Saturday, February 26, 2011

Downtown Luxury Market: On the Rebound in 2011?

Downtown Luxury Market:
On the Rebound in 2011?

It's well known that Chicago lags the coasts when it comes to real estate trends, so an article in last month's New York Times about the strong performance of Manhattan's luxury market in 2010 is reason to be hopeful about our prospects in the Windy City. But local market data is still a mixed bag.

Months Supply of Inventory fell 30%, year over year, from January 2010 to January 2011 (a positive sign); however, we have yet to see the broad price recovery everyone is hoping for. The median sales price for $1,000,000+ homes in the city is down 4.8% year over year. This underscores the importance of a luxury marketing program that will help your home stand out in a crowd.

At @properties, we leverage print and online advertising, direct mail, e-mail marketing, high-visibility signage, broker marketing and more to sell your home. We also feature luxury listings front and center on the @properties website in our Luxury Collection Online Magazine. This digital publication features dozens of pages of spectacular homes - each with professional photography and a link to detailed listing information on the @properties web site. See the latest edition now at www.atproperties.com.

Did You Know?

@properties finished 2010 with the highest overall market share in the city of Chicago (our second consecutive year in the top spot), but did you know that @properties was also #1 in luxury sales?

#1 in Market Share: 13.04%
#1 in Luxury Sales: 13.98%
#1 in Selling Price to Original Listing Price: 94.3%
#1 in Fastest Average Market Time: 142 Days

For more information on our luxury brokerage services for buyers and sellers, please contact me. Also, please keep me in mind if someone you know is buying or selling a home. I appreciate your business and referrals.


Source: MSI, market share and market performance statistics supplied by BrokerMetrics based on sales data from Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, 1/1/10 - 12/31/10 and 1/1/10 vs. 1/1/11.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Home Sales in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market Showed Resilience During January

Home sales in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago real estate market showed encouraging resilience in January even though total home sales slipped 3.7 percent below the level recorded in the same month of 2010, according to an analysis by RE/MAX.

Looking at data on home sales recorded by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC, the regional multiple listing service, RE/MAX reports that January home sales totaled 3,834 units, down from 3,980 units in January 2010.

“January sales numbers are usually the lowest of any month of the year, but they can be a harbinger of what is to come as the housing market moves into the busy spring season,” explains Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network. “A year ago, the spring market was quite active, helped greatly by the federal tax credit offered to homebuyers. This year there is no tax credit, yet January sales were at a very comparable level to last year’s. That suggests buyers are returning to the market and that home buying activity this spring has more upside potential than many expert observers currently believe.”

There were 1,847 distressed sales across the metro area in January, compared to 1,855 a year earlier and 2,206 in the prior month. Foreclosures represented 33 percent of all sales, while short sales accounted for 15 percent.

Sales of attached and detached homes performed quite similarly in January, both coming in 3.7 percent lower than the prior January. However, in terms of prices and the time required to sell a home, the differences between the attached and detached markets were more pronounced.

For detached homes, the median price (where half of all homes sold cost more and half cost less) rose to $175,000 in January, up from $172,500 a year earlier, and the average time those homes spent on the market fell from 174 days in 2010 to 171 days this year. For attached homes, the picture was quite different. The median price fell to $133,400 from $180,000 a year ago, a 26 percent decline. The average time required to sell one of those attached homes increased to 188 days from 166 days.

“We don’t want to read too much into the fact that January home sales were 26 percent lower than in December,” Merrion says. “A substantial December-to-January decrease has been the pattern in recent years. Even when the market was just about at its peak, January sales in 2006 were 31 percent lower than December sales in 2005, and the smallest December-to-January sales decline since then was 20 percent in 2006-2007.”

Although January sales activity in the metro area as a whole was quite similar to that seen a year earlier, sales levels varied significantly in local markets. Three of the seven metro counties, DuPage, Kane and Lake, saw sales increase, while four counties, as well as the City of Chicago, recorded decreased sales.

DuPage County sales were up 21.8 percent to 453 units, the largest gain reported, while Kendall County sales fell 23.5 percent to 62 units, and sales dipped 15.4 percent in Chicago, with 1,066 homes changing hands. Results for the other counties were as follows: Cook 2,300 units (-8.1 percent), Kane 256 units (+6.7 percent), Lake 340 units (+4.3 percent), McHenry 140 units (-9.7 percent) and Will 283 units (-6.3 percent).

-Chicago Agent 18 February 2011

Saturday, February 5, 2011

@properties' Market Reports

Stay Informed In 2011
With @properties' Market Reports

With record low interest rates and record high affordability, 2010 was a banner year for just about anyone who bought a home. The favorable buying conditions were reflected in overall sales numbers for 2010, which showed slight improvement versus 2009. Total sales volume was up and market times were down for @properties' principal market areas of the city and North Shore (see charts below).

Heading into 2011, buyers are still in the driver's seat but will want to keep an eye on interest rates, which are expected to top 5% before long. Locking in a rate below 5% on a 15- or 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, or below 4% on an ARM, is a phenomenal opportunity given current home prices. For sellers, getting the job done in 2011 will once again require an in-depth understanding of hyper-local market conditions and price trends, as well as a comprehensive sales and marketing plan.

A great way to keep tabs on the market in 2011 is with @properties' Market Reports. The reports instantly generate real time market stats for almost every neighborhood and village in the Chicagoland area. You can drill down to view market stats for specific housing types and sizes, and observe trends over 3, 6 or 12 months. While on the site, search Chicagoland's most complete property database, and sign up to receive New Listing alerts and Status Updates for properties you want to track.

If you're considering a real estate transaction, now is the perfect time for us to sit down and discuss potential buying or selling strategies. Contact me at your earliest convenience, and please keep me in mind if you know of someone who is looking to buy or sell property this year.

City of Chicago Market Comparison: 2010 vs. 2009 Totals
City of Chicago Total $ Volume Days on Market Average Sales Price
2010 $5,619,459,483.00 150 $284,948.00
2009 $5,587,165,396.00 156 $279,904.00
2010 vs. 2009 $32,294,087.00 -6 $5,044.00
% Comparison 0.6% -3.8% 1.8%


North Shore Market Comparison: 2010 vs. 2009 Totals
North Shore Total $ Volume Days on Market Average Sales Price
2010 $1,502,902,690.00 196 $656,576.00
2009 $1,183,205,540.00 207 $655,516.00
2010 vs. 2009 $319,697,150.00 -11 $1,060.00
% Comparison 27.0% -5.3% 0.2%

Source: Broker Metrics. Data supplied through MRED LLC, based on closed transactions for detached and attached single-family homes and parking. North Shore includes Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. 1/1/10 - 12/31/10 vs. 1/1/09 - 12/31/09.