August home sales in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market fell 2.5% to 11,505 units, the median sales price climbed 3.5% to $240,000, and the inventory of homes for sale was down 7.8% to 34,619 units, according to RE/MAX of Northern Illinois.
The most obvious result of the limited inventory has been the rapid pace at which homes are selling. Residences sold in August were on the market for an average of 66 days before finding a buyer, down from 76 days a year earlier. The August average matched that recorded in July, which was the lowest average market time for any month since RE/MAX began tracking that data in 2005.
“The inventory situation doesn’t appear to be improving yet,” noted Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. “As was the case in July, the August inventory decline was most pronounced among detached homes. Those listings dropped 8.7%, while listing of attached homes fell 5.1%.”
However, he also pointed out that a declining inventory doesn’t necessarily mean fewer sales.
“One example of that was in Kane County where August sales were up 2.5% although the inventory there declined 12.7% and represented less than a three-month supply of homes. In contrast, sales fell 2% in Chicago, but the inventory rose 3.4% from last August, and there was a 3.2-month supply of homes,” Kreider reported.
Sales data used by RE/MAX 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.
August sales were lower in five of the seven metro counties and in Chicago, with McHenry joining Kane in recording a modest increase. The median sales price advanced in five counties and Chicago, led by increases of 12.3% in Lake and 10.3% in Kane. Other gains were 4.7% in Cook, 1.9% in DuPage, 6 percent in Will and 4.1% in Chicago. The median was unchanged in McHenry and fell 2.7% in Kendall.
Average market time was under 70 days in six counties and Chicago, with the 83-day average in Lake being the one exception. Kendall had the lowest overall average at just 49 days.
Detached-home sales slipped 3 % in August to 7,292 units in the metro area compared with the same month last year. However, that total was 3.5% higher than the previous month. The median sales price climbed 3.8% to $260,000. Average market time was 75 days, a day less than July and the lowest result for any month since 2005.
Sales of attached homes were only slightly slower in August than they had been a year earlier, falling 1.7% to 4,213 units. The median sales price rose 7.8% to $204,900, and average market time fell to a speedy 51 days.
The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of more than 2,250 sales associates and 103 independently owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services.
