RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate: Pace of $1 Million-Plus Home Sales Slowed in Jan.-March Quarter of 2016

CHICAGO, May 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxury home buyers were less active in the metro Chicago area during the first three months of 2016. According to the quarterly RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate, 347 properties sold for at least $1 million during the quarter, compared to 381 sales in the same quarter last year, a 9 percent decline.

Luxury homes sold during the first quarter spent an average of 184 days on the market before going under contract, compared to 143 days a year earlier. The median sales price for those homes was $1,366,875, an increase of 1 percent over the same period last year.

"The first quarter tends to be a relatively slow period for luxury home sales, so it's probably too early to say if this trend will continue into the spring and summer. We are, however, also seeing a steady increase in the inventory of luxury listings, which is another indicator that luxury sales are slowing," said Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. 

The RE/MAX report is a quarterly analysis of $1 million-plus home sales in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties from data compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED).

City of Chicago Luxury Sales
Chicago accounted for 52 percent of all luxury sales in the metro area during the first quarter of 2016, with 182 luxury properties changing hands. That compares to 209 luxury sales a year earlier, a decrease of 13 percent.

The first-quarter Chicago total included 111 detached homes and 71 attached homes. The latter category includes condominium and cooperative apartments, as well as many townhouses.

Sales of luxury detached homes rose 6 percent when compared to sales during the first three months of 2015. The first-quarter median sales price was $1,385,000, 2 percent lower than a year ago. Average market time for these homes was 155 days, up from 118 days last year.

One intriguing trend was that in Lake View, Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Near North, North Center and West Town, the six community areas that dominate the Chicago luxury detached market, sales declined in the quarter to 95 units from 99 last year although Lincoln Park, Logan Square and Near North did record increases. Overall, however, this trend indicates that sales of luxury homes may be on the rise in other parts of the city.

First-quarter sales of attached luxury homes in the city fell sharply, dropping 32 percent compared to the same quarter of 2015. Nonetheless, the median sales price was up 3 percent to $1,340,000, while average market time rose to 178 days from 112 days.

Sales of luxury attached homes in Chicago continue to be dominated by the Near North Side, which registered 47 transactions for the quarter, or 66 percent of the Chicago total.

Suburban Luxury Sales
In the Chicago suburbs, luxury sales for the first quarter totaled 165 units, 4 percent fewer than the same period in 2015. However, the median sales price increased to $1,350,000, up 4 percent. Average market time rose 29 days to 206 days.

Hinsdale enjoyed a particularly strong first quarter, with 29 luxury sales, compared to 19 last year. Sales were also up in Wilmette, climbing to 17 units from 13 last year. Meanwhile, Winnetka, often the leader of the suburban luxury market, saw sales fall to 19 units from 24 a year ago.

Sales in Lake Forest were unchanged at 13 units, while a number of other leading suburban luxury markets had sales declines of 4 units or less. These included Glenview, Glencoe, Evanston, the Barrington Area, Highland Park, Naperville and Northbrook.

The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of more than 2,250 sales associates and 106 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its mobile real estate app, available for download at www.illinoisproperty.com, provides comprehensive information about residential and commercial property for sale in the region. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX, a global real estate organization with 104,000+ sales associates in 90+ nations. 

Contact:
Stephen Johnson
RE/MAX Northern Illinois
847-428-4200
[email protected]

SOURCE RE/MAX Northern Illinois

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