Summer home sales are sure to be lively, but the spring real estate market in the area has been hot, hot, hot! It was a “great” April, and May turned out to be even better, said John Lawrence, broker/owner at Weichert Realtors — Nickel Group, in Oak Park.
Lawrence surely ought to know. His firm was recently recognized by Weichert Real Estate as its top producing office nationwide for April in gross commission income. No surprise here, as Lawrence is always filled with valuable knowledge when it comes to local market action.
And although sales are brisk, if you want to sell your home quickly, it has to be priced right, Lawrence and other experts say.
“The pace of the market is moving extremely fast in the entry-level home section,” said Lawrence. “Forest Park single-family homes have been moving very briskly, causing shortages with inventory, but homes that are not priced correctly will sit on the market.”
River Forest is moving well under the $699,000 price point, and as you go up in price, the market time tends to stretch out, said Lawrence.
“However, there are more homes in between $1 million and $2 million under contract than any other price point, but they still have some lengthy market times,” said Lawrence.
Oak Park is also moving quite quickly — especially in entry-level homes, Lawrence said. “Market times are low for just about all segments under $800,000, but again the big caveat is that the home must be priced right,” he said.
“The buyers are too savvy to waste time on overpriced properties,” said Lawrence. “In the early spring — March and April — bidding wars were quite common. As we get into June, the buyer activity will still be strong, but it will start to decrease as the summer goes on.”
“The bottom line continues to be that well-priced homes will continue to draw attention from buyers, but homes that are not priced properly will stay on the market longer, leading to lower overall sales prices,” Lawrence added. “Despite the hot market, the sales process is not a cakewalk — we still see deals fall apart due to both buyers and/or sellers having unrealistic expectations and those situations where the buyers or sellers who don’t follow the guidance from a local expert.”
There are 2 percent fewer buyers on the market versus 2016 but there are 16 percent fewer homes for sale in the western suburbs, said Scott Berg, managing broker at Berg Properties in Oak Park.
Inventory has definitely decreased, and this is pushing prices up, said Berg. The market is far stronger in the price ranges below $300,000, and it gets pretty weak above $650,000, he said.
“That being said, inventory that is priced right is selling,” said Berg. “Last week one of my listings in River Forest at $1.15 million sold after being on the market for six days.”
In most areas, spring usually marks the beginning of the busiest real estate sales. People are out and about, shopping around in the warmer weather. There are more hours of daylight, the flowers are blossoming (adding to curb appeal), and everything looks fresh and green. And those with children want to get settled in before the new school year begins.
This year saw a “very active,” spring, said Andy Gagliardo, broker/owner at Gagliardo Realty Associates in River Forest.
“Low- to mid-range has been steady with activity and deals,” said Gagliardo. “The lower and most affordable end of the market has been crazy busy in all our towns. Inventory can’t keep up.”
Higher-end sales, $1 million to $1.5 million, were slow, but deals were made, said Gagliardo. “But in the last two to four weeks, a number of higher end homes have gone under contract, he said.
“I would like to attribute higher-end deals to the mid-range folks that have started to step up in price and house size,” said Gagliardo. “I think/hope we will continue to see a trickle-up effect with housing.”
The highest-end prices, houses selling for $1.5 million and more, are still sluggish, said Gagliardo.
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“The market is still slow for the very large houses,” he said. “You see this in all suburbs, not just around here. I have had that conversation with brokers from the western suburbs to the northern suburbs.”
Felicia Dechter is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.