Page 1 - Chicago homeowners question staying in city after unrest 8.11.20

August 11, 2020 12:53 PM

Homeowners questioning city life after this week's unrest

H. LEE MURPHY

"People are now shifting ideas about where they want to live and work. Some are deciding they no
longer have to be in a city center. The latest violence has prompted people to consider new options
for the first time.”

Jennifer Ames, a partner at North Side real estate brokerage Engel & Volkers, has had calls
recently from Chicago clients who have found homes in Montana and Boulder, Colo., to purchase.
“They want to sell their houses here,” Ames says. “People are now shifting ideas about where they

want to live and work. Some are deciding they no longer have to be in a city center. The latest
violence has prompted people to consider new options for the first time.”

In all of Chicago, residential property sales plunged 28 percent in June to 2,041 units, according to

the Chicago Association of Realtors, with homes on the market 22 percent longer before selling and
overall inventory down by 20 percent to 8,200 homes, suggesting that many sellers had suspended
their plans.

A closer snapshot of particular submarkets shows evidence of a downturn not seen since 2008-10.
In the Loop itself this year so far, transactions are down over 30 percent to a mere 347 units
compared with the same period last year. Lincoln Park sales were down 31 percent, while in the
River North neighborhood condominium sales priced above $1 million were down 37 percent. At

lower prices the downturn was more muted, with condo sales under $500,000 in the Near North
down 15 percent so far this year, for example.

Until now, price reductions have been modest, mostly falling 5 percent or less, observers say. But
some brokers see further declines coming. “People are waiting for lower prices,” says Pat Tobin,
president of Tobin Real Estate Advisors based near Millennium Park. “Could prices fall another 5 to
10 percent this year? It’s hard to say, but it certainly could happen.”

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