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The Home Front

(Above) 71st floor penthouse at 1000M. The four-bedroom unit at 1000 South Michigan Avenue is for sale for $8.1 million. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

30-Jul-18 – The market for million-dollar-plus homes, condominiums, and townhomes in Chicago is continuing to flex its muscle, especially on the Near North, Near West, and Near South sides of the city, experts say.

The Chicago luxury home market posted strong overall sales activity in the second quarter, with 457 homes, condos, and townhomes changing hands – a solid 7.3 percent gain over the same quarter last year, according to the RE/MAX Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate.

As buyers rushed to gobble up available listings, average market time shortened to 127 days from 142 days a year ago.

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(Left) You must be pre-qualified before even seeing this four-bedroom unit at 209 East Lake Shore Drive, on the market for $7.9 million.

While sales of million-dollar-plus homes in the city gained 5.9 percent in the first half of 2018, there was some price slippage. The median sales price for the second quarter fell 2.3 percent to $1,311,500 from the same quarter in 2017. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Purchases of million-dollar-plus homes in the seven-county Chicago area climbed to a total of 916 units, up 1.9 percent from the same period last year. In the first half of 2018, total luxury sales increased 3.2 percent to 1,408 units. Those transaction totals were the highest for their respective periods since RE/MAX began tracking luxury home sales in 2011.

“The luxury market isn’t booming, but it is certainly doing well in terms of sales volume, and it is working through some of the excess inventory that accumulated over the 18 months prior to 2018,” noted Jeff LaGrange (right), Region Vice President at RE/MAX Northern Illinois. Jeff LaGrange

Fewer sales, lower prices for detached luxury homes

Sales of detached luxury single-family homes in Chicago totaled 242 units in the second quarter, down 1.2 percent from the year-earlier period, while the median sales price for the first half of the year slipped 0.4 percent to $1.34 million. Average market time fell by 26 days to 133 days.

Lake View, Lincoln Park, and North Center again had the largest numbers of detached luxury home sales, but only Lake View posted a sales increase, gaining 2.5 percent on 41 sales in the second quarter. Lincoln Park’s 55 sales were a 14.1 percent decline, while North Center recorded 39 sales, down 42.6 percent.

Luxury detached home sales in Logan Square soared 255.6 percent to 32 units. Luxury sales also increased 8.3 percent in Lincoln Square, 66.7 percent in Edgewater, and 100 percent on the Near North Side. Luxury home sales fell 50 percent in Uptown and were flat in West Town.

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(Left) Three-bedroom two-fireplace unit at 65 East Goethe Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood for $6.295 million.

Luxury condo/townhome sales surge, however

RE/MAX reported that the second-quarter jump in luxury units sold is attributable to a surge in condo and townhome sales, which rose to 215 units sold, a gain of 18.8 percent. However, the median sales price for luxury attached units slipped, falling 2.4 percent to $1.29 million.

A second-quarter luxury condo and townhome sales breakdown by the hottest neighborhoods...

Near North Side. The traditional leader in luxury condo and townhome sales, the Near North Side posted 125 transactions, an increase of 30.2 percent.

Near West Side. Condo and townhome sales in the emerging Near West Side – where high-rise construction is booming – totaled 23 units, a whopping gain of 228.6 percent.

Near South Side. Fifteen luxury condo and townhome sales were posted, a hefty gain of 114.3 percent.

Other key areas saw fewer luxury condo and townhome transactions for the quarter than in 2017, however. Unit sales dipped 20 percent in the Loop, 27.3 percent in Lincoln Park, and a whopping 41.7 percent in Lake View.

Luxury home sales up slightly in the suburbs

Luxury home sales activity in the seven-county Chicago area increased modestly during the second quarter, while prices showed little upward momentum, RE/MAX reported.

The second-quarter median sales price in the luxury bracket was unchanged at $1.3 million and average market time dipped to 149 days from 167 days a year ago.

“The Chicago-area luxury inventory was 3.6 percent lower on June 30th than it was a year earlier,” said LaGrange. “The detached-home inventory declined 11.8 percent in Chicago and 4.8 percent in the suburbs.”

Suburban luxury sales fell three percent in the second quarter but managed a 0.3 percent gain for the January-June period. The median sales price for the second quarter gained 0.4 percent to $1.28 million, and average market time fell by 17 days to 172 days.

(Right) Four-bedroom unit at Palmolive Building for $6.125 million.

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Hinsdale led all suburbs in luxury activity in the April-June period with 54 sales, a gain of 5.9 percent, while runner-up Winnetka posted 52 sales, up four percent from a year ago.

The biggest increases in luxury suburban sales were 90 percent in Naperville to 19 units, 41.7 percent in Wilmette to 51 units, and 33.3 percent in Elmhurst to 24 units. The two luxury markets with the softest second-quarter results were Highland Park, down 52.4 percent to ten units and Glenview, down 30.3 percent to 23 units.

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