Half as many Chicago homes went into contract in recent weeks: report

New listings also fell by about 55%, with brokers relegated to virtual showings and potential buyers worried about the spreading virus

The coronavirus has slashed the number of homes that went into contract in recent weeks, along with the number of new listings.
The coronavirus has slashed the number of homes that went into contract in recent weeks, along with the number of new listings.

Far fewer Chicagoans were willing to pull the trigger on a home purchase from late March through mid-April, as showings moved to virtual tours and the city essentially remained under quarantine.

Roughly 330 residential properties went into contract in each of the three weeks before April 18, according to Crain’s, citing data from the Chicago Association of Realtors. That compared to 674 homes that went into contract for the week ending March 7, before the falloff.

New listings were also chopped in half: 588 homes hit the market in each of the three weeks before April 18, Crain’s reported. That compared to 1,313 new listings that went on the market in the first week of March.

The under contract and new listings numbers track with the spread of the virus, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a disaster proclamation on March 9, followed by a statewide stay-at-home order on March 20. Pritzker has since extended that order twice; it now lasts through May.

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The Chicago housing market had been looking ahead to a strong second quarter, with nearly 20 percent more homes that went into contract in March compared to the same time last year, according to a recent report from regional multiple-listing service Midwest Real Estate Data. It also showed that more homes hit the market in March compared to 2019.

But much of the 16,525 homes that went into contract and 27,419 that hit the market in March did so in the first two weeks, the data showed.

Meanwhile, closed sales at the very top of the residential market in Chicago are down, but have leveled off in recent weeks. Last week, the five priciest residential sales combined for $10.4 million, a slight uptick in price from the week before. [Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman