Chicago Market Report: February 2020

As we progressed through February, the actual and expected impacts of COVID-19 continued to grow, with concerns of economic impact reaching the stock market in the last week of the month. As the stock market declined, so did mortgage rates, offering a bad news-good news situation. While short term declines in the stock market can sting, borrowers who lock in today’s low rates will benefit significantly in the long term.

New Listings in the City of Chicago were up 0.7 percent for detached homes and 3.0 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 31.1 percent for detached homes and 19.6 percent for attached properties.

The Median Sales Price was up 6.9 percent to $240,000 for detached homes and 3.2 percent to $323,750 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 16.7 percent for detached units and 5.3 percent for attached units.

The recently released January ShowingTime Showing Index® saw a 20.2 percent year-over-year increase in showing traffic nationwide. All regions of the country were up double digits from the year before, with the Midwest Region up 15.7 percent and the West Region up 34.1 percent. As showing activity is a leading indicator for future home sales, the 2020 housing market is off to a strong start, though it will be important to watch the spread of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the overall economy in the coming months.