Is Owning a Chicago Home Still a Good Investment?

By Dream Town · October 27, 2009 · Buying

An Associated Press article written on October 9th points out that for all the doom and gloom about the housing market, it still generally pays to own a home. Even though prices are well below what they were during the peak years, homes are still worth significantly more than they were 10 years ago. Find out what your home is worth here.

According to the Chicago Association of Realtor’s “Fast Stats,” which compares Chicago’s 77 official communities cumulatively, today’s average condo sells for approximately $332,000, compared to $95,000 in 1999. If a typical home buyer were to have put 10% down ($9,500) in 1999, this sum would have returned about $237,000 or so today – more than 24 times the initial investment. In comparison, the Dow was at 10649 in October 1999 and dropped to 9864 in October of this year… So much for a 10-year gain.

The AP story also draws attention to the fact that homes are purchased because we all need somewhere to live. For the majority of homeowners who have been able to weather the storm, owning real estate has proven to be a pretty sound investment if you can stick with it. And with prices already having fallen so far, buying now could make it an even better one.