Real Estate

Home sales were down more than 28% year over year in the Chicago metro area, per RE/MAX's recent report on February data.

What's happening: In 2022, potential buyers were desperate for more inventory. Now, homes are hitting the market, but people can't afford them, Axios' Brianna Crane writes.

The Zillow listing's rounded architecture might be something you'd find in Palm Springs or Santa Fe, but far from the norm in Rolling Meadows.

By the numbers: For just under $600,000, you can own your own little version of Marina City.

It's not your imagination. Apartments are getting smaller.

Why it matters: New apartment layouts are shrinking nationally, a reversal in the rental market that saw units get bigger during the early part of the work-from-home era, reports Axios's Sami Sparber and Kavya Beheraj.

More homebuilders are offering mortgage buydowns to bring potential buyers to the closing table, Axios' James Briggs reports.

What it is: A buydown is when a seller, a homebuilder or even a lender pays cash to lower the buyer's mortgage rate, typically by 1 to 3 percentage points, Axios' Emily Peck explains.

Some Chicago homeowners could see their future property tax bills shrink under a proposal to reassess hundreds of downtown commercial properties.

Why it matters: Many residents were shocked and outraged by the jump in their delayed 2021 bills, which Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and the county's Board of Review pointed fingers over last fall.

Chicago's downtown ranks among the nation's best for residential living.

• The rating comes from a recent analysis by self-storage company StorageCafe.com, which looked at living options, safety and lifestyle amenities balanced by cost.

People aren't moving to big city centers to big city centers like Chicago as they used to, even as employers ramp up calls to return to the office, reports Axios' Sami Sparber.

Why it matters: Affordability is still drawing folks to cheaper and less populous areas, particularly those in the booming Sun Belt.

Rent is still getting pricier in Chicago, but renters are faring better here than in much of the U.S.

Driving the news: In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average asking rent in Chicago was $1,830, up 8.2% from a year earlier, per economic research firm Moody's Analytics.