Chicago Condo Directory

Real estate experts hold a number of different views about today’s housing market–often at odds with one another.

The Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) said on November 28th that October’s combined single-family and condo sales in the Chicago area were 15.4% behind last year’s sales, with prices up less than 1% from the previous year. The median price for single-family homes in October  was $242,000.

Condo sales in the Chicago area dipped about 5%, with prices up by about 3%.

Local real-estate agents say these numbers indicate a return to a “normal” market, with sales declining due to the arrival of autumn–when buyers’ attention is focused on the upcoming holidays and their children’s return to school.

“I don’t think the market is bad,” said North Side agent Pamela Ball, “it’s just normal for fall in a normal year.”

Ball did, however, comment that the properties that are selling are distinctively attractive and well-priced for the market. “[I]f you’ve got a condo on Sheridan Road, for example, and your box is like 400 other boxes, well, it’s slow,” she said.

The president of the IAR, Robert Zoretich, also said the market is “normalizing.” But he added that sellers will have to revise their price expectations before the market picks up again. “There are still people out there waiting for prices to come down . . . If people need to sell right away, they need to adjust their prices,” he said.

While some brokers expect sales to rise again in February when the traditional Spring market starts up, Paul Kasriel, chief economist for Northern Trust in Chicago, disagrees.

“I don’t think we’re going to bottom out on this thing till the latter part of next year,” he said, pointing out a report from the National Association of Realtors that showed nationwide sales flat and prices heading downward.
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