Uncertainty slows market time for lakefront homes in Chicago Marketing expensive
homes and condominiums in Chicago’s posh lakefront neighborhoods
is getting harder as economic uncertainty lingers through spring,
real estate experts say. Home sellers saw the amount of time required
to market homes in lakefront neighborhoods more than double, according
to the Lakefront Market Survey, a quarterly analysis by local real
estate brokerage Sudler. The Sudler Lakefront
Market Survey analyzes all transactions reported by the Multiple Listing
Service of Northern Illinois involving single-family homes, condominiums
and cooperatives in six Chicago neighborhoods: the Loop, Near North
/ Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown and Edgewater. The average market
time for a single-family home in this area climbed to 106 days in
the first quarter, up from 52 days in the first quarter of 2002, a
whopping increase of 104 percent, said Jeanine McShea, president of
Sudler’s residential brokerage division. The average market time
during the fourth quarter of 2002 was 91 days. The condominium
and cooperative market slowed even more dramatically. The average
market time increased 139 percent, to 108 days from 45 days in the
same quarter last year. Market time for condos and co-ops averaged
41 days in the final quarter of 2002, McShea said. “Historically,
low interest rates for home mortgage financing have encouraged buyers
to stay in the market despite the economic and political uncertainties
that dominated the first three months of this year,” said McShea.
“On the other hand, that uncertainty has slowed buyers’
decision-making process, changing the character of the marketplace.
Sellers are facing much more competition and need more patience.” Despite the longer
market times, sales volume is up on the lakefront. Total sales volume
for single-family homes rose 3.7 percent during the first quarter
when compared to the same quarter of 2002, reaching $72.9 million,
while the volume of lakefront condo and co-op sales increased 2.4
percent, to $528.9 million. The number of
residences changing hands declined slightly in both categories, with
single-family sales down 11.4 percent, to 78 transactions for the
quarter, and condo and co-op sales slipping .7 percent, to 1,631 transactions. As a result of
the slowdown in market time, luxury home buyers seeking $1 million-plus
mansions on Chicago’s Gold Coast this spring have the best selection
of available properties in years, said James Kinney, president of
Rubloff Residential Properties. There currently are 34 Gold Coast
homes and rowhouses on the market with listing prices of $1 million
or more, he said. “That is
an amazingly high number of listings, when you consider that only
83 single-family homes exist in the exclusive Gold Coast neighborhood,
bounded by Oak Street, Clark Street, North Avenue and Lake Michigan,”
said Kinney, who also is president of the Multiple Listing Service
of Northern Illinois. Rubloff currently
is offering 12 Gold Coast properties for sale, around 35 percent of
the single-family market, he said. The average price
of a home sold in Lincoln Park during the first quarter was $1.16
million, up from $1.03 million in the same quarter last year. The
average price of a single-family home in Lakeview was lower than in
Lincoln Park, at $975,000, but significantly higher than the neighborhood’s
2002 average of $764,000. “Of the 28
homes sold in Lakeview during the first quarter, 12 were new construction
properties that combined luxury amenities with higher price tags,
and that is a big reason the average price was so high,” McShea
said. Overall, the average
price of a single-family home along the lakefront during the first
quarter was $934,415, up 12.3 percent from the same period last year
and 7.9 percent from the prior quarter. The Near North
/ Gold Coast slowdown was also reflected in a major increase in average
market time for lakefront condos and co-ops for the first quarter,
which jumped to 124 days this year from 34 days a year ago. The average price
of a lakefront condo or co-op sold during the quarter was $324,300,
a 3.1 percent increase over the average price of $314,464 during the
first quarter of 2002. “The pace
of price increases is clearly slowing in this more competitive market,”
noted McShea. “Even so, the trend is still upwards.” |