Chicago Condo Sales Show Some Life, But For How Long?
February 17th, 2010 categories: Chicago Info/News, Economic Recovery, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Housing Market
I believe that the Chicago housing market is in the middle of a turnaround. Some might accuse me of being overly optimistic; after all, I am a REALTOR®. A revived housing market is certainly in my best interests.
But more and more, the local housing numbers are backing up my optimism.
For instance, Crain’s Chicago Business last week reported that the sales of condominiums in downtown Chicago rose in the fourth quarter of 2009. This is especially significant, as city condo sales dropped dramatically as the Chicago real estate slump worsened. To see condo sales rising, even slightly, is as good a reason as any for optimism.
The Crain’s story, of course, wasn’t all good news. It’s true that builders sold 148 condominiums and townhomes in downtown Chicago during the last three months of 2009. And it’s also true that this number is a nice increase from the 56 condo and townhome sales made in downtown Chicago in the third quarter of the year.
But Crain’s does throw in some sobering news: The story quotes researchers from Chicago’s Appraisal Research Counselors who say that the Chicago condo market won’t make a true rebound until the local unemployment numbers fall. The story also says that the number of condo sales won’t rise more dramatically until local buyers gain faith that the prices of downtown condominiums will no longer continue to drop.
Gail Lissner, vice president of Appraisal Research, said it best when she was quoted as saying that Chicago buyers still have to be convinced that the local housing market has finally bottomed out and that housing prices will soon start to appreciate at a faster rate.
Still, it’s hard not to get excited by these latest Chicago housing numbers. I’m still confident, in fact, that next year we’ll look back at 2010 as the start of our city’s housing recovery. I’m not sure when, or if, downtown condo sales will again approach the sales numbers they registered during the days of the housing boom. But I am confident that buyers will begin purchasing these units again. Downtown Chicago is simply too enticing and strong of an area for it not to feature a condo revival.
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