Chicago Homes Continue To Sell in December

Despite continued doom and gloom on jobs, the economy and real estate in general, Chicago real estate again is showing signs of life.  For the sixth consecutive month, year over year sales have increase from the previous year’s month.  In other words, 5,752 existing single-family homes and condos sold in December, a 33 percent increase from the 4,320 homes sold in December 2008.  Increased sales in the year’s second half meant that for the year as a whole, sales slipped only 0.2 percent form 2008, to 69,290 homes sold in the Chicago area.

What does this mean for Chicago homeowners looking to sell?  There are indeed buyers out their ready to purchase your residential Chicago real estate.  The bad news is you most-likely have to sell your home for 10% less (Chicagoland average) that you would have a year ago.  Curiously, the amount of  sales in the city of Chicago fell more sharply than in the entire Chicago area. In the city, 2009 sales fell 7.4%, to 19,401 compared with 20,946 in 2008.  In the city, the median home price fell 22.4% in 2009, to $225,000 compared with $290,000 in 2008.  The Illinois Association of Realtors reports sales figures that include new and existing homes.

Many experts predicted a sluggish December as the original deadline for the First-time homebuyer tax credit of $8,000 was set to expire on November 30th.  Not so as the data supports that transactions continue to take place albeit at a lower price and at a better clip than a depressed and uncertain December of 2008.