Home sales activity in the seven-county metropolitan Chicago area increased sharply in November, with sales for the month reaching the highest level since 2005 in the heart of the housing boom, RE/MAX reports. There were 8,019 homes sold last month, an increase of 18% over the November 2015 total and the most for November since 9,740 homes were sold in 2005.
The November sales surge was a marked contrast to the results in October when sales fell 5% compared to October 2015.
“It’s difficult to explain why home sales were down in October but were so buoyant in November,” commented Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. “It could be that many sales transactions which normally would have been completed in October were pushed back into November. Perhaps, it was related to the election, but whatever the reason, we’re delighted to see the housing market deliver such a strong November performance.”
Kreider noted that the November median home sales price was $215,000, 9% more than a year earlier, while the average number of days those homes spent on the market before going under contract fell to 88 days from 92 during the prior November. That is the lowest market time for November since 2005.
Meanwhile, the inventory of homes for sale continued to run at about 10% below 2015 levels, a situation that has persisted throughout the second half of this year, according to Kreider.
The home sales data used for the RE/MAX analysis is collected by MRED, the regional multiple listing service. It covers detached and attached homes in the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Detached homes are typically stand-alone single-family dwellings. Attached homes include condominium and cooperative apartments along with townhouses.
Sales activity and the median sales price rose in all seven metro counties and in the City of Chicago during November. The counties of DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and McHenry recorded increases in sales activity ranging from 21 to 28%. Cook County, which accounted for 56% of all transactions, had an increase of 16%, including a 17% increase in Chicago. Sales climbed 7% in Will County.
The biggest gains in median sales price were in McHenry, up 13%, Cook and Chicago, up 11%, and Will, up 10%. The median price rose 7% in DuPage, 6% in Kane, 5% in Kendall and 3% in Lake.
Detached Homes
When compared to last November, sales of detached homes rose 18% in the metro area to 5,170 units; the median sales price gained 8% to $231,000, and average market time increased one day to 99 days.
Detached home sales rose most strongly in McHenry, up 34%; DuPage, up 29%; Lake, up 25%; and Kane, up 24%. Sales in Cook rose 16%, including a 19% gain in Chicago. There were more modest increases in Kendall, up 9%, and Will, up 2%.
Gains in the median sales price ranged from 19% in Chicago to 1% in DuPage. Results for the other counties were: Cook up 10%, Kane up 12%, Kendall up 3%, Lake up 7%, McHenry up 11% and Will up 10%.
Attached Homes
With sales activity 19% higher this November than last, the attached home market remained especially active. November sales totaled 2,849 units, and the median sales price was $180,000, up 7% from November 2015. Moreover, attached units continued to sell quickly, with an average market time of 69 days.
Sales activity was up in all seven metro counties, but the increases varied widely, with Kendall up 67% and Lake up 43% to lead the way. In contrast, sales in McHenry rose just 5%. Other gains were 32% in Kane, 26% in Will, 19% in DuPage and 16% in Cook, which included a 15% increase in Chicago.
Median prices rose most sharply in Will, up 13%, Cook, up 12%, and DuPage, up 11%. Elsewhere, gains were 7% in Lake and McHenry, 5% in Kane and 2% in Kendall, while Chicago gained 9%.
