RE/MAX Luxury Report on Real Estate - $1 Million-Plus Home Sales in City Outpaced Broader Market in First Half of 2013
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) July 23, 2013 -- The first half of 2013 produced a substantial increase in luxury home sales in the City of Chicago, according to the RE/MAX Luxury Report on Chicago Real Estate, a bimonthly analysis of city home sales at $1 million plus.
Sales in that market segment rose 33 percent to 399 units from 300 units sold during the first half of this year, outpacing the 27 percent sales increase seen in the city market as a whole for the January-June period. The median sales price was $1,395,000, and the time required for a luxury home to go under contract once it was listed averaged 193 days.
Luxury sales for the first six months of this year were especially strong in the detached home segment, increasing 48 percent to 216 units versus 146 units a year earlier. The median price of a luxury detached home climbed to $1.37 million, 5 percent higher than it had been during the first half of 2012. Average market time was 158 days for the January-June period compared to 194 days during the same months in 2012.
Sales of attached homes (condominiums, townhouses and co-ops) priced at $1 million or above totaled 183 units during the first half of this year, 19 percent more sales than the comparable period of 2012. Average market time shortened to 233 days from 252 days a year earlier. The median sales price for this luxury market segment was $1.41 million, a 4 percent gain from the median price of $1.36 million for the first half of 2012.
Three city areas dominated the activity in sales of detached luxury homes. Lincoln Park led the way with 70 sales and a median price of $1.67 million. Next was North Center with 48 sales at a median price of $1.25 million, followed by Lake View with 43 sales at a median price of $1.43 million. Sales also were up sharply in West Town, rising to 15 units from six in 2012.
The Near North Side remained the epicenter of the luxury attached-home market in the city, with 127 sales (up 20 percent from last year) and a median sales price of $1.54 million (9 percent higher than a year ago). Of the remaining 56 luxury attached sales completed during the first half of this year in Chicago, 28 were in the Loop and 15 were in Lincoln Park, leaving only 13 $1 million-plus sales spread across the rest of the city.
MAY-JUNE LUXURY SALES
Luxury home sales in Chicago during May and June were essentially on pace with those for the first half as a whole, rising 33 percent to 194 units from 146 units in May and June last year. However, the entire increase in transactions for this two-month period was concentrated in the detached segment, where 118 residences were sold, up from 70 a year earlier, a 69 percent increase. Attached home sales remained unchanged at 76 units.
At the same time, the median price for attached luxury properties rose to $1.47 million from $1.4 million during May and June last year, a 5 percent gain. Conversely, the median price for luxury detached homes slipped 3 percent to $1.35 million, most likely as a result of increased activity in North Center and Lake View, where prices in the luxury segment tend to be a bit lower, on average, than in Lincoln Park and the Near North Side.
May-June sales of detached homes in North Center rose 91 percent to 21 units, while in Lake View luxury sales climbed 86 percent to 26 units. Meanwhile, Lincoln Park sales were up 45 percent to 49 units.
Of the six city communities where the vast majority of detached luxury homes are sold, the May-June median sales price rose in four and fell in two when compared the same months in 2012. On the plus side were Lake View with a median of $1.43 million, Lincoln Park at $1.68 million, Logan Square at $1.25 million and North Center at $1.23 million. The median price declined on the Near North Side to $2.33 million and in West Town to $1.08 million.
Sales of attached luxury homes were slightly lower during May and June in the Loop (12 units this year vs.14 last year) and the Near North Side (50 units this year vs. 54 last year), but Lincoln Park registered a small increase, rising from five units last year to seven this year.
The May-June median price for an attached home in Lincoln Park was $1.07 million, 7 percent lower than last year, while the median price rose 24 percent in the Loop to $1.61 million and 7 percent on the Near North Side to $1.55 million
RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of 2,000 sales associates and 100 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its http://www.illinoisproperty.com and http://www.remax.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. The http://www.global.remax.com website allows consumers to search properties around the globe; http://www.theremaxcollection.com is a specialized portal of luxury properties across the U.S., and http://www.remaxcommercial.com displays commercial properties available nationwide and abroad. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX LLC, a global real estate organization with 91,000 sales associates in 90+ nations. The RE/MAX organization has been recognized for numerous industry honors for excellence, and its Associates continue to lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. RE/MAX is the official real estate partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the national sponsor of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
Laura Ortoleva, RE/MAX Northern Illinois, 847-428-4200 224, [email protected]
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