March/April 2006

Has the market slowed down?

BY PAULA ARNETT

There is a feeling that the real estate market slowed down in the last quarter of 2005. Yet it is not evident from the accompanying chart, which shows that 38 Sheffield neighborhood* properties went under contract between October 1 and December 31, 2005, whereas 41 properties went under contract in the same period of 2004—three properties fewer, or about an 8% decrease. When you combine these figures with those of the following month and a half, you can see the decrease of 28% in Sheffield neighborhood properties under contract from January 1 to February 15, 2006 of 28 compared to 39 in the same period of 2005. But this year has only begun!

My 8th Annual 2004-2005 Sheffield Neighborhood Real Estate Market Report (last year, 2003-2004, was actually the 7th, not the 6th) is about to be published. It contains charts, dollar volumes, and statistics of real estate sales in the neighborhood, as well as the Street-by-Street analysis so you can see what sold on your block, when, and at what price. Many more details are contained in my new report. It also includes the new Vacant Land category.

Latest FYI’s

A property in the 800 block of Webster that sold for $860,000 in June 2005 has been town down. A property in the 1400 block of Fullerton with no record of a recent sale has new construction of three condos and retail space with a list price of $1,650,000 for the entire parcel of condos priced at $405,000, $405,000 $425,000 and retail space priced at $450,000.

*Neighborhood boundaries are Armitage on the south, Fullerton on the North, Halsted on the east and the Chicago River on the west.

Data compiled from the Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois.