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Single-Family Home Prices Are Highest Ever In 4 Areas Of Chicago: Study

By Tanveer Ali | April 26, 2017 5:38am

CHICAGO — Home prices in Logan Square and Avondale are above levels before the 2008 recession, based on a DePaul University study.

DePaul's Institute of Housing Studies released the latest numbers in its Cook County House Price Index Wednesday showing the two neighborhoods combined had a 13.2 percent increase in housing prices in 2016 compared with 2015. The combined West Town and Near West Side areas saw a 9.2 percent increase.

"Logan Square and West Town are long-term housing markets that had strong price increases," said Geoff Smith, executive director of the institute.

The study measures single-family home prices across the Chicago area by looking at how much the prices have changed since 2000. By that measure, home prices in West Town/Near West Side have risen nearly 159 percent, while home prices in the Logan Square/Avondale area have risen nearly 156 percent.

Citywide, single-family homes are still 23.4 percent below their highest levels in 2007, something Smith attributes to areas on the South and West sides not fully recovering yet from real estate speculation.

Source: Institute of Housing Studies (NOTE: Loop and Downtown area data unavailable due to low number of single-family homes.)

But in the past year, real estate prices in some of those areas have surged.

In the Humboldt Park and Garfield Park region, prices shot up 20.7 percent in a year.

That part of town, where prices crashed after speculation from investors, has benefited from access to public transportation and being "adjacent to some stronger locations" like Logan Square and West Town.

In the South Chicago and West Pullman area, prices increased 13.2 percent, slightly above the price levels of 2000.

Smith sais similarly low-priced areas may see similar increases this year, helping bring citywide price levels higher with them.

"Demand is pretty strong in the city," Smith said. "You'll still see in areas that are lower cost that are going to be short-term price increases."