Some Interesting Market Statistics for Winnetka
The fall and early winter is generally a slow period in the North Shore real estate market. Inventories general dip due to the holidays and showings also drop as both buyers and sellers retrench with holiday shopping and decorating. This year is no exception, but the velocity of the drop in units on the market has increased dramatically. An example is the Winnetka market as shown in the following chart:
This bodes well for the properties that are currently on the market. As the number of showings has slowed down, it appears that the buyers who are actively searching right now, are serious buyers. The “tire kickers” are out fighting for bargains in the mall while the genuine home buyers are viewing properties with a careful eye.
The next chart indicates why many homes in Winnetka are sitting on the market for extended periods of time. The median price of currently “active” properties in Winnetka has actually gone up a bit during 2011 from approximately $1,580,000 to $1,675,000. While this would seem to be a promising signal, the median price of “closed” properties is significantly lower and has dropped from approximately $1,100,000 to around $1,025,000.
This discrepancy in prices is a bit difficult to reconcile. A large piece of the reality is that buyers are choosing to purchase homes that are offered at $1,000,000 or less. When the “teardown” phenomena was in full bloom, these homes were in short supply. Much of the inventory in that price range was destroyed during that period. The second part of the puzzle is that in Winnetka, there are a large number of available properties in the upper price brackets, and the demand for those homes has slackened.
To sum things up...
- Inventory has dropped
- Number of showings have dropped
- Quality of showings has improved significantly
- There is very small inventory in the price ranges that are selling
- The demand (houses at $1 million and below) has not met the supply (houses that are priced at $1.6 million and above).
- Homes in Winnetka that are priced competitively at any price point are selling to qualified buyers
(all statistics are based on available information but are not guaranteed to be fully accurate)
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