The numbers are in for the top-selling neighborhoods in Sept. 2016 and, once again, some familiar names top the list.
The Near North Side was first with 261 total sales, a 5.24 percent increase year-over-year. It was followed by West Town with 151 sales, though that represented a 6.79 percent decline, and Lincoln Park was third with 131 sales, with a 12.31 percent year-over-year increase.
In the top ten, two neighborhoods experienced big year-over-year jumps. Streeterville, which placed sixth, saw a 59.18 percent increase in sales and Logan Square saw an even bigger 60 percent increase.
Adjusting for single family home sales, Norwood Park was first with 42 sales, representing a 4.5 percent year-over-year decline, Garfield Ridge was second with 39 sales, a 7.14 percent decline and Portage Park was third with 38 sales, a 2.7 percent increase.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
New construction in Chicagoland is so hot that it's leading the nation.
According to a report from Dodge Data & Analytics, the region saw more than $446 million in residential construction spending in September, a 13 percent increase from the previous year. The annual total is now at $5.948 billion, a 72 percent increase from last year and the largest year to date growth of any large metro area.
Read more and check out a comparison chart at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
In Chicago, buying a home beats renting by a wide margin, according to the latest data.
Real estate website Trulia compared the median home price in the area with the median rent and found that owning is 36.9 percent cheaper than renting. For that balance to tip, either the price of houses would have to rise 65 percent or mortgage rates would have to rise 181.4 percent.
For a city-by-city comparison, head over to Chicago Agent Magazine here.
Good news for homeowners in this month's S&P Case-Shiller Home Price report: Chicagoland home prices continued the summer's positive momentum, up .5 percent from July through August and up 4.1 percent since August 2015. The last time the annual increase was that high was in July 2014.
Additional good news is that Chicago's home prices have beaten other major cities for the past several months, indicating the local market is gaining strength.
Nationally, prices rose 5.3 percent year-over-year.
Read more at Crain's here.
On the national scene, the housing market offered few surprises:
- The National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, rose 5.3 percent year-over-year in August, up from a 5 percent gain in July.
- Meanwhile, the 10- and 20-City Composites, which focus on specific metro areas, rose 4.3 and 5.1 percent, respectively; like the National Index, both composites were stronger in August than in July.
- Portland (up 11.7 percent), Seattle (11.4 percent) and Denver (8.8 percent) posted the strongest yearly increases in the country.
- On a monthly basis, the National Index was up 0.5 percent, while both composites rose 0.4 percent.