CHICAGO — The median sale price of a condo in Chicago in January was $285,000, about 13 percent higher than in the first month of last year, a new report says.
The median sale price of a single-family home in the city was $163,275 in January, up 8.9 percent over January of 2014, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.
However, fewer condos and homes were sold in Chicago. In the first month of the new year, there were 1,295 condos sold in the city, down 8.3 percent from January 2014. Likewise, there were 552 single-family homes sold in Chicago in January, down 9.5 percent.
The median sale price means half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
In the city, there were 7,906 condos and single-family homes for sale in January — some 5.4 percent fewer than January of 2014.
Lower inventory is "pushing up prices" in Chicago, said Hugh Rider, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors and co-president of Realty and Mortgage Co.
Jim Kinney, president of the Illinois Association of Realtors, said with less inventory, homes on the market are "definitely seeing traffic" and sellers are able to "command higher prices in many cases."
Homes in the city are selling faster: 61 days in January compared with 68 days a year earlier, the report said.
In the nine-county Chicago area, the median price of a condo was $155,000, up 14.8 percent from the previous January. Single-family homes were up 3.4 percent to $186,100. Total sales for condos were down 7 percent and homes 4.1 percent.
In the report, Geoffrey J.D. Ewings, a real estate expert at the University of Illinois, said the drop in total home sales was linked to decreases in foreclosure sales. Still, so-called "zombie" homes — properties that were vacant when banks foreclosed on them — continues to be a challenge. Quoting a RealtyTrac study, Ewings wrote Illinois had nearly 10,000 zombie homes, fourth worst in the nation.
Ewings' forecast for February, March and April predicts prices will be higher compared to the same months last year. In general, people are feeling more optimistic financially, he said, noting that in December, unemployment in the state was 6.2 percent compared with 8.9 percent a year ago.
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