North Center Single Family Home Sales Slump: Report

CHICAGO — Residential property sales in the North Center neighborhood were inconsistent in February, according to a report. Sales of attached homes boomed, while the single-family home market slumped, according to an analysis by The Wilcox Company.

Compared to the same month last year, attached homes saw sales rise 56.3 percent to 25 units, while sales of single-family homes fell 57.1 percent to just six homes, according to the report. Sales of two-to-four-unit properties were up 50 percent, but that represented an increase of just one property, with three selling this year versus only two in February 2018.

Unlike the broader Chicago housing market, North Center saw strong price appreciation in February, according to the report. The median sales price of single-family homes rose 14.1 percent to $1.1 million, while for attached units, the median price gained 10.4 percent to $425,000. Only multi-unit buildings bucked that trend, with the median declining 19.6 percent to $615,000.

The North Center area extends from Diversey Parkway north to Montrose Avenue and from Ravenswood Avenue west to the Chicago River, and it includes the Roscoe Village and Northcenter/St. Ben’s neighborhoods.

“We’re seeing a strong demand for condos right now in North Center because they sell at price levels that are realistic for first-time buyers eager to get into this highly desirable community,” said Mary Jo Nathan, a broker associate with The Wilcox Company. Nathan conducted the analysis of North Center sales using data from MRED, a regional multiple listing service. She has specialized in residential properties on Chicago’s North Side for nearly two decades.

“On the other hand, the slow pace of February sales in the single-family segment is a bit surprising though consistent with the slowing sales pace that emerged during the prior three months. With most single-family homes in North Center selling for close to or over $1 million, buyers tend to be cautious,” she said. “I think the market will benefit once the mayoral election is complete. That should give buyers a better sense of where things are headed.”

The average time a home sold in February spent on the market before finding a buyer increased by 31 days for attached homes but was still a fairly brisk 88 days, according to the report. On the other hand, single-family homes averaged 175 days, or nearly six months, to sell, but that was still an improvement over the 195-day average a year earlier.

Single-family homes sold in February ranged from $845,000 for a vintage frame house in the 3800 block of Seeley Avenue to $1,700,000 for a newly built home near Oakley Avenue and Byron Street, according to the report.

The range for attached sales ran from $249,000 for a two-bedroom unit on Roscoe Street to $675,000 for a four-bedroom, three-bath duplex unit on Belmont Avenue near Oakley.

In Chicago as a whole, February home sales fell 5.2 percent, with single-family sales off by 7 percent and attached sales dipping by 3.9 percent, according to the report.