According to the latest numbers, market activity in the city declined in November while median prices rose.
As winter sets in, seasonal declines in market activity continue but last month saw a 1.4 percent decline year-over-year while median prices rose 2.2 percent to $235,000.
The suburbs were a surprise and saw a 9.6 percent increase in sales activity with a median price increase of 5.6 percent.
For more, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine here.
While the real estate market has achieved the highs of 2006, many Americans are feeling more comfortable as 2015 comes to a close with home prices recovering and improving their equity positions.
By the end of the third quarter of 2015, American's home equity grew by a collective $1.3 trillion to a total of $12.4 trillion. That's high, but not as high as the dizzying $13.3 trillion it hit in 2006.
While all real estate is definitely local and some markets are performing better than others, Americans are definitely feeling better about the value of their biggest asset these days.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune here.
The face of Chicago has been changing a great deal as the market has steadily rebounded in recent years. Perhaps that fact has never been more evident than it was at the last Chicago Plan Commission meeting, when four large redevelopment projects were approved.
On the table at the meeting were the redevelopment of the dormant "Mega Mall" property near the center of Logan Square, the Inn at Lincoln Park on Diversey, a new office project at Fulton Market and a new 23-story, 55-unit condo tower for River North.
Read more at Curbed Chicago here.
With another year closing out, buyers and sellers should be thinking about what's ahead for 2016 with mortgage rates, especially given the Fed's recent move to increase a key interest rate.
The answer is, rates shouldn't budge very much. This year the average fixed-rate 30-year mortgage was 4.4 percent, marking it the sixth year running where those rates have been below 5 percent, historically low.
But since the financial crisis and tight mortgage standards that came with it, the market has seen a gradual loosening for mortgages, though still nothing close to the easy standards of the housing bubble. That should continue to loosen a bit, though, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allow down payments as low as 5 percent, or even 3 percent under certain circumstances.
The Chicago Tribune has more here.