Current Absorption Rates for 10 Chicago Communities

Keep in mind that when I say Chicago Communities there is a difference between this and Chicago Neighborhoods. Most Chicago Neighborhoods we know and love are actually within a certain Chicago Community. Take Wrigleyville for example. It is a Neighborhood located within the Lakeview Community. Not to confuse you but some Neighborhoods are also Communities. Take Lincoln Park as an example of a Chicago Neighborhood and a recognized Chicago Community (there are 77.) None of this should effect you at all….all you need to know if where you like to live and you can call it whatever you’d like. This is more to let you know where the statistics I’ll be providing are coming from.

I’ve been looking at a lot of statistics recently to try to make sense of the current market. I’ve looked at median price vs. average price, market time, inventory and so on and so forth. One of my favorite ways to look at how the market is flowing is Absorption Rates. Now, in the past I would provide this information broken into weeks instead of months. But it looks like most places I look are breaking things into months so I’ve decided to switch and provide the following data into months instead of weeks. Keep in mind that a healthy absorption rate is anything under 6 months. If you’d prefer it one way or another just let me know. As always I’d also be willing to look up this information for your specific neighborhood, community, town village or city. All you need to do is ask. Enjoy!!

Absorption Rates for 10 Chicago Communities as of 03/27/2008:

Type 1 Properties (Detached Single Family Homes)

1. Lincoln Park (DePaul) 12 months
2. Lakeview (Wrigleyville) 7.81 months
3. Edgewater (Andersonville) 5.33 months
4. Lincoln Square (Ravenswood) 9.5 months
5. Logan Square (Bucktown) 12.14 months
6. Near North Side (River North) 8.67 months
7. Near South Side (South Loop) 4 active, 0 sold
8. Near West Side (West Loop) 8 months
9. Uptown (Buena Park) 14 months
10. West Town (Wicker Park) 8.94 months

Type 2 Properties (Attached Single Family/Condos/Townhomes)

1. Lincoln Park (DePaul) 4.36 months
2. Lakeview (Wrigleyville) 4.70 months
3. Edgewater (Ansersonville) 6.87 months
4. Lincoln Square (Ravenswood) 4.52 months
5. Logan Squre (Bucktown) 6.90 months
6. Near North Side (River North) 8.81 months
7. Near South Side (South Loop) 8.15 months
8. Near West Side (West Loop) 7.75 months
9. Uptown (Buena Park) 4.75 months
10. West Town (Wicker Park) 6.07 months

It’s amazing how different each community is. This shows us why it is important to take what we hear in the media with a grain of salt. Just because Las Vegas is doing bad does not necessarily translate into Lincoln Square, Chicago sharing the same fate. One of the beautiful things about the City of Chicago is how different each and every community is. Be sure to look at your own neighborhood to determine how the market is and not what the national averages are. Will keep you sane.