Industry experts have repeatedly cited low inventory as the reason for falling Chicago home sales numbers and rising home prices.
Now they have the data to back it up.
Chicago had the fewest number of homes for sale on Feb. 2 since at least 2007, according to Chicago Association of Realtors data reported by Crain’s.
The 3,041 homes on the market that day also represented a 14 percent year over year decline.
While inventory is typically tight this time of year, the number of homes for sale has been falling for the past five years, the report said.
Factors contributing to the declines include rising property taxes and a number of people with underwater mortgages who can’t afford to move, plus the lingering effects of overbuilding earlier this decade that led new construction to grind to a halt, according to Crain’s.
Shrinking inventory was blamed for the 3.2 percent rise in home sale prices and 3.7 percent decline in the number of sales last year. And things could get worse. Realtor.com predicted Chicago will have the worst housing market of any major metro area in 2019. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien