Home sales in Chicago were down in October and that trend is likely to continue through the remainder of the year, according to an analysis of the local real estate market by ChicagoNow.
Last month in Chicago real estate, total home sales dipped by 6.4% as compared to October 2013. Even with the slowdown, the median price of a home in the city continued its uninterrupted rise. This time the median price jumped 8.9% from the previous year. ChicagoNow attributed the rise in median price almost exclusively to the decline in distressed properties in Chicago. Last month just 20.9% of sales were of distressed properties as compared to 29.5% in October 2013.
Here are a few other factoids courtesy of ChicagoNow:
–Home contract activity slowed in October, indicating home sales are likely to remain soft for the foreseeable future. The number of signed contracts were down 8.6% in October.
–The inventory of available homes in Chicago remains frustratingly low. This is the biggest contributing factor as to why sales activity is weak, according to ChicagoNow. There was a 5-month supply of detached homes available in October, down from 5.4 months last year. As for attached homes, there was a 4.2-month supply. That was up from a 3.9 month supply last year.
–The average number of days a detached home was on the market in October was 94 days. Last year it was 97 days. As for attached homes, they were on the market for an average of 75 days. That was virtually unchanged from a year ago. ChicagoNow notes that both of these numbers are at historic lows, indicating Chicago remains in a seller’s market.