Modern Home Statistics for August, 2020
Introduction
Hello, and thanks for reading. The strong seller’s market continued into August, and it finally seems that Illinois has caught up with the rest of the country in terms of valuing modern homes higher than traditional homes, which, if you’re reading this, is probably important to you. If you’re thinking of buying or selling a modern home soon, PLEASE contact me so I can talk through how the processes are different during the coronavirus pandemic and in the current market situation.
As a reminder, the statistics that follow cover all the modern homes that I’ve been tracking, and are not necessarily listed or sold by me. Data is from our MLS (Multiple Listing Service) system, which is called MRED, as well as from various county information sources.
August 2020 New Listings
As of this writing, there are currently 111 modern homes listed in the Chicagoland area in the areas I track, so the total number of modern home listings is down a bit still, although again, just a little compared with last month. August saw a slight decrease in the number of modern homes that came to market compared with June, with 33 new listings in those areas, spread out over 22 different towns.
As always, I like to mention that some of the “new listings” in any given month may have actually been on the market before. There’s not a good way to cross-reference that in our MLS, unfortunately.
Price Range
Prices range from $135,000 for a 2,086 square foot ranch in Kankakee, to $5,999,999 for a 10,979 square foot modern ranch in Bannockburn built in 2010 and designed by Dirk Denison. Incidentally, this spacious home hit the market at $7,500,000 and then a few weeks later the price dropped $1.5MM to its current price point. It’ll be curious to see where (or if) this house finally sells, as very large and very expensive homes tend to take a while in the Chicago area. The $44k+ tax bill doesn’t help, I’m sure.
Size range
Sizes of homes range from 1,287 square feet in Highland Park listed at $450,000, to a the 10,979 square foot home in Bannockburn mentioned above.
Distressed Properties
As far as I know, none of the 33 properties that came to market in August is a distressed property (foreclosure or short sale).
August 2020 Closed Properties
In July, only 16 modern homes closed in the areas I track, spread across 13 towns, down from 35 in July. Remember that closings are typically at least a month behind new listings, so this tracks with increased buyer activity starting in mid-May.
Price Range
Prices ranged from $151,000 for a 1,513 square foot foreclosure in Wheaton to $1,250,000 for a 1990 modern home of 6,668 square feet in Highland Park.
Size Range
Sizes of homes ranged from the 1,513 square foot home in Wheaton mentioned above to a 6,896 square foot house in Palos Park that sold for $1,051,000.
Market Time
Market time for the homes sold in June ranged from 2 days, for a 3,400 square foot home in Palos Park that sold for $514,350, to 355 days for the Chicago home mentioned above. That home, 2517 N. Greenview Ave., will show a market time of 8 days in the MLS, because that’s how long it was on in the last version of the listing before it went under contract.
Regarding market time, it’s important to note that listings often get “canceled” and relisted, meaning the listing is canceled on our MLS even if the listing agreement between the seller and their agent is still in effect. The home is then re-listed on the MLS, often at a new price, but sometimes at the same price, just so that the home shows up as a “NEW” listing. This can cause serious inaccuracies in both sale price to listing price ratios, as well as market time, because the original listing, price and market time won’t be factored in if they were under a different listing number. This is why I don’t typically discuss the ultimate sale price as a percentage of the list price, because it really is meaningless.
Distressed Properties
Just the one house that closed in Wheaton in August was a distressed property.
For More Detailed Information
If you’d like more specific information about the market where you live, I’d be happy to set up a meeting with you to come visit your home, even if you’re not thinking of selling soon. I’ll have you give me a tour of your house, we’ll talk about its features and quirks and then I can prepare a market report that will show you data specific to your property. The market report will give you a good idea of what you could realistically expect to sell your home for at that time. When you are ready to sell, I’ll create another, updated market report then that reflects current data at the time it’s prepared. There’s no cost or obligation for any of this, although I certainly would love to work with you when you’re ready to sell. Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis as my schedule permits.
Disclaimer
I always make an effort to provide information in these updates that’s as accurate as possible, however, I don’t track every town in the Chicago suburbs. If you’re curious about the market for modern homes specifically in your area, please let me know and if I’m not already tracking that area, I’ll start! Note that data provided is from various sources and I cannot control the accuracy or completeness of that data. Homes discussed in these updates are listed and sold by various brokerages and real estate agents and do not necessarily represent my personal listings or sales as a Realtor.
