average market time for the quarter was 114 days, 39 days less than a year earlier.

Sales activity and the median sales price for detached homes rose in all seven counties. Unit sales of detached homes in Chicago climbed 20 percent, and the median sales price rose 13 percent to $165,000.

Attached Homes

Sales activity in the attached home segment – primarily condominium apartments and townhouses – increased 31 percent for the quarter to 11,697 units in the seven-county Chicago market. The median sales price was $152,000, which translates to a 9 percent increase. Average market time was 118 days, 53 days less than during the second quarter of last year.

In Chicago, sales of attached homes gained 30 percent, and the median price rose 15 percent to $275,000.