WEST LOOP — Facing limited inventory and a crowd of eager buyers, homeowners looking to buy in the West Loop are having an increasingly tough time landing properties.
A new Redfin study confirms what West Loop Realtors are experiencing — the neighborhood has the tightest housing inventory in the city. The limited inventory is leading to multiple above-asking offers when most homes hit the market, Realtors report.
Armando Chacon, a Century 21 real estate agent who lives in the West Loop, said the neighborhood simply doesn't have enough housing supply to keep up with demand.
"There's a lot of willing buyers out there that are just not having luck buying a property in the West Loop," he said.
Stephanie Lulay details the difficulties buyers face:
Representing a buyer last week, Chacon submitted an offer above the asking price for a newly listed property. When the family lost out, he took them to see a home on the same day that it was listed on the market and they made another above-asking offer.
"Again, we lost out," he said, calling the market "frustrating" for some buyers.
While the entire city is showing strong price gains and limited inventory relative to demand, the Redfin real-time numbers show that West Loop homes are going under contract in a median of 14 days for an average of 100 percent of the list price.
Redfin real estate agent Alex Haried said every offer he's recently submitted for clients in the West Loop has been subject to "a multiple offer situation."
“Inventory is still low, historically speaking, and it’s causing tense market conditions," he said.
Mimi Harpur, an @properties agent, said she recently took a client to showings at a half-dozen properties, only to find out each was already under contract.
"Things are going in a day. It's crazy," she said. "I think it's good for the neighborhood, but it's hard for our clients," she said.
Harpur, who also lives in the West Loop, said the competitive market was forcing Realtors to be strategic to get clients what they wanted. That means talking shop with fellow Realtors to find out what's coming on market, not combing through MLS listings on properties that might already be under contract.
The market has become so competitive, that even some cash buyers are losing out on deals, the Realtors said.
"It's great for the people who get the homes, and it's great for property values," she said.
Chacon agrees it's a great market for sellers. He helped homeowners list three properties on the market late last week, and by Monday, all three had sold, the Realtor said. Two of the properties sold at above-ask prices.
The three properties were:
• a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo at 1301 W. Madison, listed at $469,900
• a two-bedroom plus den, two-and-a-half bathroom condo at 901 W. Madison, listed at $589,000
• a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo at 565 W. Quincy, listed at $399,900
To protect client confidentiality, Chacon can not disclose the successful buyer's bids.
"Anybody who has bought last year is well in the black," Chacon said.
Harpur said rents were increasing, too, so much so that families moving out of the West Loop were opting to rent out their condos instead of selling, hoping that the property value on their investment would increase over time.
Space is the biggest premium in the neighborhood, the Realtors said, and three-bedroom units and up sell the quickest. Chacon reports homes are selling for $400 per square foot in some cases.
But the fast prices have a downside, too, Chacon said.
"I have a client who has been in the neighborhood for 10 years and wants to stay here as their family grows. She said to me, 'I feel like I've been priced out of my neighborhood' and [ultimately] bought in West Town," he said.
In his role as president of the West Central Association, Chacon said he told developers how much the neighborhood needed more condos. Now, the developers hot on rentals are listening, he said.
"The West Loop is still a better value than River North, but we're closing that gap very quickly," he said.
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