Chicago Condo Market Bouncing Back, Except Downtown

The luxury market is bouncing back in Chicago, save for one key submarket.

Limited inventory levels indicate that demand is high for luxury condos in neighborhoods besides downtown, Crain’s reported.

“Anywhere else you go, Wicker, West Town, the suburbs, the luxury market is back, and it’s crazy,” said Matt Laricy, an Americorp Real Estate agent.

In Lincoln Park and Lakeview, the supply of homes priced at $1.5 million and above could satisfy four months of demand, while the trendy Milwaukee Avenue corridor has about five months of inventory. The North Shore suburbs show similar trends, with inventory levels varying but considerably lower than downtown, where there’s more than 26 months of inventory priced at $1.5 million and up.

The condo market’s downturn was triggered by the pandemic, which reduced vibrancy and exacerbated crime in downtown. Condo owners looking to offload their once-coveted units are often forced to lower asking prices or sell them for less than what they paid.

For example, a 6,100-square-foot condo spanning the entire 78th floor of the St. Regis tower changed hands for $7 million last month, $1,147 per square foot, down from its last trade of $8.2 million in December and its initial ask of $10 million.

The owners of a Pearson Street condo listed their five-bedroom, 27th-floor unit in January for $1.75 million, the same amount they paid five years prior. They ultimately sold it for $1.55 million, marking an 11 percent loss, said Brian Loomis, the Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty agent who represented the sellers.

“It’s a very frustrating market for sellers,” he said.

Then again, Chicago’s luxury market is seeing price cuts across the board. For example, Chicago Trading’s Andre Hall sold his Gold Coast condo in January for $4.6 million under its March 2023 asking price.

Plummeting condo demand in the Loop has brought development to a screeching halt, as zero condo projects were under construction in downtown Chicago as of April.

Real estate agent Melissa Siegal, who listed her own condo at a break-even price of $1.35 million, attributed crime as the primary deterrent for downtown buyers, although the perception that crime is high in downtown Chicago stems more from media-driven panic rather than data. Laricy added that high-level executives, typically key buyers of luxury downtown condos, are now either staying in their suburban homes or investing more in warmer locales like Florida and Arizona.

—Quinn Donoghue