Eight months of the Chicagoland real market activity just completed. And what’s the verdict?
There has been a bit of shift in the market but not too much of a shift.
As everyone is aware interest rates have climbed.
Mortgage interest rates were in the low 3% range in the spring and those almost doubled by May/June when inflation took flight. The Fed took steps to thwart off a recession by raising the Fed reserve rate multiple times which in turn moved the needle upwards on mortgage interest rates.
With the rise in interest rates, we saw the frenzied market for home purchases slow down especially with first time home buyers. This buyer pool is more impacted by significant increases in what would be their monthly mortgage payments.
However, there still is a home inventory shortage in almost all the desirable suburban markets. What that means is prices are not coming down for homes that are updated. This is true for the Chicago city homes as well. Nice single-family homes sell within 20 days on average of being listed on the market. The condo market is the slowest of all segments as there have been less of a buyer pool for secondary homeowners, less of demand of properties that don’t offer private outdoor space or buyers prefer specific locations for convenience or due to safety concerns.
The summer slowdown is typical and that began at the end of June as individuals and families took advantage of the lifted global travel restrictions by traveling both domestically and internationally. As the summer season winds down next Monday on Labor Day, we will most likely see a pick-up in activity through Thanksgiving and a few weeks into December. Then things tend to cool off until the spring market begins again in the city right after Super bowl Sunday or in the burbs that may be right around early to mid-March depending on the state of the winter weather.
Real estate is and always will be hyper-local. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about the neighborhood or town where you live. I’m always happy to provide a complementary comparative market analysis for you so you can see the current market value of your home.
Have a great Labor Day holiday weekend!
Sincerely,
Harry
Harry Maisel
At Properties Christies International Real Estate
hmaisel@atproperties.com
