REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—Not long ago, even the most desirable home might linger unsold for months in the metro Chicago real estate market. However, that is no longer true in many parts of the Chicago area. A substantial percentage of homes listed for sale today are attracting offers from more than one would-be buyer within just a few days of being listed for sale, according to RE/MAX.
No one source tracks multiple offers, but one likely indicator is the number of homes selling at or above list price. During June, for example, 22 of 83 detached sales in northwest suburban Arlington Heights, 9 of 29 in Chicago’s North Center community and 10 of 39 in south suburban Frankfort were sold at or above their list price. As for attached homes, 37 of 65 June sales in Chicago’s Near South Side area were at list price or above.
“The market has changed so much over the last six months, and multiple offers have become commonplace,” says Adam Stary of RE/MAX Professionals Select in Naperville, Ill. “Especially if a home is aggressively priced and in good condition, multiple offers are the norm.”
José Campoverde of RE/MAX Signature in Chicago says that recently it hasn’t been unusual for a listing of his that is well priced, nicely maintained and in a desirable location to attract 10 or more offers, and one of his colleagues reported getting 40 offers on a single property.
“The inventory of homes for sale in some areas is extremely limited right now, which only increases the likelihood of multiple offers,” Campoverde notes.
RE/MAX agents report that some newly listed homes are being priced slightly below market value to promote multiple offers and generate what Alice Scifo of RE/MAX Advisors Realty in Lake Villa, Ill., calls a “feeding frenzy.”
