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Lincoln Square's Condo Market Shows Signs of Life

 The number of condo sales notched in Lincoln Square is up over 2012, and so are prices.
The number of condo sales notched in Lincoln Square is up over 2012, and so are prices.
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Flickr/Diana Parkhouse

LINCOLN SQUARE — Not to burst yet another real estate bubble, but buyers might not have the upper hand much longer when it comes to condos in Lincoln Square, according to a local real estate broker.

Trend watching on his blog, Chicago Real Estate Local, Eric Rojas of Kale Realty noted that condo inventory is suddenly tight in the neighborhood, with a large number of units either sold or under contract.

Through May 28 of this year, 105 condos (including townhouses) had sold or closed, up from 93 during the same period in 2012. At the same time, 95 additional condos are under contract, leaving just 64 units actively on the market, Rojas reported.

In 2012, 264 condos closed in Lincoln Square, a figure Rojas predicts will easily be surpassed in 2013.

The median sale price is $225,000, up from $212,000 a year ago. A four-bedroom townhome in the 2000 block of West Sunnyside Avenue fetched the highest price, pulling in $615,000.

Rojas attributed the uptick in activity to a number of factors.

"The single-family-home market went bonkers, which triggered the town house/large condo market," he told DNAinfo.com Chicago via email.

Low interest rates, affordable prices — along with the sense they might not stay that way much longer — and renters' fatigue have also goosed the condo market, said Rojas.

"Remember, we are five years out of 2008," he said. "There is a new set of 30-year-olds settling down."