This is the first in a series of posts about the real estate market on Chicago’s North Shore. For this analysis I have been reviewing the year-end data for the following communities:
Deerfield, Evanston, Glencoe, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka.
Before I get into specifics for each of these communities, this post includes some statistics about Illinois and the greater Chicago area for comparison to the North Shore:
Illinois
- December 2011 represented the 6th month in a row with an increase in the number of homes sold in Illinois, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors.
- The total number of sales for the year was down versus 2010 by 0.1%, which basically means that the number of sales were about the same. Some people that follow the real estate market may point out that 2010 sales were slightly inflated by the incentive of the first-time-buyer tax credit that was in effect during the first quarter of the year. On the other hand, if you do the math, the current interest rates provide a much better long-term savings for buyers than those tax credits.
- The median price of a home in 2011 declined versus 2010 in Illinois by 9.2%
Chicago PMSA
(The Chicago PMSA, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, includes the counties of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will)
- The number of homes sold in 2011 increased versus 2010 by 1.3%. (Better than the state of Illinois).
- The median price of a home declined by 11.9%. (worse than the state).
The City of Chicago
- The number of homes sold in 2011 declined by 6.2%. (worse than the state and the PMSA)
- The median price declined by 13.8%. (worse than the state and the PMSA)
Now when we look at the North Shore and see that total home sales increased in 2011 by 1.3% over the prior year. This “bucks the trend” for the state, matches the Chicago PMSA, and is much better than the city! Sales of single family homes on the North Shore increased by 2.5% in 2011, while condo/townhome sales actually declined by 1.3%.
It is my personal observation that the condo/townhome market has suffered much more than other types of properties this past year with prices taking a much harder hit than single family homes. This is not only due to economic conditions – I believe that demographics play a factor as well. Baby boomers that are now empty nesters are not rushing out to buy condos as quickly as their parents did back in the 1980’s. That may explain why the numbers in the city are so much worse than the Chicago PMSA.
Tomorrow I will start posting information about specific communities on the North Shore.
Thank you for reading! If you want to know what is going on in your local market and why, please contact me directly.

To find any property for sale in the Chicago area, click here.
For up-to-the minute market information, including recent sales, on any North Shore community, click here.