Regional Spotlight—Home values in the seven-county metro Chicago real estate market extended their upswing in November, according to an analysis by RE/MAX. The median sales price of all attached and detached homes closed in November was $170,000, a 10 percent increase over the median price a year earlier. That compares to a gain of 15 percent in October and 16 percent in the July-September quarter.
The number of homes sold this November dipped 1 percent to 7,551 units from 7,606 units in November 2012. The average time a home sold in November spent on the market before going under contract was 97 days, or 39 days less than a year earlier. The RE/MAX analysis is based on sales data gathered by MRED LLC.
“One likely reason for the reduced sales activity was a marked reduction in the inventory of homes listed for sale. The November inventory in the seven-county area was 19 percent below its level one year earlier,” says Laura Ortoleva, media spokesperson for RE/MAX in northern Illinois.
Sales of distressed properties, which include foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 35 percent of November sales this year compared to 43 percent last year. Foreclosures remained in demand, accounting for 24 percent of all home sales. The average market time for a foreclosure was 78 days, and the median sales price was up 6 percent from a year earlier to $84,000.
The November median sales price increased in all seven metro counties – Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will – as well as in Chicago.
Kane County reported gains in both closed sales and median price. The 556 units sold there represented a 6 percent increase in transactions from November 2012, and the median price of $160,250 was 17 percent higher.
Among the six other counties, only Will also registered November increases in both transactions and median price. Sales there totaled 656 units, a 2 percent increase, and the median sales price was $164,400, 4 percent higher than in the prior November.
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