Home sales and prices rise in Chicago area in January
BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Business Reporter fknowles@suntimes.com February 21, 2013 9:58AM
Home sales in January in the Chicago area. | Scott Stewart~Sun-Times
Updated: March 23, 2013 6:22AM
Home sales jumped nearly 37 percent in the Chicago metropolitan area in January and prices inched up, according to the latest report from the Illinois Association of Realtors, which also showed stronger price gains in the city.
There were 6,244 homes sold last month in the nine-county Chicago area, up 36.8 percent from January 2012. The sales increase was the best January year-over-year performance in records that date back to 2009.
The median price edged up 0.7 percent to $141,000, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
In the city of Chicago, sales rose 32.2 percent to 1,485. The median price rose 7.4 percent to $159,000. The median price in the city has risen year-over-year in nine of the past 12 months.
“The first month of 2013 continues to show positive signs of a market recovery in the city of Chicago,” Zeke Morris, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said in a statement.
The report showed the condo market in the city experienced a 29.7 percent increase in sales with 829 units sold.
Sales rose in all nine counties in the metropolitan area, but the rate of growth was uneven and median prices fell in three counties: DuPage, Lake and McHenry. The biggest year-over-year price and sales gains were in Grundy and DeKalb counties. The results by county are:
Cook sales gained 38.5 percent; median price gained 3 percent to $135,000.
DeKalb sales doubled; median price rose 15.3 percent to $121,000.
DuPage sales grew 33.2 percent; median price declined 0.7 percent to $178,775.
Grundy sales more than doubled, gaining 125 percent; median price rose 29.8 percent to $152,500.
Kane sales grew 33.1 percent; median price gerw 5.7 percent to $129,950.
Kendall sales grew 68.9 percent; median price inched up 0.8 percent to $139,000.
Lake sales gained 29.9 percent; median price fell 3.7 percent to $139,580.
McHenry sales rose 28.2 percent; median price fell 5.8 percent to $127,000.
Will sales rose 28.2 percent; median price rose 5.5 percent to $152,990.
Statewide, sales rose 31.1 percent to 8,502. The median priced climbed 1.2 percent to $125,000.
“Foreclosures continue to dampen price gains and reduce inventory levels as prospective sellers are wary of the effect these properties have on their own prospects, “ Geoffrey Hewings, director of the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory at the University of Illinois, said in a statement. “However, the sales volumes are impressive and with foreclosure sales continuing to outpace new additions, there is some expectation that over the next year prices might start to move upward in some sustained fashion.
