September 2013: Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove, Kildeer
Key indicators in the Lake Zurich-area real estate market were soft during September as overall sales volume fell and new home listings also declined, signaling the start of the annual end-of-year slow down. However, there was significant activity in closed sales and under contract properties, with market time dropping once again. This shows that buyers have sensed the real estate market “bottom” has passed and are anxious to purchase before mortgage rates rise again.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
- Median sales price rose 1.8% year over year
- Market time declined to 104 days, down 16% since last September
- Overall volume of sold properties shot up by 58% to 65 year over year, though declining from the previous month
- New listings have been on a steady decline since May, though bumping up from 2012 levels
- Available homes for sale is at the lowest level in the last 6 years
- Inventory dropped again to 4.7 months, strongly favoring sellers in some categories
Here is the story behind the headlines:
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MEDIAN SALE PRICE: The median sales price for homes in the Lake Zurich area rose 1.8% year over year to $370,500. This shows the price rebound is still in its infancy, attempting to gain momentum. However, higher-priced properties – above $479,000 -- showed stronger price gains.
CLOSED SALES: Closed sales are up 58% to 65 from September 2012, though down from 86 the previous month. Most sales types, price ranges and property types followed this pattern. The strongest sales gains were found in properties selling above $479,900.
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MARKET TIME: Market time – the number of days from listing to contract date — has decreased yet again to 104 days from 124 days in September 2012. Attached dwellings are selling on average in 191 days and detached in 97 days. This is a 14.8% drop from a year ago and a decline of 75% from 386 days, recorded during the stagnant market of 2009.
UNDER CONTRACT: The market slowed in September as 53 properties went under contract, down from 76 the previous month and 94 at the peak last May. September results, however, did represent a year-over-year gain of 71%.
HOMES FOR SALE: There were 287 properties on the market in the Lake Zurich area as of September 30th, an overall decline of 27.2% since last September. The most prevalent type of real estate available is the traditional sale of a 4-bedroom single family detached home, listed above $479,900.
There has been a marked decrease in property listings since May 2013, though activity levels still represent a year-over-year increase.NEW HOME LISTINGS: September saw a 10% increase in new home listings since the previous year, though listings have been on a steady decline since last May. The strongest area was in detached homes in the range of $309,900 to $699,899. There were 53 homes listed in this range with a median list price of $494,000. Of these, 9 already have received a contract offer, after 32 days average market time.
INVENTORY: Inventory for the total Lake Zurich-area real estate market stands at 4.7 month’s supply, down 48% from 9.1 months one year ago and down 69% from September 2012 when inventory stood at 15.2 month’s supply. Slimmest areas of inventory include the following categories:
- Detached housing <$309,900 2.1 months
- Detached housing $309-$479,000 3.3 months
- Foreclosures 1.9 months
- Short sales 3.0 months
As we've reported previously here is the standard definition of a buyer’s vs. a seller’s market: buyers are favored at 7+ months and homes continue to see downward pressure on pricing. At 5-6 months the market is “balanced” where both buyers and sellers have equal strength. Inventory at 4 months or less favors the home seller, as buyers scramble to purchase the few properties that are on the market. In this scenario home prices usually appreciate.
Katie Howard is Marketing Director with Prudential Visions Realty in Barrington. Whether you are buying, selling, investing, renting or relocating, Prudential Visions will help you make the move. Go to http://besthomebrokers.com for complete details.
