Chicago Suburbs Real Estate (Evanston, Homewood: sales, home sales, price)

[Logic87]

I’ve been noticing an uptick in home sales in the NW Suburbs. If I had to guess it’s due to low inventory and demand (maybe some of the demand is from people leaving the city?) exceeding supply but I’m surprised to see so many homes off the market in this current climate.

Anyone else noticing a similar pattern in Illinois?

[Grlzrl]

Originally Posted by Logic87

I’ve been noticing an uptick in home sales in the NW Suburbs. If I had to guess it’s due to low inventory and demand (maybe some of the demand is from people leaving the city?) exceeding supply but I’m surprised to see so many homes off the market in this current climate.

Anyone else noticing a similar pattern in Illinois?

Yep. Things are going crazy up here on the Northshore. People all leaving the city.

[Ditto97]

Yes, homes that are priced right are selling really quickly. Like selling within a day, and sometimes with multiple offers over list price.

In Northwest Indiana, one home just went under contract for $20,000 over list price within a day of listing. Another home I showed had over 20 showings on the first day, and accepted an offer by the afternoon. It's really a crazy market, and it sounds cliche, but it's true! Lol. Now, these same findings might not be true for every suburb and price point, but this has been generally what I'm seeing.

I agree that much of it has to do with people leaving the city, but the inventory is so low, while the demand is quite high, which just adds to the speed of the market.

[Hiruko]

Inventory is low due to the pandemic. In general, home transactions are not higher year-over-year.

[Logic87]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Inventory is low due to the pandemic. In general, home transactions are not higher year-over-year.

What about home values? The number of home sales might have decreased but the average/median home sale value is probably right around it was last year if not higher?

[Grlzrl]

I agree about homes selling that are priced right. Homes that were overpriced are still mostly sitting. (Except the house I wanted. It sold. (Where's the crying emoji?) But we are probably leaving Illinois anyway so I guess it's good.

[OneDriver]

Originally Posted by Ditto97

Yes, homes that are priced right are selling really quickly. Like selling within a day, and sometimes with multiple offers over list price.

In Northwest Indiana, one home just went under contract for $20,000 over list price within a day of listing. Another home I showed had over 20 showings on the first day, and accepted an offer by the afternoon. It's really a crazy market, and it sounds cliche, but it's true! Lol. Now, these same findings might not be true for every suburb and price point, but this has been generally what I'm seeing.

I agree that much of it has to do with people leaving the city, but the inventory is so low, while the demand is quite high, which just adds to the speed of the market.

What about south suburbs?

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Logic87

What about home values? The number of home sales might have decreased but the average/median home sale value is probably right around it was last year if not higher?

That's highly localized. Home value is hard to determine, because it's based on what inventory is actually moving. Most of the higher-end locations (Evanston, Winnetka, Hinsdale, etc.) are down year-over-year.

[Ditto97]

Originally Posted by OneDriver

What about south suburbs?

The south suburbs are proving to be much of the same, depending on which community. If it's priced correctly, it can go fairly quickly. Homewood, Flossmoor, Crete, and Olympia Fields tend to be moving decently, particularly for affordable homes. Homes tend to sit a bit longer in Illinois than they do in Indiana, but the craziness is similar (ex: waiting in line to show homes, multiple offer situations).

It's not on the same level of crazy as seen in Northwest Indiana, but, from my experience, there's definite positive activity in the south suburbs. In regards to home values, I think there's been an increase in home values across the board (of course, depending on the community) compared to this same time last year. What's seen in the south suburbs or NWI will likely be different than what's occurring in the North Shore and NW suburbs.

I'm not sure I can link articles here or not, but there are some interesting articles on home sales in Chicagoland on Chicago Agent Magazine's website.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Ditto97

Yes, homes that are priced right are selling really quickly. Like selling within a day, and sometimes with multiple offers over list price.

In Northwest Indiana, one home just went under contract for $20,000 over list price within a day of listing. Another home I showed had over 20 showings on the first day, and accepted an offer by the afternoon. It's really a crazy market, and it sounds cliche, but it's true! Lol. Now, these same findings might not be true for every suburb and price point, but this has been generally what I'm seeing.

I agree that much of it has to do with people leaving the city, but the inventory is so low, while the demand is quite high, which just adds to the speed of the market.

Sounds about right. I have a friend who's a realtor and his spring season basically delayed through spring and then compressed into late May through early July.