Report: Area home sales reach 11-year peak

Home sales in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago area reached an 11-year peak in 2017, with 116,081 properties changing hands, the most since 2006 but only 1.3 percent more than in 2016, RE/MAX reports.

The median sales price for the metro area in 2017 was $236,000, up 4.9 percent from the prior year and the highest annual median price since 2008 when the median was $242,000.

The inventory for the metro area at the end of December was 25,012 units, a 2.6-month supply based on the average pace of sales in 2017, and 7.7 percent fewer units than at the end of 2016.

"Relatively low levels of inventory certainly weighed on the housing market, both nationally and in the Chicago area in 2017," said Chris Calomino, spokesperson for the RE/MAX Northern Illinois regional network based in Elgin. "Even so, the metro Chicago market generally performed nicely, with prices rising at a sustainable pace. The average market time for all homes sold in 2017 was just 80 days, eight days less than the prior year, indicating that competitively priced properties were snapped up quickly."

He also noted that "the inventory issue is most pronounced among single-family detached homes, where it was down 10.3 percent at the end of 2017, while the inventory of attached homes was lower by just 0.6 percent."

Home sales in the final quarter of 2017 totaled 25,034 units in the metro area, up 0.5 percent over the same period in 2016, while in the entire second half of 2017 there were 57,589 units sold, down 1.4 percent compared to the last six months of 2016.

Unit sales rose in six of the seven metro counties and in Chicago during 2017, with increases ranging from 3.8 percent in Kendall to 0.5 percent in DuPage. Lake registered a decline of 1.1 percent.

The median sales price was up in all seven counties and Chicago. The largest increase was 9.1 percent in Lake, while Cook and the city of Chicago tied for the smallest increase at 4.8 percent.

Homes were selling fastest in Kendall, where the average market time was 63 days.

ATTACHED HOMES

Sales of attached homes increased 3.2 percent for the year to 42,972 in the metro area, and the median sales price gained 5.9 percent to $199,038. Average market time for those homes was 62 days, down from 73 days in 2016.

More attached homes sold in every county but Lake, which incurred a minimal decline of 0.7 percent. The largest increases were 17.7 percent in McHenry and 10.4 percent in Will. The median sales price rose in all seven counties, topped by gains of 8.6 percent in Will and 8.4 percent in Kendall.

Cook County, which dominates the attached-home market, saw sales rise 2.2 percent to 29,271 units, and the median sales price gained 4.2 percent to $237,500. In Chicago, which is part of Cook County, sales of attached homes climbed 2.2 percent, while the median price rose 3.2 percent to $320,000.

Average market time was as low as 38 days in Kendall and no higher than 66 days, which was the average in both Lake and McHenry.

DETACHED HOMES

Unit sales of detached homes varied only slightly from 2016 levels. In the seven-county metro area, sales were up 1.2 percent for the year, and the median sales price rose to $255,000, a gain of 6.25 percent. Average market time was 90 days, seven days less than in 2016.

Sales rose in three counties, gaining 0.6 percent in Cook, 1.9 percent in Kane and 1.8 percent in Kendall, and were unchanged in Will. Chicago sales gained 2.1 percent. Small sales declines of 0.5 percent in McHenry, 0.6 percent in DuPage and 1.2 percent in Lake rounded out the picture of a stable market.

The median sales price for detached homes was up in all seven counties and in Chicago, topped by an increase of 8.5 percent in Lake, while Will had the smallest gain at 4.7 percent.