Modern Home Statistics for October, 2020

Introduction

Hello, and thanks for reading. Sales continued to be strong in October, even as local COVID numbers started to rise again and almost as soon as kids started going back to school, the schools started talking about stopping the in-school sessions (many of which now have). 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.

October 2020 New Listings

As of this writing, there are currently 101 modern homes listed in the Chicagoland area in the areas I track, so the total number of modern home listings is almost identical to last month. October saw a slight decrease in the number of modern homes that came to market compared with August, with 34 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 $250,000 for a 1,750 square foot ranch in Glen Ellyn, to $2,900,000 for a 5,905 square foot 1986 modern 2-story home in Lake Forest. 

Size range

Sizes of homes range from 1,482 square feet in Winfield listed at $265,000, to the home in Lake Forest mentioned above, at 5,905 square feet.

Distressed Properties

As far as I know, none of the 34 properties that came to market in October is a distressed property (foreclosure or short sale).

October 2020 Closed Properties

In October, 27 modern homes closed in the areas I track, spread across 21 towns, so again, slightly down vs. September. Remember that closings are typically at least a month or two behind new listings.

Price Range

Prices ranged from $144,000 for a 1,352 square foot ranch in Aurora to $2,075,000 for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Glore house: a 4,300sf Usonian 2-story home in Lake Forest.

Size Range

Sizes of homes ranged from a 1,287 square foot home in Highland Park that sold for $458,000 to a 7,106 square foot modern home built in 1996 in Bannockburn that sold for $1,800,000.

Market Time

Market time for the homes sold in October ranged from 2 days, for a 3,600 square foot home in Downers Grove that sold for $327,500, to 382 days for a 2,217 square foot home in Evanston that sold for $542,000.

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

A 2,080 square foot modern ranch home in Naperville that sold for $325,000 was a foreclosure.

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.