Evanston Shows Housing Strength, Chicago Doesn't

Even when the general media is reporting less than exciting news, that doesn't mean some pockets of strength do not exist.

Take Evanston for instance, a relatively small area just north of Chicago, right along Lake Michigan that appears to have hit bottom sooner than Chicago and has been rebounding faster.  Granted, Chicago is much larger than Evanston and is much more diverse, but averages are averages and a decent basis for comparison.

As shown below, the Lakeshore sub-market of Evanston, which is just south of Northwestern University, is even stronger and more desirable than the Evanston market at large....actually is twice as large (in price that is).

Based on our analysis for the area using MLS data (from MRED LLC), those home owners closest to Lake Michigan and south of Northwestern University in the Evanston Lakeshore National Register district as defined by the City of Evanston Zoning Department, have already seen their mean (also known as average) housing price (based on recent sales) increase nearly 7.5%....now that is some good news!

Michael Hobbs, PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy