Chicago Realtors Say Local Housing Market is Picking Up

By Dream Town · March 21, 2007 · Market News

While today is the first full day of spring according to the calendar: Chicago real estate agents have noticed a warm up in the housing market that started weeks ago.

With winter behind us, home buyers are finally coming out of hibernation. Chicago Area Realtors say weeks of sub-zero temperatures and the Bears games on Sundays only added to the sluggishness of a seasonally slow time of year. However, the interest in residential real estate has recently picked up and Chicago agents are suddenly busier than ever.

Many local realtors are seeing an undeniable rise in activity throughout Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs. Attendance at open houses is improving and now agents are showing a single property several times per week, as opposed to once a week last fall. In some areas, the number of days it takes to sell a home is going down and appears to be on track to decrease even more by next month.

There is still a large inventory of homes in Chicago, so buyers benefit from competitive pricing and negotiating power. Agents are seeing price reductions everywhere in the city. In return, there are also reports of less low-ball offers from buyers in the past few weeks.

Keeping pace with what we’ve experienced so far, the housing market is showing signs of a successful spring selling season in Chicago this year.