Home sales in Chicago’s collar counties hit $1.4B in May

For the third straight month, a Lake Forest estate topped the list of most expensive home sales in Chicago’s collar counties in May.

The property was one of 3,558 homes sold in DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties last month, for a total of nearly $1.5 billion in sales volume.

May looks like the busiest month of the spring selling season in terms of deal count. Dealmakers in April notched $1.1 billion in sales volume, with 18 percent fewer overall transactions at 2,914 homes sold. The former figure was up from March, when sales totaled $1.1 billion, even as April’s deal volume fell shy of March’s 2,976 deals.

The median home price in May was $350,000 in the collar counties, an uptick from $335,000 last month. The increase stands out against a downturn in the measure when it’s applied to the city of Chicago, where median home prices have slid for seven straight months.

Back in Lake Forest, the priciest deal last month was for $4.2 million for the 15,000-square-foot mansion at 500 North Green Bay Road, one of the area’s Gilded Age mansions, found a buyer after only three months, an anomaly for estates of that size, which often languish on the market.

It belonged to James S. Mills and his wife Vicki, who bought the 3.5-acre property in 1977 and kept it in the family until Jim died in July 2019, and Vicki died earlier this year. It was originally listed at $4.9 million, so the buyer took advantage of a 15 percent price reduction. The estate that sold the property was represented by Jena Radnay of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate, who is often selected to market the North Shore’s lakefront mansions.

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Known as Pembroke Lodge, the property was built in 1895 for real estate and zinc mining entrepreneur David Benton Jones. The Mills were only the third owner of the estate. Constructed with Wisconsin limestone, the mansion has eight full bathrooms and three half baths, four fireplaces and a game room. The home was particularly unique, in that the interior had been redesigned to be modeled after Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Here’s some more stats on the market in the collar counties last month:

May stats

Most Expensive

Lake Forest, 500 N Green Bay Rd Lake Forest | Price $4,250,000 | $234 psf | Year built: 1895

Least Expensive

Wilmington, 45 Dinosaur Rd Wilmington | Price $29,999 | $61 psf | Year built: 1993

Lowest Price Per Square Foot

Winthrop Harbor, 4915 W 3rd St Winthrop Harbor | Price $265,000 | $4 psf | Year built: 1972

Newest

Elmhurst, 203 N Walnut St Elmhurst | Price $1,575,000 | $298 psf | Year built: 2023

Oldest

Barrington Area, 511 North Ave Barrington | Price $649,000 | $nan psf | Year built: 1864

April stats

Most Expensive

Lake Forest, 172 W Laurel Ave Lake Forest | Price $3,600,000 | $551 psf | Year built: 2007

Least Expensive

Crete, 547 W Stanton Ln Crete | Price $46,600 | $45 psf | Year built: 1966

Highest Price Per Square Foot

Lake Forest, 172 W Laurel Ave Lake Forest | Price $3,600,000 | $551 psf | Year built: 2007

Lowest Price Per Square Foot

Old Mill Creek / Wadsworth, 14700 W Kazmer Rd Wadsworth | Price $350,000 | $8 psf | Year built: 1981

Newest

Westleigh Farm, 185 S Orchard Cir Lake Forest | Price $1,900,000 | $375 psf | Year built: 2023

Oldest

Glen Ellyn, 367 Duane St Glen Ellyn | Price $265,000 | $144 psf | Year built: 1856