Are Million-Dollar Home Prices Slipping In Posh Neighborhoods?

Is there a dark cloud hanging over the luxury home and condominium sellers market in Chicago’s posh lakefront neighborhoods?

Suddenly, there are upscale single-family home and condo bargains available in the posh sector of properties that sold for more than $500,000 in Chicago’s most ritzy neighborhoods—the Gold Coast/Near North Side, Lincoln Park and Lakeview, an annual sales analysis revealed.

Yes, luxury homes and condos were in high demand in 2015—there were hundreds more units sold than 2014. But resale prices for properties in the $500,000-and-up bracket have slipped from 2014 levels in some upper-crust areas, the annual Study Study of Residential Real Estate revealed.

In the posh Gold Coast and Near North Side, 27 luxury single-family homes and 991 upscale condominiums, co-operative apartments and townhomes were sold in 2015.

However, the median luxury home price in 2015 slipped to $2.06 million, compared with a hefty $3.07 million on 30 sales in 2014. That’s a 33-percent decline in price.

In 2015, the median price for upscale condos, co-ops and townhomes on the Gold Coast/Near North—which includes the River North location of Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s famed Trump Tower—also declined to $725,795 in 2015. There were 400 condo sales in the area in 2014 for a median price of $899,000. That’s a 19 percent decline in median price.

What’s causing this decline in luxury home and condo prices? Wealth analysts say it partly could be a slumping global economy and the downturn in the U.S. stock market which began in mid-2015. Wall Street analysts officially rated it as a Bear Market at the beginning of 2016.

Forbes Magazine recently released its annual ranking of global billionaires, and the survey revealed that some of Chicago’s richest residents saw their personal wealth decline by hundreds of millions in the second half of 2015.

Published since 1984, the Study Study is compiled from Multiple Listing Service statistics on sales of $500,000-plus residential units in 10 target neighborhoods.

“Virtually across all housing sectors—single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums—in all of Chicago’s elite neighborhoods, the number of properties sold in 2015 increased 25 percent to 200 percent compared with 2014,” noted veteran broker Louise Study of Baird & Warner.

Chicago’s other top upscale neighborhoods posted mixed price and transaction results in 2015 in most housing sectors. Survey results of the 31st annual Study Study follow:

• Lincoln Park & Old Town. A total of 197 luxury single-family homes were sold at a median price of $1.6 million in 2015. Home prices ranged from $575,000 to a whopping $13,345,372. Some 545 upscale condo sales were posted at a median price of $667,000. Prices of condos surveyed ranged from $500,000 to $6 million.

However, median luxury home and condo prices in Lincoln Park slipped dramatically in 2015, compared with 2014. A year earlier, the median home price was $2,532,500 million, while median upscale condo prices were $725,000.

• Lakeview. A total of 159 luxury single-family homes were sold in Lakeview at a median price of $1.345 million in 2015. Home prices surveyed ranged from $500,000 to $4.15 million in 2015.

However, the median home price was $1.85 million in Lakeview in 2014. Some 447 upscale condos, co-ops or townhomes sold in Lakeview in 2015 at a median price of $605,000, down from $649,250 a year earlier.

The Study Study reported the following 2015 prices and transactions in luxury single-family home and upscale condo, co-op and townhome sales in other North Side and South Side neighborhoods:

• South Loop. Only two luxury homes were sold in 2015 with price tags of $1.2 million and $1.9 million. In 2014, nine luxury homes were sold in the South Loop and the median price was $980,000.

Some 203 upscale condo, co-op and townhome sales were posted in 2015 with a median price of $640,000.

Condo prices surveyed ranged from $500,000 to $1.745 million. A total of 197 condos were sold in the South Loop in 2014 with a median value of $812,500.

• West Loop. Eight luxury homes were sold in 2015 with a median price of $917,150. Seven homes were sold in 2014 with a median value of $1.2 million. In 2015, home prices ranged from $595,000 to $1.375 million.

The median sale price was $659,950 on 230 upscale condo, co-op or townhome transactions in 2015. A total of 174 condos were sold with a median value of $658,569 in 2014.

• Bucktown & Wicker Park. The median luxury home price was $849,000 on 394 transactions in 2015. Home prices ranged from $503,500 to $4,818,784. A total of 320 homes were sold with a median value of $806,250 in 2014.

Some 506 upscale condo, co-op and townhome sales were recorded in 2015 with a median price of $584,500. In 2014, 349 condos were sold with a median price of $567,500.

• Roscoe Village & North Center. The median luxury home sale price was $1.088 million on 206 sales transactions in 2015. Home prices ranged from $510,000 to $2,399,154. In 2014, there were 180 home sales with a median price of $965,000.

Eighty-two upscale condo, co-op and townhome sales were recorded in 2015 with a median price of $579,900. Condo prices surveyed ranged from $500,000 to $904,030. A total of 52 condo sales occurred in 2014 with a median value of $560,000.

• Andersonville. Forty-nine luxury home transactions were recorded in 2015 with a median price of $720,000 in the Andersonville and Lakewood Balmoral neighborhoods. Prices of surveyed homes ranged from $500,000 to $1.675 million. Forty-eight homes were sold for a median price of $662,500 in 2014.

Sixteen upscale condo, co-op or townhome sales were recorded at a median price of $550,000. Prices ranged from $515,000 to $900,000. Thirteen condos were sold in 2014 with a median price of $550,000.

• Ravenswood & Logan Square. Some 201 luxury home transactions were posted in 2015 with a median price of $630,000 in Ravenswood, Ravenswood Manor, Ravenswood Gardens and Logan Square. Prices of surveyed homes ranged from $500,000 to $1,740,017.

In 2014, there were 113 home sales at a median price of $727,500 in Ravenswood-Logan Square.

A total of 23 upscale condo, co-op and townhomes in these hot areas sold for a median price of $541,366.

Prices of condos surveyed ranged from $500,000 to $745,000. Thirty-three condos were sold in the area in 2014 with a median value of $534,000.

• Kenwood & Hyde Park. Forty-seven luxury home transactions were posted in 2015 in President Barak Obama’s neighborhood with a median price of $854,000. Home prices ranged from $530,000 to $2,357,500. In 2014, the median value was $1.179 million on 25 sales.

Ten upscale condo, co-op and townhomes were sold in 2015 for a median price of $623,000. Condo prices ranged from $542,500 to $925,000. In 2014, the median value was $579,000 on 19 sales.

“Whether a buyer’s housing tastes are along the lines of a Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle or Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie, the time could be in right 2016 for savvy consumers to avail themselves of current opportunities in Chicago,” Study advised.

For more housing news, visit www.dondebat.biz. Don DeBat is co-author of “Escaping Condo Jail,” the ultimate survival guide for condominium living. Visit www.escapingcondojail.com.