Well, it looks bad for sellers but good for buyers. Our recent check of months of supply of 2 – 3 bedroom condos in the city clearly highlights what we all instinctively know: there is a ton of inventory out there.
2008 was uniformly higher than 2007 and really shot up over the last 4 months, hitting highs above a 20 month supply. Although inventory pulled back in January like it always does, it’s still higher than 2008 at a 17 month supply.
Meanwhile, there is a clear upward trend in the days on the market for condos that sell, though it hasn’t really broken out of the 80 – 100 day average that has existed for the last 2 years.
There is really only one way for this glut to correct itself. Prices will come down. They are coming down.
You can always find our latest statistics on the Chicago market here and we also keep inventory and days on the market data at the neighborhood level: