In a long-awaited shift, Millennials are finally starting to buy housing.
While a shakey economy caused many of them to eschew homeownership along with other large life decisions like marriage and children, with the generation now in its 30s, they've begun to purchase their first homes and Chicago is a great place for them to be.
According to Realtor.com, the Windy City is amonght strongest cities for milliennial home purchasors; 43 percent of all mortgages in Cook County and 41 percent of those in the city went to milliennials, compared with 38 percent for the nation as a whole.
Read more at the Chicago Tribune here.
First-time homebuyers made up 32 percent of sales in February 2017, a big proportion of the market but a statistic that remains largely uncharged from the previous month and the previous year.
While low inventory and a weak job market that have presented challenges for Millennials, they continue to be an important factor in the housing market and are likely to play a larger role in the years ahead.
The National Association of Realtors expects first-time buyers to surge in the next five to seven years, potentially making up 47.6 percent of all buyers by 2024 and 50.9 percent by 2060.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.
Another tower is poised to join the booming South Loop; a new 47-story high rise has officially received its permits to begin foundation work from the city of Chicago.
The tower, designed by Chicago-based SCB will be built at 1326 S. Michigan. Officially known as "SoMi" for South Michigan, it will bring 500 new rental units, 190 parking spots and new retail space along Michigan Avenue itself. It's a joint project from Chicago-based Murphy Development Group and California’s CIM Group.
Read more at Curbed Chicago here.
The hot Fulton Market area could soon see another 263 apartments being building.
Naperville-based Marquette Cos. has proposed the large building for the southwest corner of Lake and Ada streets. Designed by architecture firm Brininstool & Lynch, the building would rise 10 stories and fill a site being sold by Sterling Bay.
Read more at Crain's Chicago here.
Pending home sales jumped in February, according to the National Association of Realtors, an unexpected development that puts total contracted sales to their second highest level since 2006.
Nationwide, the data indicated a 5.5 percent jump in contracts, the second highlest level since 2006 and just under April of 2016.
“Buyers came back in force last month as a modest, seasonal uptick in listings were enough to fuel an increase in contract signings throughout the country,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a press release. “The stock market’s continued rise and steady hiring in most markets is spurring significant interest in buying, as well as the expectation from some households that delaying their home search man mean paying higher interest rates this year.”
The Midwest saw the most dramatic increase, with contract signings up 11.4 percent. NAR warns, however, that the trend is unlikely to continue, as for sale inventory continues to decline.
Read more at Chicago Agent Magazine here.