Most Expensive Home Sales Of 2019 In Highland Park, Highwood

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Nearly 400 homes worth a combined $219 million were sold in Highland Park and Highwood during 2019, but the median sales price declined by about 10 percent compared to a year earlier, according to data from local realtors.

According to the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors, the median sales price for a home in Highland Park fell from $545,000 in 2018 to $490,000 in 2019. In Highwood, the median dropped from $306,000 to $277,700. The declines mark a reverse from the prior year, when the towns saw median sales prices increase by about 5 percent.

The most expensive home sale in the area was the purchase of a lakefront home in the Ravinia neighborhood designed by prolific local modernist architect Tony Grunsfeld and built in 1982 for the family of Irwin Grossinger, the late founder of a chain of car dealerships.

The 2.5-acre blufftop property on a cul-de-sac off Sheridan Road includes a 230-foot private beach.

Grossinger's family listed the property in March 2019 for $5 million, and it closed the next month for $4.7 million.

At more than 10,500 square feet, the home has an indoor pool, hot tub and fireplace area, with lake and ravine views throughout.

More: Grossinger Family's Lakefront Tony Grunsfeld Home Sells For $4.7 Million

In Highland Park overall, the median list price in December 2019 was $520,000, up from just under $500,000 a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. But last month's median sale price of $390,000 was down from more than $476,000 in December 2018.

The mean average 2019 home sale in Highland Park was nearly $560,000, and in Highwood it was more than $362,000, according to data provided by the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors.

In Highwood, the most expensive of the 14 homes sold in 2019 changed hands for more than $800,000. The 3,200-square-foot home was built in 2000 on a 0.19-acre lot in Fort Sheridan.

The two-story, three-bedroom house includes views of a nearby meadow, pond and aviary, according to its listing. The property was publicly listed for the first time in August 2018 with an asking price of $850,000. It closed May 2019 for $805,000.

The median Highwood home listing in December 2019 had an asking price of $275,000, and median home sales went for $240,000, according to data from Realtor.com, which considers it a seller's market.

Both are down from a year earlier, when the median listing in Highwood was asking for nearly $400,000 and the median home sale closed at $258,500.

Sales data provided by the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors, listing data courtesy Realtor.com, see more recently sold homes in Highland Park and Highwood.