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| Buildings surrounding Bennett Park in Streetrville. |
A year of pandemic conditions, bouts of protest and civil unrest cast a negative light on the downtown and Near North condo markets. With shuttered shops, restaurants, bars and cultural institutions Streeterville high-rise life (and taking elevators with strangers) became suddenly less desirable. Does one year of instability make for condo bargains? How do unit sales look today?
Streeterville condo unit sales, median price 2021
80 condos have sold from January 1st to March 12th this year. Unit sales are up almost 10%. The median price of a sold condo is $400,000. Median price however dipped about -7%. 73 condos sold over the same period of 2020 with a median price of about $430,000.
It's not clear if the median price decrease is due to 2020 conditions. Just looking at the past five years we see a median price dip in 2019 despite good over-all Chicago market conditions. In a "normal" year of 2019, 73 condos also sold over the same period with a median price lower at $347,000.
January 1st though March 12th closings:
2021: 80 condos sold with a median price of $400,000
2020: 73 condos sold with a median price of $430,000
2019: 73 condos sold with a median price of $347,000
2018: 70 condos sold with a median price of $395,000
2017: 96 condos sold with a median price of $364,000
So far demand for Streeterville condo units looks normal... even good. Unit sales are up. The dip in median price may signal there are some bargains out there. The lower median price can also be attributed to a reduced demand for higher-end bracket sales. Less new construction condos were delivered in the pandemic year as well. Some reports show the very high-end luxury sales have shifted more towards the non-downtown neighborhoods and suburbs offering more land and space.
Over-all Near North Community Area (including Streeterville, Gold Coast and Old Town) condo sales and inventory are up. Through February, new listings were up almost 20% over 2020. Closed sales are up almost 8%.
The Streeterville neighborhood is doing just a bit better at +10% in unit sales year to year. However, median price is down a bit. The inventory issue will be the key factor to watch when tracking prices. If investors continue to have trouble renting their high-rise units to the typical in-town workers and empty nesters they may choose to sell. It remains to be seen if we're already on a bounce back or if we'll decline in prices while pandemic conditions gets sorted out.
Stats gathered from MREDLLC.com and Chicago Association of Realtors by Eric Rojas, Broker, Kale Realty. Analysis is based on sales stats and anecdotal information.
