Residential Sales Took Something of a Summer Vacation During August in Chicago's North Center, While Prices Stayed Firm

CHICAGO, Sept. 12, 2019 – Despite falling mortgage interest rates that should appeal to buyers, residential property sales activity took something of a summer vacation in August in Chicago’s North Center community. However, even as transaction volume was generally lower, sales prices remained firm, according to an analysis by The Wilcox Company. Sales of both single-family detached homes and of attached homes, which are condominium apartments and townhouses, were down from the levels recorded in August 2018, while the market for multiunit buildings registered a sales increase.

Overall, combined sales of attached and detached homes in North Center fell -21% in August to 49 units, while the median sales price gained 3.7% to $547,000. In comparison, combined attached and detached sales across Chicago were off -4.5% to 2,556 units, while the median sales price gained 1.4% to $289,000. The North Center area extends from Diversey Parkway north to Montrose Avenue and from Ravenswood Avenue west to the Chicago River, and it includes the neighborhoods of Roscoe Village and Northcenter/St. Ben’s.

“The August decline in sales really was unexpected,” said Mary Jo Nathan, a broker associate with The Wilcox Company who has specialized in residential properties on Chicago’s North Side for nearly two decades. She did the analysis of North Center sales using data from MRED, the regional multiple listing service. “The 49 attached and detached sales recorded last month were the lowest August total for North Center since 2010, so I definitely expect the transaction volume to bounce back strongly in September.”

The North Center single-family market recorded 20 sales in August, down -16.7% from the prior year, but the median sales price gained 8.3%, rising to $1,147,500. Average market time was an extremely speedy 38 days, compared to 69 days a year earlier.

The most expensive detached sale of the month was $2.7 million paid for a six-bedroom, 6½-bath home on a 50-foot-wide lot near Leavitt and School streets. The least expensive detached sale was $450,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bath frame cottage built in 1891 on Claremont Avenue near Cornelia Avenue.

As for attached homes, there were 29 sales in August, compared to 36 sales in August last year, a drop of -23.7%. The median sales price was $390,000, off -1.8%, while average market time increased by 18 days to 62 days.

The top price for an attached unit closing in August was $950,00 for a four-bedroom duplex condo on Fletcher Street near Damen Avenue, while the least expensive sale was $190,00 for a one-bedroom condo with no parking on Montrose Avenue near Wolcott Avenue.

One brighter spot in the residential picture was the continued improvement in the market for multiunit buildings. The 12 sales closed in August represented a 33.3% increase over August 2018, and the median price gained 4.8% to $707,500.

Mary Jo Nathan
The Wilcox Company
2157 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL 60618
773-398-3814
maryjo@wilcoxco.com

The Wilcox Company, founded in 1967, provides a full range of real estate brokerage, appraisal and property management services. Its offices are at 2157 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, in the heart of North Center. To learn more, visit our website at www.thewilcoxcompany.com.

This release was published on openPR.