Empty nesters looking to downsize or families looking to trade up in the Chicagoland suburbs, take note: Every month this year, homes spent less time on the market compared to the year prior, according to data from The Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe).
Average number of days on the market across 200 communities in DuPage County, Lake County and suburban Cook County, proceeded to dip throughout the summer, despite the traditional selling season nearing its close, MORe says.
As of August, average time on the market in the Chicagoland suburbs fell to 83 days. Back in June, time on the market was an average 84 days.
Schaumburg showed rapid activity, with just 45 days on the market on average. Market time in Orland Park dropped 52.8 percent year-over-year, reaching an average 60 days per home.
“This year has been a strong year for suburban real estate,” Lynn Madison, president of the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, said in a statement. “Year to date, the number of houses sold, average sale price and median sale price are all up compared to where we were with sales last August.”
While activity picked up at the end of the summer, price demonstrated a similar upward trajectory. The average sale price for the suburbs as of August reached $285,113, up 4.3 percent year-over-year. Median sale price increased 6.5 percent, to $244,975 in the same period.
Where are homes selling fastest?
Year-to-date, 27,802 houses have sold in the Chicagoland suburbs — up 5.5 percent since August 2015.
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Madison says that sales typically slow in August as families gear up for the approaching school year. This year was an outlier, the report shows, with sales continuing to grow throughout the month — a trend she expects to continue into the fall season.
Total number of homes sold in Park Ridge boosted a whopping 47.6 percent year-over-year. Wheaton saw 23.9 percent more houses sold, while Mount Prospect and Des Plaines featured significant selling activity, up 17.8 and 12.5 percent, respectively.
Under contract homes jumped 10.6 percent year-over-year in August in the Chicago suburbs, totaling 3,904 homes. Hoffman Estates and Arlington Heights posted the steepest annual growth for single-family detached homes under contract, at 36.4 and 35.2 percent, respectively. Schaumburg (up 34.3 percent) and Batavia (up 28 percent) were closely behind. Elk Grove Village reached a notable 16.7 percent increase in under contract homes.
