Market
update
Good news for Chicago’s
Lakeview, Gold Coast, and
Lincoln Park neighborhoods
It was just over a year ago in September of 2008 that the
“perfect storm” in the financial markets set the stage for a
drop in home values and a slowdown in sales activity. The
full impact of the crisis did not reveal itself until the fourth
quarter of 2008 when sales came to a near standstill.
The good news is that the tide seems to be turning. September 2009 was a terrific month for our residential sales team, as it signaled a clear increase in confidence
in the residential market. Specific indicators that the market is improving include the fact that in the month of
September, the number of requests to see our listed homes
increased by 22 percent compared to the prior month; we
wrote and received more offers than in prior months, including four for our buyers, 10 for our listings and two
for our rentals; and, most interestingly, there were three
occasions where more than one buyer bid simultaneously
on the same property. The net result was that after a slow
summer, we sold nine properties in September.
We thought it might be worthwhile to look beyond our day-to-day “in the trenches” perspective and
examine the stats. Therefore, we pulled up Chicago-area
closed sales data for this year’s early fall market to see how
it compares to the same time last year. We focused our
search on single-family homes and condos (including
townhomes and co-ops) from September 1 through mid-October;in;three;North;Side;neighborhoods:;the;Gold
Coast;(including;Streeterville;and;River;North),;Lincoln
Park, and Lakeview. The results were fascinating:
• The number of units sold is up. More single-family
homes and condo units sold in 2009 than in 2008
in each of the three neighborhoods during the fall
Condo, Co-op and Townhome Closed Sales
units median average
SOURCE: MRED; SEPTEMBER 1 - OC TOBER 20TH
Lincoln Park
2008
2009
% change
Gold Coast
2008
2009
% change
257
263
2%
415,000
365,000
-12%
563,508
471,241
-16%
106
108
2%
405,000
360,000
-11%
439,153
414,991
-6%
Lakeview
2008
2009
% change
228
162
-29%
323,750
299,500
-7%
344,360
316,621
-8%
CHICAGO MARKET
market. The only exception is for condos in Lakeview, where the number of closed sales is down 29
percent compared to last year.
• Prices were either up or down depending on the
property type and location, which shows that there
are some niches within the market that are faring
better than others.
• Condo closed sales prices were down, ranging from
an average of a 6 percent drop in Lincoln Park to a
16 percent drop in the Gold Coast.
• Single-family closed sale prices were up in Lincoln
Park by 16 percent as well as in the Gold Coast, but
they fell by 8 percent in Lakeview.
The bottom line is that these statistics have confirmed
what we’ve already observed: Chicago’s residential real
estate market is on the mend. Sellers have adjusted their
asking prices to reflect the change in home values, and
buyers who had deferred a move are now buying. Due to
the overall renewed sense that real estate is a safe place to
invest, all time low interest rates, first-time buyer incentives, and the need to move on with life plans, the market
in Chicago is starting to look sunnier. L & P
Single-Family Closed Sales
units median average
Gold Coast
2008
2009
% change
1 800,000 800,000
4 2,837,500 2,440,000
300% 255% 205%
Lincoln Park
2008
2009
% change
16 1,302,500 1,358,858
17 1,500,000 1,581,074
6% 15% 16%
Lakeview
2008
2009
% change
7 1,200,000 1,284,857
11 980,000 1,187,321
57% -18% -8%
