» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM
97
ILLINOIS
Four Chicago Neighborhoods Heat Up
While cities such as Cleveland; Washington, D.C.,; and Chicago
might be lacking in terms of being hot markets, four surrounding
suburbs are showing all the signs of heating up, according to a recent
report. Two of the areas, Winthrop Harbor and Beach Park, reside on
Chicago's North Side, and the other two, Homewood and Flossmoor,
reside on Chicago's South Side.
In all four of these areas, home prices are increasing, the median
home sale price is up, and the time the average house spends on
the market is down. According to data put out by the Chicago
Association for Realtors, the median home price in Winthrop Harbor
rose to $158,250—a 17 percent increase from the start of the year.
Similarly, median home prices in Beach Park have risen 14.5 percent to
$170,000. For reference, the average increase in nearby Lake County
was 9.1 percent.
e number of homes sold is also on the rise, with Winthrop
Harbor up 20 percent and Beach Park up 32 percent; the average
increase for Lake County is just 4.2 percent. Further, homes are being
sold at a faster pace when compared to a year prior. In Winthrop
Harbor, the average market time was down from 156 days in 2016
to only 70 days now, while Beach Park's days-on-market average
dropped to 120 days, down from 166. Realtors in the North Chicago
area attribute this boom to more affordable homes near the water,
saying these often stay cheap because they are far enough away from
the city.
It's a similar case in the south. Prices in Flossmoor are up to a
median price of $205,000, an increase of 18.3 percent, as is the volume
of sales, which increased 25 percent. Houses were on the market an
average of 133 days. A year prior, that figure sat at 162 days.
In Homewood, the median price of a home is up 24 percent to
$148,000. e number of sales increased 13 percent, compared to 3.2
percent in nearby Cook County. Homes in the area are on the market
an average of 103 days, a small drop from 107 days last year.
97
