Real Estate

The Chicago metro area's real estate market is starting to level off, writes Axios' Sami Sparber.

Why it matters: After two-plus years of plummeting inventory and sky-high home prices, buyers have waited a long time for a little relief.

Although local rents are finally falling year over year, apartments downtown and the near North Side remain expensive, according to Redfin network listings.

Zoom in: Current rental prices for a 2-bedroom apartment in the city range from $4,500 in River North to $950 on the Southeast Side.

Expressway traffic, lunchtime lines and downtown congestion might make you think that Loop office occupancy has returned to 2019 levels.

Reality check: It's probably not even close.

A total of 11,500 mixed-use apartments have been built in Chicago since 2012, Axios' Sami Sarber reports.

Why it matters: Rental communities that comprise residential, office and retail space gained a foothold in the last decade, especially as the pandemic heightened renters' preference for nearby amenities.

Remote workers drove up local home prices, a new Redfin study finds.

Why it matters: Free to work from home, white-collar workers relocated during the pandemic, using their higher salaries to buy cheaper homes, which has elevated housing prices.

With pending home sales down 15.8% year over year, Chicago's real estate market is showing early signs of slowing down. But median home prices are still up 4.8% from May 2021.

Why it matters: Despite predictions of a market crash, so far, local data doesn't support the idea.

Chicago ranks in the bottom five nationally when it comes to building new homes, per the latest analysis by real estate company Redfin.

What they found: Chicago had 2.3 single-family building permits per 10,000 people in the first quarter of this year.

Chicagoans have to earn 18.2% more than they did a year ago to afford our region's median-value home.

The big picture: The income needed to afford a home has soared nationally as limited inventory and strong demand have steadily driven sale prices higher.