Chicago exodus to suburbs in full swing, real estate broker says

Chicago-area housing market soars with high demand

Ayoub Rabah, president of Coldwell Banker, talks about the state of the Chicago-area housing market and explains the current rise in demand.

CHICAGO - The exodus to the suburbs is in full swing in Chicago, according to a local real estate broker who noted on "Varney & Co." on Tuesday that homes in the suburbs have been getting multiple offers, cash offers and offers over the asking price.

"It’s really a lot of competition out there," Julia Lindquist with @properties told FOX Business’ Grady Trimble while speaking from inside a home in the Chicago suburbs.

Residential real estate has remained strong through the coronavirus pandemic, which has battered other sectors of the economy, with record-low mortgage rates helping to stimulate growth in home sales.

The national median home sale price soared 17% year-over-year to $330,250 this month, which is an all-time high, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin.

'YOU GOTTA BE PREPARED TO MOVE QUICKLY': HOUSE FLYING OFF THE MARKET IN CHICAGO, SUBURBS

The report also noted asking prices of newly listed homes hit a new all-time high of $350,972, which is an increase of 10% from the same time a year ago and that new listings of homes for sale were down 17% from the prior year.

‘You gotta be prepared to move quickly’: Houses flying off the market in Chicago, suburbs

In the Chicago area, people are struggling to buy homes. Real estate experts say because people have been stuck inside all year, so many families are looking to up-size.

The pandemic had created a seller’s market, which is when demand for homes exceeds the supply of inventory, indicated by Redfin’s report, which showed uneven supply and demand continuing to send home prices soaring.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price index, released Tuesday, reported an 11.2% gain in January from a year earlier, an increase from 10.4% in December, marking the highest annual rate of price growth since February 2006.

HOMES SELLING FASTER THAN EVER EVEN AS PRICES RISE TO ALL-TIME HIGHS

Indeed, bidding wars are happening in markets across the country, including Chicago, as many Americans working remotely seek larger spaces and homes with yards, Trimble and Lindquist noted on Tuesday.

Lindquist pointed out what she called "a shift" in the real estate market. She noted that in March and April of 2020 it "was a little bit dead," but "everything picked up" in May and "it never really slowed down."

"We entered the spring market in January and February [and] we are still in it big time," she told Trimble. "I don’t know when it will slow down at this point."

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"The suburbs are hot," she continued, noting that "anywhere outside the central business district" in Chicago "is doing really well right now," which is generating increased competition for prospective buyers.