North Shore And Barrington Area Housing Market Stable In Face Of National Decline Of Homeownership

New listings, closed sales, and home sale prices all up from a year ago; moderating slightly as peak home buying season begins to wind down

Northbrook, IL – August 25, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The North Shore and Barrington housing markets remains stable with the number of new listings, closed sales and median sale prices all up compared to July 2014, according to North Shore – Barrington Association of Realtors (NSBAR).

New listings in the North Shore-Barrington region increased 3.5 percent to 1,404, up from 1,357 a year ago. Also up was the number of closed sales, increasing 2.4 percent to 868 compared to 848 in July 2014. Most notable is the 13.8 percent increase in the number of homes under contract (contingent and pending), which rose to 758 in July 2015, up from 666 in July 2014.
The number of new listings, closed sales and homes under contract declined slightly from June 2015, likely signaling the beginning of the wind-down to the traditional peak home buying season in Northern Illinois.

“The year-over-year increases in July home sales and contract figures for our market is very reassuring in the context of the recently reported historic low national homeownership rate,” said NSBAR Board President Wayne Paprocki, a broker with Realty Advisors North. The US Census reported last month the national homeownership rate was at 63.4 percent for the second quarter of 2015—the lowest rate since 1967.

“July’s housing market numbers also solidifies that the Great Recession is behind us and the market is moving forward at a stable, responsible rate,” said Paprocki. “The ongoing creation of jobs being added and the prospect of higher mortgage rates down the road is encouraging more households to buy now.”

Financial experts are watching for an anticipated interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve, which could bring higher rates for home loans. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has predicted a fine-tuning of monetary policy by the end of the year. A rise in interest rates is a signal that the housing market is ready for such a move.

Prices in the North Shore-Barrington market continued to gain traction. The median sales price increased 6.8 percent to $440,000 compared to July 2014, although declined 2.7 percent compared to last month. The average number of days a home sat on the market dropped to 81 in July, compared to 93 days in June. The supply of housing inventory remains balanced at 6.5 months.

Across the North Shore-Barrington region, July 2015 housing market highlights include:

– Year-to-date, 2,943 detached single-family homes sold in the North Shore-Barrington market.

In the majority of communities, sales for 2015 increased along with the median sale prices. Communities reporting an increase (or no change) in sales year-to-date compared to July 2014 include Barrington, Deerfield, Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie, and Winnetka.

– Barrington area – 346 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 11.3 percent compared to 311 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $497,000, a decrease of 1.6 percent compared to $505,000 a year ago.

– Deerfield – 169 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 22.5 percent compared to 138 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $540,000, up 12.5 percent compared to $480,000 a year ago.

– Evanston – 294 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 24.6 percent compared to 236 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $502,000, up 0.9 percent compared to $497,500 a year ago.

– Golf-Glenview – 296 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, down 1.0 percent compared to 299 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $580,000, up 11.3 percent compared to $521,000 a year ago.

– Lake Forest – 153 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, down 1.3 percent compared to 155 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $775,000, showing no change compared a year ago.

– Northbrook – 247 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 6.9 percent compared to 231 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $550,000, up 7.8 percent compared to $510,000 a year ago.

– Skokie – 277 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 2.2 percent compared to 271 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $280,000, up 1.8 percent compared to $275,000 a year ago.

– Winnetka – 138 detached single-family homes sold year-to-date, up 15 percent compared to 120 detached single-family homes sold by July 2014. The median sale price in July 2015 was $1,259,250, up 0.3 percent compared to $1,255,000 a year ago.

Sales and price information is generated by NSBAR with Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED).

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The North Shore-Barrington Association of REALTORS® (NSBAR) represents more than 3,500 practitioners in residential and commercial real estate. Since 1919, it has been the area’s leading advocate for private property rights and a healthy real estate environment. Visit NSBAR online at www.NSBAR.org.

Contact: NSBAR
info (at) nsbar (dot) org
(847) 480-7177