People often ask me how things are in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market and my reply is generally “things are great”.  So what does great look on paper?  My partner, Gary Lucido, writes a blog about Chicago real estate.  He’s the man if you want to know anything about anything, especially graphs and numbers.  He recently posted on his Chicago Now Real Estate Blog that February home sales in Chicago once again turned in a strong performance relative to last year.  He reported that for the 20th month in a row closings beat the previous year’s numbers.

While the Elmhurst market doesn’t boast such exciting increase, it also didn’t see the same dramatic downturn over the course of the last few years that Chicago saw. Below an historic sales graph back to 2007 is shown with a 12 month moving average.  Notice that we are reaching new highs in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market. Last summers spike in sales started in June 2012 with units sold remaining strong even through the normally dismal January and February.  As I mentioned in January when I reported 2012 Elmhurst home sales, it’s a pretty active market out there.

Increasing contract activity in the Elmhurst Real Estate Market and the resultant pending home sales continue to signal several more months of record setting closings.  As you can see in the graph below February contract activity is level with last year but at nearly double where it was two years ago.  One caveat to the chart is that it does not reflect the “decay factor” or the contracts that don’t close. A certain percentage of contracts never make it to closing.  In Chicago, the decay factor is about 20%.

Distressed sales in Elmhurst, Illinois came in at only 20% and February is supposedly the peak time of the year for foreclosure sales.  The Elmhurst Real Estate Market of course fares much better than Chicago as it relates to percentage of distressed property sales where it’s currently at 45%.

The graph below shows Elmhurst home inventory over the last 5 years courtesy of MRED. From a peak of around 16 months of supply it has now fallen to under a 5 months supply which is less than one third of its peak.  Folks, we are in a seller’s market; properties that are well priced going under contract in a day with multiple offers.

2012 was a good year for real estate in Elmhurst. Single family home sales volume was up by from $154mm to just over $158mm in 2012. While the average sales price decreased marginally from $404k to $402k the number of units sold increased over 15% from 382 units in 2011 to 446 in 2012.

In both 2011 and 2012 there were 68 homes sold under distressed conditions (short sale, foreclosure or court ordered) but because of the increase in units sold in 2012 the percentage of distressed sales decreased from 18% in 2011 to 15% in 2012.

Single Family Home Inventory in 2012 was at the lowest levels in the last several years with just around a 4 months supply of single family homes in Elmhurst on the market at the close of the year.

The condo and townhome market also showed improvement with volume going from just over $11mm to $13.5mm with the average price increasing from $225k to $228k. There were 50 units sold in 2011 and 58 in 2012. During both years, distressed sales comprised about 14% of the total sales.

2013 promises to be a busy market for both buyers and sellers. Buyers of well priced/condition properties should expect competition and be ready to pay near or at list price. This doesn’t mean that deals don’t exist however, but buyers will need to be well informed and decisive. There are currently 58 condos and townhomes on the market and 160 single family homes for sale in Elmhurst.

Because I live and work in Addison, Illinois and am active in the Addison Chamber of Commerce, I frequently look at data relating to the Addison Housing Market.  Today, I reviewed all single family home sales in Addison over the last four months (October 2011 through February 1, 2012.  55 single family homes sold ranging in price from $49,000 to $416,000 with 78% of the home selling for under $200k.   The three bedroom ranch home located at 104 Iowa was pretty decent on the first floor, but the basement was definitely built for Mayans – the ceilings are lower than 5 feet high, and the basement was full of mold and it sold for $50k.  On the other end of the spectrum, the buyers who paid above $400k (two of them ) got beautiful new construction homes at bargain prices!

On average, the homes were for sale in the Addison, IL real estate market for 180 days – the majority of the homes were 3 bedrooms with 6 or 7 rooms with a few having more or less rooms.  Still staggering is the number of distressed sales, which is 48%.  While its down from the 2011 rate of 51%, it still is a huge factor in the home values in Addison, Illinois.  For comparsion sake, the rate of distressed sales in Elmhurst for 2011 was 15% and in Lombard, distressed sales account for 32% of the single family homes sales.

Midwest Club, Oakbrook

This month another luxury home sold in the Midwest Club in Oak Brook. 302 Midwest Club sold for $905,000 on January 13th. Listed at $800k, 302 Midwest Club Parkway is a bank owned home built in 1986 with 5200 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms and six bathrooms. The home was once listed with a sales price of $2,999,850 and in 2007 had a mortgage against the property of over $2mm dollars.

The listing agent described the home as:

Wow! 2 story grand foyer, 1st flr master, hdwd flrs, & tray ceilings. 2nd flr w/ 4bdrms incl a master. Screened porch. 24 hr gate guard. Clubhouse w/ pool & tennis courts. OB/Hinsdale Schools! Come live the lavish life in MidWest Club! The most desirable gated community in Oakbrook!!! HOME IN MID REHAB COME TAKE A LOOK WITH ALL YOUR PERSONAL IDEAS!

Between the first time the home was listed and this last time someone started a major rehab project and then abandoned it. At the time of this sale the house had no flooring, the basement was gutted, and all the appliances, cabinets, and fixtures had been removed. The home was a shell of its former self.

Interestingly enough, the listing agent represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The Midwest Club home was listed on the MLS December 14th with a demand for all offers by December 18th. Four days. Is that the best way to find the buyer willing to pay the highest price? Probably not, who knows what drives decisions on bank owned properties. Definitely notable is that the listing agent was also the buyers’ agent. One might wonder about the possible conflict of interest with dual agency in a case like this since the listing agent knew all the bids.

While this home was bank owned, most of the sales in Midwest Club over the last year have sold at significant discounts whether they were bank owned or not. If you are already searching the Oak Brook Market for a home, then it would be a good idea to set your upper price threshold around 25% higher than what you are willing to spend, especially if you are looking in the Midwest Club subdivision.  My partner wrote about the huge discounts on Oak Brook homes.

There are two additional homes under contract in Midwest Club. My guess is both will close at significant discounts off the current list price. Will sellers get the picture and adjust their prices downward toward what the current market bears? The smart ones will.

Recent Home Sales in Midwest Club, Oakbrook

2011 Elmhurst Real Estate Market

Elmhurst Condominium Market

In 2011, Elmhurst Condo sales were down drastically over 2010 with nearly $25mm dollar in volume sold in 2010 reduced to just over $11mm in  condo sales in 2011. In 2011, just 50 condo and townhome units sold in Elmhurst, compared to 108 in 2010. In 2010, distressed condo sales (short sales or foreclosures) accounted for about 20% of the sales in Elmhurst which were at 15% in 2011.

On average a condo stays on the market for 240 days and as of January 1, 2012 there are about 18 months of inventory on the Elmhurst condo market.

Elmhurst Single Family Homes

The Elmhurst single family home market faired much better in  Elmhurst in 2011 than the condo market did. In 2011 there was $155mm of home sales up over the 2010 volume of $142 mm. A total of 383  homes were sold in 2011, with fewer than 15% of the sales being distressed, in 2010 there were 343 homes sold in Elmhurst with 20% of the sales being distressed, so an increase in  homes sold and a decrease in distressed sales, which is quite a bit different than Chicago as a whole.

2012

My expectation for the 2012  real estate market in Elmhurst is that there will be an increase in the sale of distressed properties along with an increase in total number of  homes sold. Already the phone is ringing with showing requests and buyers ready to get out and start looking. March is historically the month where the most  home inventory hits the market in Elmhurst.