The inventory of listed Chicago 3 bedroom condos for sale in the 4th quarter was down 31.9% from 4th quarter 2011.* There were 2,535 such condos for sale compared to 3,724 a year earlier.
The drop in 3 bedroom condos for sale in Chicago was greater than for the Chicago Metro Area where the inventory dropped 25.5%. As shown below, the inventory of Chicago 3 bedroom condos for sale set a 4 year low in 4th quarter 2012. It’s down nearly half from 4th quarter 2009.
The distressed (short sales and foreclosures) inventory of Chicago 3 bedroom condos for sale dropped 30% in the past year. The inventory of normal sales dropped 33%.
The median sale price of Chicago 3 bedroom condos sold in the 4th quarter was up 17%. The number of units sold was up 38%. The average days on market was down 11%. The number of pending sale was up 36%, so sales should do well in the 1st quarter of 2013.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO 3 BEDROOM CONDO BUYERS
With a significantly lower inventory of Chicago 3 bedroom condos for sale you don’t have nearly the choices that you had a year ago. You won’t be able to negotiate as much since there aren’t as many sellers competing against each other. For more on the 17% median sale price increase see the next section.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO 3 BEDROOM CONDO SELLERS
Before you get too excited about the 17% higher median sale price keep in mind that much of that improvement came from distressed sales. Their median sale price was up 24%. The rise in median sale price for normal sales was up only 1.4%. Given that the Chicago 3 bedroom condo market appears to be forming a bottom, I don’t recommend selling unless: 1. you really need to or 2. you want to move up to a more expensive home. It’s probably come down more in value in the past few years than your current home. As always, if your condo is priced right when it goes on market, it will sell in a reasonable amount of time.
CHICAGO 3+ BEDROOM CONDOS QUICK SEARCH
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*Statistics include co-ops, lofts, apartments and townhouses. Information is based on data from Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED).
Fran Bailey specializes in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park and Lake View condos, co-op apartments and houses. She has shared home buying and selling advice since 2006 and written about over 130 Chicago high rises. To schedule showings for any listings, get a 
