CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE STATS PACK - December 28, 2009
Good Evening!
Federal Economic Recovery Efforts - to stimulate lending, the U.S. Housing Market, and the Economy in general. Is it time to begin weaning ourselves off of them?
The First Time and Repeat Homebuyers Income Tax Credit Program. Government purchase of Mortgage-Backed Securities to keep Mortgage Interest Rates low. Small Business and Jobs Programs. Time to pull away from these?
Or, would such a move quickly derail economic and housing market recovery?
The weaning is likely to begin as early as mid-year. Read more about the likely impact via our post today via BlogChicagoHomes.com.
Here's our updated Chicago IL Real Estate Stats Pack for last Monday Morning, December 28th.
Communities and clients we serve, reside, or plan to reside, include the Chicago Neighborhoods of The Chicago Loop, The Gold Coast, River North, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, Edgewater, North Center, Lincoln Square, Albany Park, Ravenswood, Wicker Park, and Bucktown.
Also, these Great Chicago Neighborhoods: Logan Square, Rogers Park , West Ridge, Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Sauganash, Edgebrook, and Edison Park. Plus All Chicago Suburbs.
SINGLE FAMILY, CONDOS, AND SMALL MULTI-UNIT PROPERTIES - NORTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, NORTH OF ADDISON STREET, WEST OF ASHLAND AVENUE
ACTV LISTINGS JUST SOLD CLOSED EXPIRED
w/e December 28th 3,475 37 54 25
w/e December 21st 3,508 57 59 38
% CHANGE -0.9 -35.1% -8.5% -34.2%
CLOSED PROPERTIES DATA
AVG SALE PRICE AVG DAYS ON MKT TOTAL VOLUME
w/e December 28th $289,235 157 DAYS $15,618,690
w/e December 21st $255,529 139 DAYS $15,076,211
% CHANGE +13.2% +12.9% +3.6%
THEORETICAL TIME TO CLEAR EXISTING INVENTORY (ABSORPTION RATE) -
w/e December 28th - LAST 12 MOS - 11.43 LAST 6 MOS - 9.23 LAST 3 MOS - 9.29
w/e December 21st - LAST 12 MOS - 11.61 LAST 6 MOS - 9.25 LAST 3 MOS - 9.10
PERCENT OF HOMES SELLING IN 180 DAYS -
w/e December 28th - 56.96% (UNSOLD - 43.04%)
w/e December 21st - 55.50% (UNSOLD - 43.87%)
SOURCE: MIDWEST REAL ESTATE DATA LLC, AREA MARKET SURVEY DATA
OBSERVATIONS
Active Listing Inventory is still suffering the "Holiday Effect" - few start marketing their properties, and many on the market take a temporary break from marketing - between early December until after the New Year. As you might expect as we approach Christmas and New Years Day, Pending Sales, as well as Closed Sales and Sales Volume, is similarly low - again, likely the time of the season.
Average Market Time fell over the past week, as did the number of Expired Listings. However, these numbers have tended to wash on alternate weeks, and are still, unfortunately, too high! The Average Sales Price in the Chicago North and Northwest Side Neighborhoods we serve was up considerably last week, but we are unsure this indicates a new trend. This increase in Average Sales Price, despite a fall off in Closed Units Sold, kept the Sales Volume high for the second to last week in 2009.
Absorption Rate - the theoretical time to clear existing homes-for-sale inventory, is up once again this week. We are troubled by this - does it indicate a build up in unsold inventory. That can, in turn, drive prices down further, keeping both buyers and sellers waiting on the side lines waiting for a definite price trend, up or down. The Percentage of Homes Selling in an Estimated Six-Month Marketing Time Frame continues to improve - it now approaches 57%!
Here are archived annual Chicago Neighborhood Statistics, including Units Sold and Price Trends Data, for 1995 through 2008 courtesy of The Chicago Association of Realtors.
In addition, here is an Interactive Median Price Heat Map, from the Chicago Tribune Real Estate Section, covering Every Chicago Neighborhood. View the map for links to maps for Chicago Suburbs. It is updated as new data becomes available.
RATE & MARKET WATCH
For the fifth straight week, Average 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates jumped but only by 0.09%, to 5.33%, for the week ending December 30th, according to data reviewed and compiled by Bankrate.com.
One year ago, the Average 30-Year Fixed Rate stood at 5.64%, according to Bankrate.
Over the past year, Fed Initiatives, including an aggressive program for the U.S. Treasury to purchase Mortgage-Backed Securities, has kept rates near record levels. The last time rates were this low, for an extended period, was back in 1956. Few of our readers today were around back then (although, sadly - I was, but merely a baby that year!)
Likely, the Treasury will curtail purchase of these securities later this year. That move, along with a possible Federal Reserve Board action to begin to increase its Fed Funds Rate, even slightly, can put a bit of a chill in housing market recovery, some predict. The wild card - will jobs and renewed housing demand be strong enough to counter these moves?
For more info, here's a link to Holden Lewis's column via Bankrate.com.
Call our Team TODAY for Up-To-Date Trends Data for any Chicago Neighborhood or Suburb!
HAVE A HAPPY, SAFE, AND PROSPEROUS 2010!
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
