Luxury Attached Home Sales Plummet In Near West: Report

CHICAGO — Attached luxury home sales were down 68 percent in the Near West Side in the first quarter of this year compared to the same time frame last year, according to a quarterly RE/MAX luxury housing report. Luxury homes are those listed for more than $1 million. Only eight attached units were sold in the first few months of this year.

Other neighborhoods also saw a sluggish first quarter: attached luxury sales fell 42 percent in Lincoln Park to 11 units, 36 percent in the Loop to 7 units and 60 percent in the Near South Side to 6 units, RE/MAX reported.

Single-family luxury home sales climbed in Lake View, up 11 percent to 20 units, according to the report. Attached homes, however, fell by a whopping 37.5 percent in Lake View.

The three communities with the most luxury detached sales continued to be Lake View, Lincoln Park and North Center, which together accounted for 64 percent of first-quarter luxury detached sales in Chicago, according to the report. Sales in Lincoln Park climbed up 16 percent to 29 units, while sales in North Center fell by 32 percent to 19 units.

Janice Corley, a broker and owner of RE/MAX Premier said the Chicago area market has been "sluggish" over the last six months.

“...a real test will be in the current quarter when sales usually accelerate. Typically, we see an uptick in both inventory and buyer activity after the deadline passes for filing income taxes," Corley said. "I’m encouraged by what we’re seeing so far, but we’ll have to see if that translates into stronger sales.”

First-quarter sales of luxury single-family homes in Chicago went down by 11.7 percent to 106 units, and the median sales price climbed up 9 percent to $1,523,288. Average market time dipped to 188 days in the city, 17 days less than for the same period last year, according to the RE/MAX report.

Elsewhere in the city, luxury detached sales were little changed compared to last year’s results, the company reported. Sales fell by five units in Logan Square, two units in Lincoln Square, one unit in the Near North Side and in West Town, were unchanged in Uptown and rose by two units in Edgewater.

Sales of luxury attached homes in Chicago were especially sluggish during the first quarter, with 89 units changing hands, 36 percent less than in the same quarter last year, according to the report. The median sales price gained 4.7 percent to $1,400,000, and average market time rose to 169 days from 132 days a year ago.

“Even though fewer units are selling, the Near North market seems fairly healthy,” said Corley. “What we’re seeing are fewer sales of what might be called entry-level luxury properties, and more sales at the high end, which explains why the median sales price there gained 18.6 percent for the quarter to $1,845,000.”

The Near North Side represented 55 percent of all city luxury attached sales during the first quarter.