Real Estate Market Update: Chicago's North Shore

As a realtor, I am frequently asked, "So, how is the market doing?"

Lately the big concern is pricing. Everyone wants to know when residential real estate prices are going to hit bottom and start back on a positive track. 

In order to address this issue, I did some analysis on:

• The number of distressed properties that sold in the past 12 months (foreclosures and short sales)
• The number of properties currently in pre-foreclosure situation now versus 6 months ago. (These are properties where the current home owner is at least 3 months behind on their mortgage payments.)
• The number of bank-owned properties either on the market, or going on the market soon, versus 6 months ago.

Below is my personal ranking of the North Shore communities, based on my analysis. The communities at the top will see price recovery before the ones lower on the list…. Skokie and Evanston are not looking good with a high and increasing levels of distressed properties.

1. Kenilworth
2. Winnetka
3. Glencoe
4. Lake Forest
5. (4-way tie) Glenview, Northbrook, Northfield, and Riverwoods
6. (3-way tie) Highland Park, Deerfield, and Wilmette
7. Evanston
8. Skokie

I am hoping that we will start to see prices begin to stabilize in the communities at the top of the list by the end of the year -- ultimately that will depend on unemployement numbers, which have not shown significant improvement yet.

You can see the details of my analysis for each community by clicking here.  You will find a series of short articles that I wrote, each one covering two to three of the North Shore communities (in alphabetical order).

And, if you are ever interested in seeing information on recent sales in any suburb on the North Shore, you can find it by clicking here.  Then just click on the community of interest.

To find any property for sale in the Chicago area, click here.