Chicago Real Estate Trends Up, more sales, higher prices, lower days on market

Our friend, Howard Mandel,  is in our opinion "Chicago's Star Broker" and he sent this along to me to give an insight into the economy there.  

  AUGUST PROPERTY SALES FOR COOK COUNTY Property Sales

August Property sales were 5,871, up 7.0% from 5,486 in August of 2014 and -13.4% lower than the 6,777 sales last month. August 2015 sales were at a mid level compared to August of 2014 and 2013. August YTD sales of 41,576 are running 8.7% ahead of last year's year-to-date sales of 38,250.

Prices

The Median Sales Price in August was $230,000, up 2.2% from $225,000 in August of 2014 and down -3.4% from $238,000 last month. The Average Sales Price in August was $310,618, down -3.1% from $320,520 in August of 2014 and down -2.9% from $319,756 last month. August 2015 ASP was at a mid range compared to August of 2014 and 2013.

Inventory & MSI

The Total Inventory of Properties available for sale as of August was 21,801, down -5.5% from 23,081 last month and down -11.5% from 24,623 in August of last year. August 2015 Inventory was at the lowest level compared to August of 2014 and 2013.

A comparatively lower MSI is more beneficial for sellers while a higher MSI is better for buyers. The August 2015 MSI of 3.7 months was at a mid range compared with August of 2014 and 2013.

Market Time

The average Days On Market(DOM) shows how many days the average Property is on the Market before it sells. An upward trend in DOM tends to indicate a move towards more of a Buyer's market, a downward trend a move towards more of a Seller's market. The DOM for August was 49, up 6.5% from 46 days last month and down -3.9% from 51 days in August of last year. The August 2015 DOM was at its lowest level compared with August of 2014 and 2013.   Give Howard a call if Chicago is your market. He is honest, hardworking, and in our opinion, the best. And he didn't pay us to say that!