I lived in Chicago’s University Village for 10 years (loved it) and we still do deals there so I keep a close eye on real estate activity there. Nevertheless, it’s been three years since I’ve formally analyzed how condo and townhome prices have recovered there. When you step back from the details a rather interesting picture develops.
First, I should clarify that when I talk about University Village I’m specifically talking about the area east of Morgan where the actual development is. The news (and it’s often bad news) frequently refers to areas as far west as Ashland as being University Village. That’s a totally different neighborhood and I wonder if maybe that’s holding back price appreciation in this very nice area.
Anyway, take a look at my updated graph on prices per square foot trend for University Village condos below and you’ll see a few interesting patterns. Prices probably started turning around in the 2014 time frame, though I can make your eyes believe that the turnaround occurred at various points in time depending upon how I draw those trend channels.
Also, before the turnaround was clearly underway four poor souls, circled in red, definitely overpaid for their condos. I’m even surprised they appraised out. Sure, there were some updates for some of these condos but it certainly didn’t justify these prices.
Prices are still on the upswing but they still haven’t gone back to the bubble peak. Then again the development is now 15 years old and the finishes are looking really tired and dated, though some owners have updated their units.
The picture for University Village townhomes is actually quite peculiar. Instead of trending upward they just took a quick jump up during 2013 and have moved sideways – maybe even drifted down a bit – since then. And the data points look like they might have recovered back to the peak levels, which were generally lower than the condo levels. One reason for this though is that the square footage of University Village’s townhomes have always included the garages so they are a bit inflated and bring down the price/SF. Damn those developers!
One thing to note on both of these graphs is the degree of dispersion of prices at any point in time. It’s just another example of what I always say: there is a lot more randomness in this business than real estate agents are willing to admit to.
#UniversityVillage #ChicagoCondos #ChicagoTownhomes
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service discount real estate brokerage. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think he’s the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.