Market Conditions: October Sales Drop 30.8% From Red Hot 2021

With mortgage rates surging this fall, it’s not a surprise that October sales fell sharply but median price rose to an all-time high for October.

Reminder that the median price reflects the mix of what is selling.

It was the lowest number of October sales since 2011. But also notice that 44% of the sales that year were short or foreclosure sales.

From the Illinois Association of Realtors:

In Chicago, home sales (single-family and condominiums) in October 2022 totaled 1,709 homes sold, a 30.8 percent decrease from October 2021 sales of 2,469 homes.

The median price of a home in the city of Chicago in October 2022 was $320,000, an increase of 2.2 percent from $313,000 in October 2021.

Thanks to G for all the data on October sales going back to 1997:

October Chicago sfh/condo/th sales and median

  • 1997 1,731 $129,900
  • 1998 1,855 $138,000
  • 1999 1,978 $159,500
  • 2000 2,106 $174,710
  • 2001 2,177 $200,000
  • 2002 2,503 $215,000
  • 2003 2,996 $236,000
  • 2004 2,651 $241,000
  • 2005 2,846 $268,500
  • 2006 2,630 $278,000
  • 2007 2,007 $285,000
  • 2008 1,564 $261,000
  • 2009 2,068 $215,000
  • 2010 1,225 $183,000
  • 2011 1,324 $162,000 (44% short/REO sales)
  • 2012 2,009 $175,000
  • 2013: 2,231 $218,500
  • 2014: 2,128 $236,000
  • 2015: 2,173 $240,000
  • 2016: 2,046 $260,100
  • 2017: 2,109 $260,000
  • 2018: 2,108 $271,500
  • 2019: 2,084 $275,000
  • 2020: 2,568 $315,000
  • 2021: 2,469 $313,000
  • 2022: 1,709 $320,000

“In October, inflation combined with rising interest rates, seasonality and strained inventory caused closed sales to drop,” said Sarah Ware, president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® and principal and designated managing broker for Ware Realty Group in Chicago. “However, median sales prices increased while days on the market decreased, meaning homes are still being purchased. Buyers will need to be patient during their home search, and sellers need to work with a REALTOR® to ensure their home is prepared and priced to sell.”

Statewide, inventory fell again, dropping 16% to 26,422 from 31,445 last year. The average home sold in 28 days, which was the same as last year.

In Chicago, inventory also dropped, falling 18.7% to 7,234 from 8,898 in October 2021. The average home took just 34 days to sell, down from 35 last year.

The statewide and Chicago housing markets remain tight, with low inventory despite rising mortgage rates.

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage jumped to 6.9% in October from 6.11% in September. Last year, the average was 3.07%.

Reminder: buyers will lock in their rates ahead of time so the higher rates don’t get priced into the market for a few months. But November has averaged over 6% as well, so it will be three straight months of rates over 6%.

“The housing market in Illinois has slowed since its peak in June,” said Dr. Daniel McMillen, head of the Stuart Handler Department of Real Estate (SHDRE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business Administration. “Prices and the number of sales have returned to approximately the same levels as in November 2021. Inflation and high interest rates have led to a decline in consumer confidence. However, inventories remain low, and as a result, prices are not expected to decline substantially over the next few months.”

Will low inventory put a floor under Chicago housing prices until the spring buying season kicks in in a few months?

Median prices and interest rates rose as inventory tightened and homes sold quickly in October [Illinois Association of Realtors, Press Release, by Bill Kozar, November 18, 2022]

 

 

66 Responses to “Market Conditions: October Sales Drop 30.8% From Red Hot 2021”

  1. Median is back behind 2001 in real dollars:

    Oct-01 + CPI = $335k.

    Had been a little ahead of CPI the last two years:

    Oct-01 + CPI(Oct-20) = $293k
    Oct-01 + CPI(Oct-21) = $311k

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  2. Redfin is reporting 18.4% contract cancelations (Chicagoland)

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  3. “Redfin is reporting 18.4% contract cancelations”

    That’s pretty good. Other metro areas are WAY higher than that.

    Like I’ve been saying, Chicago didn’t see a bubble. It’s not going to see a bust.

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  4. Another one of Griffin’s 4 condos has apparently sold. Hasn’t closed yet.

    I’m shocked that he’s managed to sell 2 of them at these price points within just a few months. The upper bracket remains on fire. Wow.

    https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/buyer-signs-2nd-piece-ken-griffins-545-million-condo-selloff

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  5. “That’s pretty good. Other metro areas are WAY higher than that.

    Like I’ve been saying, Chicago didn’t see a bubble. It’s not going to see a bust.”

    Thats pretty poor, other metros are Way lower than that

    14.6% last year

    Like I’ve been saying, Chicago had terrible appreciation while other markets were showing great gains.

    Redfin is also showing a median time on market as 61 days – worst of the markets studied

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  6. “Redfin is reporting 18.4% contract cancelations (Chicagoland)”

    This is hard to track because of the way the MLS reports the data so I wonder how much effort they put into this. I track it for the city of Chicago and I look at it for under contract as of the 7th day of the following month. It fluctuates quite a bit from month to month. I’ve seen it as high as 20% and for a few months this year it actually dropped to like 1%, which I find bizarre.

    “Redfin is also showing a median time on market as 61 days – worst of the markets studied”

    That doesn’t make any sense. For the city of Chicago it was 37 days in October. Like 20 days for the entire MLS in the area.

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  7. “14.6% last year”

    Who care about last year? Might as well be comparing to 1975.

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  8. “Like I’ve been saying, Chicago had terrible appreciation while other markets were showing great gains.”

    You are viewing it as “terrible appreciation” when it was 10% to 20% or more, depending on location in Chicago and Chicagoland area. Other metros mostly did better: 20% to 50% or more, depending on location.

    Yes, compared to the bubble cities, Chicago was “terrible”. But because it didn’t see the mania like Austin, Boise, the entire state of Florida, it’s unlikely to see much of a bust.

    Question is: how bad will the bust be? And maybe you don’t care if you live in Florida and prices fall 20% from the highs because you’re up 50% and not moving anywhere anyway. Could be.

    All real estate is local.

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  9. “I track it for the city of Chicago and I look at it for under contract as of the 7th day of the following month. It fluctuates quite a bit from month to month.”

    Thanks for the insight, Gary, about how hard it is to get reliable housing data. That is why I just use the IAR data which I have used for the last 15 years. It has consistency now simply because it’s the same data set year over year. If they say market times have dropped, at least I can compare the same month with last year.

    You can’t really compare two different sets of data though. So comparing IAR to Redfin, or Zillow, doesn’t really work well. You don’t know where they are getting the data, on what date, etc.

    Even your data, Gary, is quite different from IAR’s, in terms of sales. We know the reasons why, but it means you can’t really “compare” both groups of data.

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  10. Interesting October data from Redfin. Like I’ve been saying, the market has come to a complete halt. It’s frozen. Everywhere.

    Some data from Redfin in October 2022:

    In Jacksonville, 706 home-purchase agreements fell through, equal to 30.6% of homes that went under contract that month—the highest percentage among the metros Redfin analyzed. It was followed by Tampa (26.7%), San Antonio (26.6%), Atlanta (25.2%) and Las Vegas (25.1%).

    San Francisco had the lowest percentage of cancellations (6%), followed by San Jose (8%), Nassau County, NY (8.2%), Montgomery County, PA (9.3%) New York (10.5%).

    https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-tracker-october-2022/

    Raleigh, NC, Phoenix, Austin, San Antonio and Jacksonville, FL saw the biggest year-over-year increases in the share of homes for sale with price drops. Three metros–Lake County, Chicago and Fresno, CA–saw decreases.

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  11. “That doesn’t make any sense. For the city of Chicago it was 37 days in October. Like 20 days for the entire MLS in the area.”

    Says number of days until pending sale. Could be the thousands of downtown condos that are sitting there for a year or more is skewing the data simply because it’s so much of the inventory. Because New York makes this list too (maybe for similar reasons.)

    From Redfin:

    The fastest market was Rochester, where half of all homes were pending sale in just 10 days. It was followed by Omaha, NE and Grand Rapids, MI with 11 median days on market. Next came Columbia, SC and Buffalo, with 12 median days on market.
    The slowest market was Chicago, with 61 median days on market. It was followed by Honolulu (59), West Palm Beach, FL (58), New York (57) and Lake County (56).

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  12. OK. So it’s until pending. But that’s not really meaningful. It goes under contract weeks before it goes pending if it has a mortgage. So markets with lots of cash deals will have shorter market times according to their data. That skews the results.

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  13. “So markets with lots of cash deals will have shorter market times according to their data. That skews the results.”

    Makes sense but doesn’t explain Grand Rapids and Omaha. That’s not where I would think there would be a lot of cash deals. But maybe I’m wrong.

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  14. Some properties are going under contract quickly. There’s little on the market. This 3-bedroom West Loop loft under contract in just 3 weeks.

    https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1040-W-Adams-St-60607/unit-301/home/26817741

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  15. “Who care about last year?”

    Uh, whoever wrote the title to the post?

    “October Sales Drop 30.8% From Red Hot 2021”

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  16. “This 3-bedroom West Loop loft under contract in just 3 weeks.”

    Dec-19 ($595k) + CPI = $690k.

    And they put some money into it. Not sure why they downgraded the range, tho.

    After reno and transaction costs, likely a nominal dollar loser.

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  17. “This is hard to track because of the way the MLS reports the data so I wonder how much effort they put into this. I track it for the city of Chicago and I look at it for under contract as of the 7th day of the following month. It fluctuates quite a bit from month to month. I’ve seen it as high as 20% and for a few months this year it actually dropped to like 1%, which I find bizarre.”

    Gary

    It was on the internet, therefore it must be true

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  18. Uh, whoever wrote the title to the post?

    “October Sales Drop 30.8% From Red Hot 2021”

    LOL

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  19. “Dec-19 ($595k) + CPI = $690k.

    And they put some money into it. Not sure why they downgraded the range, tho.

    After reno and transaction costs, likely a nominal dollar loser”

    And assuming they get the ask

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  20. “After reno and transaction costs, likely a nominal dollar loser.”

    The miracle is that they have even been able to sell at all with 7% mortgage rates, right? According to Johnny U, with rates over 6%, no one is buying properties priced in the $600,000s. You have to have 3% mortgage rates for that.

    This IS the most difficult market since the housing bust. If you want to sell right now, you have to price competitively and have a fully upgraded property. The fact that they are under contract, during the holidays, within just a few weeks, says that the realtor priced this correctly and also marketed it well. Congrats to them.

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  21. “Uh, whoever wrote the title to the post?”

    Huh? JohnnyU was talking about the “big” rise in cancellations from last year. With last year the hottest year in the last 15 years, of COURSE it’s going to slow from that. Duh. Who cares? That’s the reason I put it in the title because last year WAS red hot so it’s not surprising that sales are down big off of that. But otherwise, who cares?

    JohnnyU was trying to make some point that Chicago is a hellhole of cancellations and the worst market in the nation for real estate. It’s laughable. He couldn’t be more wrong, even by using the Redfin data he was citing to.

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  22. “The miracle is that they have even been able to sell at all with 7% mortgage rates, right?”

    No.

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  23. Sure it is. Nothing is supposed to be selling, according to JohnnyU. Especially in the $500k, $600k, $700k and above level. There are absolutely NO buyers at that price point. None who can still afford the payments, apparently.

    This is just what I’ve been told.

    Congrats to this seller. I have cribbed on this unit in the past sale. I didn’t crib on it this time because I thought it would linger for a while. But nope. Updated and priced correctly. Under contract quickly.

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  24. “Another one of Griffin’s 4 condos has apparently sold.”

    (Likely) For over 10% less than he paid in *2012*.

    CPI is +30% in that time.

    Most Chicago properties would sell quickly at 10% (or more) off their 2012 prices.

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  25. “Sure it is. Nothing is supposed to be selling, according to JohnnyU. Especially in the $500k, $600k, $700k and above level. There are absolutely NO buyers at that price point. None who can still afford the payments, apparently.”

    Not remotely what I’ve said.

    But keep drinking, its bound to help your memory

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  26. “(Likely) For over 10% less than he paid in *2012*.

    CPI is +30% in that time.

    Most Chicago properties would sell quickly at 10% (or more) off their 2012 prices.”

    I eagerly await the shiils new metrics on how Chicago is HAWT

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  27. “I eagerly await the shiils new metrics on how Chicago is HAWT”

    Chicago has been red hot for the last 5 years. As I’ve said before 2016 was likely the last “peak” before the pandemic surge. But it all depends on what neighborhood, building etc. West Loop, Logan Square, Avondale, Bronzeville have killed it. Even Hyde Park and Woodlawn are up significantly.

    Downtown has been crushed by the pandemic and is where the deals are. Some neighborhoods saw extraordinary gains during the housing boom, like Andersonville and Lincoln Square, and really just haven’t done anything much since.

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  28. I share Becky’s concerns:

    “Humboldt Park woman says huge property tax spike may force her out of Chicago”

    “[Becky] Marshall called her 2021 Cook County property tax bill ‘brutal.’ She and her husband moved into their Humboldt Park home in 2013. Last year, they paid a total of $3,664.49. This year, the bill is $7,172.62. Marshall paid her first installment, leaving her with a balance of just under $5,200. That is all due by Dec. 30. ‘Twenty-three days to come up with this kind of money… I feel like I got slammed against a wall…. I know I’m not alone – which is what is also upsetting…. I’m concerned for my neighbors. I’m concerned for the neighborhood. I’m concerned for the city as a whole.’ In the past 20 years, Marshall’s taxes jumped more than 1,000 percent.”

    https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-property-tax-spike/

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  29. “In the past 20 years, Marshall’s taxes jumped more than 1,000 percent.”

    “moved into their Humboldt Park home in 2013”

    Does not compute! Apples and oranges.

    where 1,000%*X = $7,271.62, X=$727.16.

    Taxes in 2002 were ~1% of AMV–she had a $75k place then? Or a $150k place that was underassessed by 50%? And complaining because she moved into a more expensive house, that’s assessed at $350k, with a Redfin estimate of almost $400k?

    Taxes have approximately doubled in 20 years (CPI = +64%), but so has aggregate EAV in Chicago. The only way to have a 10x increase is to have a ~5x value–so, yeah, if she had a $75k AV property in ’02, and a $350k AV property today, that makes sense, but that’s the same thing as complaining about “10x increase in state income tax” when going from $75k to $350k income. True, but misleading.

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  30. I can’t easily follow your calcs, and can’t look up her pin, but can credit your hunch that her pin was likely underassessed for many years (because I’ve seen many such instances). Also agreed: the city’s EAV roughly doubled from $42 bb in 2001 to $97 bb in 2021. Would you agree with me that the city’s EAV will decline for 2022, necessitating increases in the EQ factor and/or citywide tax rate next year?

    As for Becky: Humboldt Park residential pins saw their total tax increase 30% YoY, second highest rate in the city:

    https://cookcountytreasurer.com/pdfs/taxbillanalysisandstatistics/taxyear2021statistics.pdf#page=23

    That’s a lot, worth reporting, even if Becky’s particular situation (multi-year underassessment?) might raise doubts.

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  31. Main point was that she’s only been in her house for *9 years*, not 20.

    Also, if there was a 10x increase in either 9 or 20, without massive remodeling (does not look like it w/ the subject house), that would be bc the Seller had Senior Freeze exemption, and you have to just expect that sort of increase–I’ve seen a 10x increase in *one* year when the house gets sold from a qualified low-income senior to anyone else.

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  32. Finally got around to posting my November update. This was the biggest decline in home sales this cycle and now we’re seeing inventory go up along with an increase in market times and pending home sales have been crashing for a while: https://lucidrealty.com/chicago-real-estate-market-update-november-11-year-low-in-home-sales/

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  33. WGN also aired a story on property taxes, featuring a west side woman complaining that hers had tripled from $1,651 to $4,559.

    https://twitter.com/WGNNews/status/1598483861914140707

    She bought her house in 2001 for $109,000.
    Here’s her recent AMVs:

    2017 = $102,520
    2018 = $119,230
    2019 = $119,230
    2020 = $105,150 (the “Covid Adjustment” markdown)
    2021 = $260,000

    Here’s some of her tax bills:
    2002 = $1,405 (1.4% of her purchase price)
    2003 = $1,329
    2004 = $1,388
    2016 = $1,553
    2017 = $1,480
    2018 = $1,676
    2019 = $1,706
    2020 = $1,651
    2021 = $4,559 (1.7% of her AMV)

    Here’s her mortgages:
    Jul 2001 = $108,034 (99% leverage)
    Aug 2006 = $160,000
    Oct 2007 = $181,000 (nice)
    Feb 2012 = $175,000
    May 2020 = $153,600

    Her AMVs look too low, esp given her mortgages, but I haven’t look at comps. Her taxes grew only 0.9% p.a. from 2002–2020, half the rate of inflation. Off the cuff it looks like she’s been under-assessed for years.

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  34. “I haven’t look at comps”

    House next door–looks similar outside, may be much better inside–sold for $316k in May-20. Another on the same block (minus a garage) sold in May-19 for $225k.

    Conclusion: $120k was way too low, $260k *may* be a little too high.

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  35. Yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of people making this illogical argument – basically it can’t be right for the taxes to go up x times. But they never bother to look at whether or not the assessed value is realistic.

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  36. “WGN also aired a story on property taxes, featuring a west side woman complaining that hers had tripled from $1,651 to $4,559.”

    I think the most difficult thing is it going up so much this suddenly. And she has like 45 days to pay it. People don’t notice things increasing if it goes up a smaller amount for years. But that jump IS massive. It’s very difficult for someone working class or middle class to suddenly pay that.

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  37. Thanks Gary. Wow. A lot to digest there. I knew sales fell off a cliff but until you actually see it charted out it doesn’t really hit you.

    Apparently 7% mortgage rates DO matter. Lol.

    Interesting about the inventory. Using your metrics, it’s still a seller’s market. Most of the increase in inventory is due to the drop in sales. But that’s also interesting. New inventory really isn’t coming on the market. It’s slim pickings out there. This is always the slow time of the year but this year it is REALLY slow.

    I wonder what will happen in the New Year? Rates have come back down nearly a point. But I think they have to get into the 5s for people to start looking again. Many think this will happen by this spring. Could be a bounce back this spring.

    Job market is the wildcard. If layoffs are increasing, there will be a lot more caution.

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  38. “I think the most difficult thing is it going up so much this suddenly. And she has like 45 days to pay it.”

    And then she has 90 days to pay the next one that comes due at the end of March and potentially only 150 days to pay the next one (assuming it’s not delayed again) with all payments triple than what she had previously been budgeting for.

    One would think increasing someone’s assessment which in-part led to such a high increase in the property taxes owed would then negatively impact the value of ones home and thus their assessment and subsequent property taxes. Isn’t this something the Assessor should assess when coming up with new assessment values?

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  39. “I wonder what will happen in the New Year? Rates have come back down nearly a point. But I think they have to get into the 5s for people to start looking again.”

    I think the property tax increases from the reassessment in certain areas of the city will more than offset a one or two percent decrease from the interest rate highs. Also, the increases in property taxes along with the property tax due dates being so close together due to the delay will likely increase supply next year as some won’t be able to afford living in their current homes anymore or may push up their timeline to decamp to suburbia.

    Also, think it could depress first-time-homebuyers in the city as landlords look to pass the increase on to tenants reducing their ability to save for a downpayment.

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  40. “I think the property tax increases from the reassessment in certain areas of the city will more than offset a one or two percent decrease from the interest rate highs.”

    This should help downtown then because property taxes went down in many buildings there. And that’s where the most inventory so we should see an improved market in the spring if those rates continue to come down.

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  41. “Also, think it could depress first-time-homebuyers in the city as landlords look to pass the increase on to tenants reducing their ability to save for a downpayment.”

    People looking to buy in 2023 already have their downpayment. And higher rates will just push renters into buying at an even quicker pace. In many parts of the city it’s now much cheaper to buy than to rent, as long as you have the downpayment.

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  42. “And then she has 90 days to pay the next one that comes due at the end of March and potentially only 150 days to pay the next one (assuming it’s not delayed again) with all payments triple than what she had previously been budgeting for.”

    Most likely it’s all in the escrow. But the problem is the escrow will go negative right now. Moving forward, the mortgage company WILL adjust it on a monthly basis which isn’t as shocking for most homeowners.

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  43. I looked at a nearby property that was subject to the senior freeze in 2002, and was gut (actual gut) reno’d after the last of the owners passed.

    Current taxes of ~$24k–up 928% from 2002. It’s probably ~10% underassessed–thanks to a winning appeal.

    It just isn’t common that people are getting 10x increases on the same property that had no major changes.

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  44. “People looking to buy in 2023 already have their downpayment. And higher rates will just push renters into buying at an even quicker pace”

    How would higher rates push renters to buy at a quicker pace? Further, landlords are unlikely to be able to push all of the property tax increase onto their tenants whereas the property owner has to pick-up the full amount of the increase so not sure how this favors buying over renting.

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  45. “This should help downtown then because property taxes went down in many buildings there”

    They went down in commercial buildings not residential even in the loop. Per the Tribunes analysis Loop residential property taxes increased a median 2.9% in the loop, 5.2% near-north, 5.3% near-west, and 5.8% on near-south side.

    https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-chicago-property-tax-bills-treasurer-study-20221201-s7nhfklawjdbxagqeopijfubiu-story.html

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  46. “They went down in commercial buildings not residential even in the loop.”

    Taxes on my Loop condo went down.

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  47. “But the problem is the escrow will go negative right now. Moving forward, the mortgage company WILL adjust it on a monthly basis which isn’t as shocking for most homeowners.”

    I think in alot of areas of the city it will be very shocking. Just look at Wojo’s example from above. Lets assume the refi rate of her $153,600 May 2020 mortgage balance was 3.5% on a 30 year fixed P&I was $690 a month + $138 per month (so $828 total) for the $1650 in annual taxes. Now with her annual taxes going up to $4,559 or $380 per month her mortgage payment (P&I+T) is going from $828 to $1,070 (23% monthly increase).

    Compare that to when she took out the loan in July 2001 for 108K assuming 30 year fixed at 7.50% and her annual taxes were $1400 – P&I was $755 and monthly with taxes was $870.

    So for 20 ish years she has been paying between $800 – $900 per month in P&I+T for her home until now. I can’t imagine people in this or similar situations expected a 23% monthly increase to their mortgage all at once.

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  48. “So for 20 ish years she has been paying between $800 – $900 per month in P&I+T for her home until now. I can’t imagine people in this or similar situations expected a 23% monthly increase to their mortgage all at once.”

    Of course they didn’t. Which was the point of this thread. The suddenness of it is what is shocking, not necessarily that it has gone up.

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  49. “They went down in commercial buildings not residential even in the loop.”

    Yep. Most of the people I know living downtown actually saw their taxes go down. Gold Coast, River North, Streeterville, South Loop, Loop. And significantly (20% or more). Why? Because assessed values have fallen sharply, unlike the rest of the city. It’s the one place where prices haven’t gone up the last 3 years. They’ve gone down.

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  50. “How would higher rates push renters to buy at a quicker pace?”

    Higher rental rates. It’s much cheaper to buy now than to rent, even with higher mortgage rates. And if the landlords push through even higher rents, then people will finally see owning for the deal it is and jump ship.

    Again, many of the high rises downtown are actually seeing FALLING taxes, even though that won’t last forever (hopefully.)

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  51. boohoohoo, I was paying 50% of the property tax that I should have been for a *decade*, and now that the property is finally properly assessed, I’m Shocked. Shocked! To find I have to pay the ‘right’ amount.

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  52. “boohoohoo, I was paying 50% of the property tax that I should have been for a *decade*, and now that the property is finally properly assessed, I’m Shocked. Shocked! To find I have to pay the ‘right’ amount.”

    Wow. You’re a real jerk anon(tfo).

    These are working class or middle class homeowners. A rise of this magnitude IS going to be shocking. It’s why everyone was so freaked out about higher gasoline prices over the summer. Suddenly was costing $100 to fill up. That is shocking too. Hard on the middle class budget.

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  53. Yes, of course it’s hard on them–but they’ve saved thousands of dollars over the past 10 years, too.

    In Wojo’s example, at least the past 5 years, that AV should have been twice as much, and the taxes twice as much–nearly $8,000.

    And we all have been (and will continue to) pay more to subsidize those who have benefited from systematic underassessment. Which is both individual homeowers and corporate landlords.

    It’s a corrupt and broken system, and I don’t have too much sympathy for those who got the benefits for years and in some cases decades now that they are being treated like the rest of us.

    I do continue to be more disgusted by the continuing systematic underassessment of higher-end condos, and commercial property that is supposed worth far less than the mortgage debt, nevermind recent sale prices. That’s all a racket to transfer $$ to politically connected tax appeals lawyers. That might be the next drum to beat.

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  54. “These are working class or middle class homeowners. A rise of this magnitude IS going to be shocking. It’s why everyone was so freaked out about higher gasoline prices over the summer. Suddenly was costing $100 to fill up. That is shocking too. Hard on the middle class budget.”

    I have no sympathy either. I have always told all my buyers to ignore the current taxes and assume that sooner or later the property would be appropriately assessed. And people who thought gasoline would stay cheap forever and bought gas guzzlers were fools.

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  55. “And people who thought gasoline would stay cheap forever and bought gas guzzlers were fools.”

    Gas guzzlers? Those don’t even exist anymore.

    But yeah, it cost $100 to fill up those F-150 trucks.

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  56. “Gas guzzlers? Those don’t even exist anymore.”

    A Lincoln Navigator officially gets 16 MPG in the city and 20 on the highway. I consider that a gas guzzler.

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  57. “officially gets 16 MPG in the city”

    And that’s fake city driving–really suburban driving. My car has EPA 23 mpg city, and i usually see less than 15, if all surface street driving.

    I’d bet that Navigator is closer to 10 mpg on surface streets.

    Is 27 hwy, and can realize that pretty well.

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  58. Check out this story about the property tax increases:

    A one bedroom apartment will now cost Michael Markellos $17,494 in property taxes for one year.

    “This has put us in a tremendous financial bind, the building has gone negative in the bills,” he said.

    He and his mother own the 10-unit Lincoln Park apartment complex. Last year’s tax bill for all 10 units combined was $23,674, but now the same 10 units are $128,282 dollars this year; up 440%.

    “I was outraged. These are basically simple one bedroom units for college graduates who work downtown,” added Markellos.

    https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-property-taxes-tax-bill-cook-county-lincoln-park/12575946/

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  59. Here’s more:

    “It’s too high, it’s much too high. So we can’t do nothing,” said Maria Lopez, who lives on the Lower West Side.

    Lopez’s bill is going up 67%, nearly an extra $2,000. Just a few blocks over, Patrick Blackburn said his property tax increase is so bad, he may have to raise rent on his tenants.

    “It’s gonna damn near double,” he said. “The gas went double. I’m on a budget. Everything, the water went up. The water tax went up, everything went up.”

    https://abc7chicago.com/cook-county-property-tax-increase-chicago-taxes-treasurer-bill-illinois/12516352/

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  60. And another one. Most of these stories seem to be about homeowners in Humbodlt Park, the lower west side and Avondale.

    Marshall called her 2021 Cook County property tax bill “brutal.”

    She and her husband moved into their Humboldt Park home in 2013. Last year, they paid a total of $3,664.49. This year, the bill is $7,172.62.

    Marshall paid her first installment, leaving her with a balance of just under $5,200. That is all due by Dec. 30.

    “Twenty-three days to come up with this kind of money,” she said.

    In the past 20 years, Marshall’s taxes jumped more than 1,000 percent. Today, they are at the highest ever – and keep increasing.

    “We’re going to have to leave the city,” Marshall said.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-property-tax-spike/

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  61. Either the assessed values are just wrong, in which case they should have been appealed when they first came out – that’s what I did. Or these folks have realized huge appreciation and can cash out and move to a lower cost of living area.

    I don’t feel too sorry for people that own a 10 unit building in Lincoln Park. That building has to have been assessed at around $6.4 MM in order for the taxes to be as high as the article claims. If it’s really worth that then a) that’s their fair share of the taxes and b) if they don’t like it they can sell the building and retire early. And if it’s not worth that they should have appealed it long ago.

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  62. “In the past 20 years, Marshall’s taxes jumped more than 1,000 percent.”

    Already covered her–she MOVED in the past 20 years. From a condo to a SFH.

    OF COURSE her taxes went up.

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  63. On the Lincoln Park building, I’m assuming that the land value is worth a lot more than they were getting taxed on. So, yeah, they may have to just sell it and allow the developers to build some $2 million condos there.

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  64. “That building has to have been assessed at around $6.4 MM in order for the taxes to be as high as the article claims”

    Seems the “issue” is that it is assessed as commercial (as larger apartment buildings are…), and so the assessment ratio is 25% rather than 10%. So it is “only” worth $2.55m–which is probably about right, based on the unit in the video (10 ok 1-beds at $255k each).

    It was WAAAAAY underassessed last year, if taxes were only $23k.

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  65. ABC7 is referring to 715 W Diversey, ten pins (1001 thru 1010). My sums for all ten pins don’t match ABC’s, so maybe there’s an eleventh pin? At a glance, it looks like Michael’s tax bills have been flat for 20 years. Here are some (multiply these by 10?):

    2002 $1,404
    2003 $2,445
    2004 $2,481
    2006 $3,369
    2010 $1,400
    2015 $1,554
    2016 $1,699
    2017 $1,826
    2018 $1,908
    2019 $1,941
    2020 $2,152
    2021 $11,663

    $11,663 x 10 doesn’t equal ABC’s reported tax bill of $128,282, so one of us (probably me) has got some fact(s) wrong.

    AMVs (multiply by 10?) :
    2017 = 84,840
    2018 = 96,600
    2019 = 96,600
    2020 = 96,600
    2021 = 579,990
    2022 = 579,990

    $5.8 mm for all 10 is probably too high, but $966k was probably too low.

    https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/pin/14283000411001

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  66. Yeah, I only find 10 as well.

    $5.8m is absurdly high — I see rents advertised earlier this year at $1450 (studio) and $1650. Even using the higher number, and a 5-cap (too low for gross), you only get $4m. 3.4 gross cap to get $5.8m.

    6 seems more realistic, and would mean 3.3m–43% lower. And a bill of ~$73k.

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