Realtors working Chicago's popular Lincoln Park area suggest that more homes are under contract thanks to falling interest rates, but overpriced listings aren't being scooped up by buyers.
"Lincoln Park is one of Chicago's most popular and vibrant north side neighborhoods," says Realtor Karen Breen Elia. "Bordered on the east by 1 1/2 miles of lakefront and park, the greater Lincoln Park neighborhood affords its residents with a multitude of cultural, educational, medical and recreational facilities. The area is served by multiple bus lines and the brown and red elevated train lines. There are great restaurants, shops and clubs within walking distance of the charming, relatively low density streets. Single family homes, condominiums and co-ops and 2-4 unit multi-family buildings can be found as both newer construction and lovely vintage buildings."
She says, "The Lincoln Park real estate market fluctuated in June. Condo prices increased by two percent, and the number of units sold decreased by 16 percent. Interest rates have decreased over the last 2-3 weeks.
"The past couple of weeks seems to have brought an uptick in the number of contracts while earlier in the month things were moving pretty slowly," says Realtor Eric Marcus. "In the neighborhoods I track from July 13-26, the number of new listings was 191 and the number of units that went under contract was 410. The total number of single family homes and condos on the market in the north side neighborhoods between Lincoln Park and Lincoln Square in total 1,986 as of this morning."
Marcus suggests, "The market seems to have settled into one where properties that are priced right go quickly while those that are overpriced are starting to sit for long periods of time. There is not a lot of new inventory and the number of units on the market at any one time never seems to increase much. The first-time buyer market is red hot. Good properties under 300K get snatched up quickly!
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Published: July 30, 2004
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