Chicago Metro Area Housing Market: November 2024 Analysis
The Chicago metro area housing market in November 2024 presents a complex landscape with varying trends across different metrics. The Median Sales Price has increased by 2.4% year-over-year, reaching $348,150, indicating a modest appreciation in home values. Conversely, the Median List Price has decreased by 1.5% to $325,000, suggesting a potential softening in seller expectations or a strategic pricing adjustment to attract buyers.
Price Per Square Foot metrics reveal a more robust growth, with the median Price Per Square Foot rising by 5.9% to $212.71, and the Median List Price per square foot increasing by 6.1% to $209.53. These figures suggest that while overall list prices have decreased, the value attributed to each square foot of property has appreciated, possibly reflecting demand for more compact, higher-value spaces.
Sales activity has shown positive momentum, with Homes Sold increasing by 5.9% year-over-year to 5,647 units. Pending Sales have also risen by 7.0%, reaching 6,060 units, indicating a strong pipeline of transactions likely to close in the coming months. However, New Listings have declined by 9.2% to 4,968, and inventory has decreased by 7.7% to 15,685, suggesting a tightening market with fewer options for prospective buyers.
The Months of Supply, a critical indicator of market balance, has dropped significantly by 40.0% to 2.80 months, highlighting a shift towards a seller's market where demand outpaces supply. This is further evidenced by the Median Days on Market, which has increased slightly by 3.0% to 55 days, indicating that while homes are selling, they may be taking slightly longer to do so compared to last year.
The average sale to list ratio remains stable at 99.1%, with a marginal year-over-year increase of 0.1%, suggesting that homes are generally selling close to their asking prices. However, the percentage of Homes Sold above list price has decreased by 0.9% to 34.2%, indicating a slight reduction in competitive bidding scenarios.
Price Drops have increased by 1.6% to 19.2%, reflecting some sellers' willingness to adjust prices to meet market demand. Additionally, the percentage of homes going off market in two weeks has decreased by 3.6% to 35.0%, suggesting a slight slowdown in the speed of transactions.
Overall, the Chicago metro area housing market in November 2024 is characterized by rising sales prices and per square foot values, coupled with a decrease in inventory and New Listings. While sales activity remains strong, the market dynamics suggest a competitive environment with limited supply, potentially driving further price appreciation in the coming months.
