Home buyer demand lives in Chicago's suburbs
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Home prices are soaring around the Chicago suburbs as the city's real estate market slows down.
Why it matters: Remote workers and millennials flocked to the suburbs in recent years to get more space for their money. Now, some suburban areas are just as pricey as the city, if not more.
- "The suburbs right now are absolutely out of control, in the sense that we are back to multiple offers and waiving contingencies," partner and broker Matt Silver with Corcoran Urban Real Estate tells Axios.
By the numbers: Home prices have dropped faster in the city than the metro as a whole. In April, the median price of a home in the city of Chicago was $340,000, down 8% compared to the previous year, per the latest Illinois Realtors data.
- The median price in the greater metro was $320,000, a 1.5% decrease from April 2022.
What they're saying: Without a widespread return-to-office, "vertical living in the city is still just quiet," Silver says.
- Chicago's downtown activity has returned to 57% of its pre-pandemic levels, cell phone data shows.
Zoom in: In Naperville, the typical home cost $514,000 in April, up 7% over last year, according to MLS data from Redfin.
- Meanwhile, in Oak Brook, the median sales price rose nearly 25% year-over-year, to $900,000.
The big picture: New census data shows suburbs of big cities, along with smaller metro areas, claimed most of the country’s growth last year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
What's next: Buyers are settling down wherever they can find a house within their budget — or sitting on the sidelines, Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari tells Axios.
- If home prices in urban areas continue to drop, we could see a return to those areas.
- "The cost will outweigh any amenity," Bokhari says.
What we're watching: The suburban restaurant and retail scene. All this growth has the potential to reshape communities.