WOODLAWN — Woodlawn is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, according to estimates by real estate brokerage Redfin.
Redfin reported that between February and July, Woodlawn had the third-highest increase in estimated home values compared to that of its metro area in the country.
The ranking puts Woodlawn just behind East Lake Terrace in Atlanta and Gert Town in New Orleans.
Redfin estimates home values went up by 23 percent in the first six months of the year, a rate far faster than the 4.6 percent increase in value for the Chicago area as a whole.
Speculation about the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in nearby Jackson Park at the northeast corner of the neighborhood might be driving some of the change.
But Woodlawn had one of the lowest median home prices on the list at $133,800, and one of the lowest percentages of homes selling over list price, at 22 percent.
That may all show that the market in Woodlawn is heating up, but not overheating like North Shoreview in San Franciso, No. 7 on the list, where the median home price is now more than $1 million, and 95 percent of homes sell for more than the asking price.
U.S. Census numbers from last year showed the neighborhood is growing in population again for the first time in decades, driven by an influx of young black families.
Though Woodlawn is pegged at No. 3, Redfin is expecting it will drop out of the top 10 by the end of the year. The current prediction puts First Hill in Seattle, Wash., at the top of the list, followed by neighborhoods in five cities in California.
The full list is on Redfin’s website.
