Last year saw slow-moving trends in home sales and price appreciation in Chicago, but 2018 has been off to a strong start so far throughout the state of Illinois. 

According to the December Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Chicago was reported in the last place among 20 metro areas for home price growth.

The report found that home prices in the nation rose 6.3 percent in 2017, but in Chicago prices only inched up by 2.6 percent. While typical of the season, December home prices were 0.6 percent less than they were in November.

However, condos in Chicago have inched up in prices a little faster than single-family homes. In December, condos had a reported 4.4 percent gain over the entire year. Home prices in Chicago are still below their pre-recession peak, with single-family homes 17.8 percent below and condos 9.7 percent short of their highest points.

Luckily, it’s not all gloom and doom for Chicago homebuyers. In fact, homebuyers have the upper-hand in Chicago, just by a sliver. The market is fairly balanced, meaning demand and inventory are pretty consistently on pace, which is good for both sides of the coin. Buyers do have that slight advantage over sellers, according to Altos Research. However, a recent report from Illinois Realtors found that inventory is tightening and demand is on the rise.

“Based on the present trends in the housing market, we anticipate a competitive spring for buyers,” Rebecca Thomson, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said in a press release.

In January 2018, the statewide median price was $185,000, which was an annual increase of 8.2 percent. Home sales, however, decreased 6.1 percent throughout Illinois in the first month of the year to 8,156 total sales.

Illinois Realtors found that homes sold at a slightly faster clip this year compared to last. The average home took about 65 days to sell, down from 69 days a year ago. That increase in pace may have been due to the decline in inventory. In January 2018, there were 12 percent fewer homes listed than the previous year. 

In the nine-county Chicago metro area specifically, home sales decreased 8 percent in January compared with the previous year. Prices increased 7.2 percent to a median price of $224,000.

“With decreasing market time, sellers will need to be mindful of pricing strategically,” Thomson said. “If their home is not moving quickly, a proactive price adjustment may help them protect their overall investment without risking the stigma of a longer-than-average market time. With how quickly inventory is moving, an overpriced listing could get left behind.”