Wilmette, Illinois/Flickr user Cooperweb
The luxury housing market is on the rise in Chicago, witnessing double digit gains in the second quarter of the year. According to a recent report by Re/Max, the Chicago luxury housing market picked itself back up after a mediocre start in the first few months of the year.
As a total, the first two quarters of the year saw luxury sales total 1,179 units throughout the Chicagoland area, including the city and the surrounding suburbs — up from the 1,122 sales in the first half of 2015.
The Re/Max Luxury Report on Metro Chicago Real Estate found that 832 properties sold for at least $1 million throughout April and June. Compared to the 741 sales during the same time the year prior, the market saw a 12 percent increase this year.
Chicago luxury home sales increased 18 percent to 398 units, accounting for 48 percent of all luxury sales. In the surrounding suburbs, there were a total of 434 units sold, increasing 7 percent over the same period the previous year.
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“The luxury market is still under pressure from a large inventory of available properties, especially in the suburbs, and that helps keep prices down,” Jack Kreider, executive vice president of Re/Max Northern Illinois, said in a statement. “There were 3,104 luxury homes on the market at the end of June, about a 15-month supply based on the pace of sales over the first half of this year.”
Despite the climb in home sales, prices dipped a bit in the Chicago metro area. The median sales price of luxury homes was $1,309,000 — a 3 percent dip over the previous year’s $1,350,000 median price. The median sales price dipped annually in both the city and the suburbs by 5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
The Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs leading the charge weren’t surprising to market observers. Lincoln Park was the city’s leader, with sales increasing from 43 units in 2015 to 64 this year. Other neighborhoods like Lakeview, West Town, North Center and burgeoning Near North measured modest upticks.
Out in the suburbs, Glencoe saw a whopping 107 percent increase from its sales the previous year. Highland Park, Northbrook and Wilmette all had significant increases in luxury home sales. Winnetka and Lake Forest both reported dips.
