Cook County, Illinois Real Estate and Housing Market Trends and Forecasts

Cook County, Illinois, which encompasses Chicago and all of its food, art, and sports attractions, is not just the most populous county in Illinois. It’s a popular destination for many families who value both affordable housing and Midwest living. That’s why it’s no surprise that the real estate market in Cook County is strong and expected to remain so. Purchasing a home right now provides a wonderful financial opportunity for your clients and their families.

If you have clients who are hesitant to buy a home because they've heard talk of a housing bubble in the media or they’re worried home prices may decline, you can use MBS Highway's Real Estate Report Card to show them the strength of the market in Cook County right now.

Let's break this powerful tool down so you can see how you can use MBS Highway's Real Estate Report Card to help your clients move forward with a home purchase and to gain valuable referral relationships.

Strong Forecasted Appreciation Provides Wealth-Creating Opportunity

Let’s begin by analyzing affordability and appreciation. The median home price in Cook County is 272,359. We have nice appreciation with the 10-year historical appreciation rate at 2.92%, while the forecasted 1-year and 5-year cumulative appreciation rates are 5.56% and 25.79% respectively!

While these figures are significant, let’s break down the numbers even further and look at what this really means for your clients. Purchasing that $272,359 home today, given the forecasted appreciation rate of 25.79% over the next 5 years, means that buyer will gain $70,242 in appreciation alone! Showing your clients this gain so clearly using the Real Estate Report Card can help them realize the financial advantage of acting on their home purchase now, which will increase your production and help you build valued referral relationships.

You may have customers that wonder if they can afford a home in this area. You can use the Real Estate Report Card to show them that affordability is very strong in this market, as evidenced by the Affordability Index of 161.02. This means that a family earning the median household income for Cook County of $69,402, which is above the national average of $55,909, can afford 161.02% of the median home price when putting 20% down.

Of course, not everyone is putting 20% down, but you can see how this information gives homebuyers a good gauge of what they can afford, helping you build your pipeline and build relationships with both new and trusted referral sources.

Download Full Real Estate Report Card.

Inventory Challenges Expected to Continue

Honing in on inventory, we can see that there are just four homes available for every 1,000 people in Cook County. Inventory is down 5% year over year and 3% month over month.

What’s more, it's crucial to explain to your clients that low inventory will likely be a factor for the foreseeable future – and it’s probably not going to get easier to purchase a home. Here's why…

Based on our demographics, there are currently around 853,420 people who are between 27-35 years old. This number is important because those in this age range are first-time homebuyers, and our goal is to see what kind of business we can gain from this demographic and how we can help them benefit through homeownership.

Out of these 853,420 people, 81,080 of them will either rent or purchase a home in the next year. And out of these 81,080 household formations, considering that Cook County has a healthy 59% homeownership rate, around 47,730 will purchase a home.

To meet this demand, builders would have to build 47,730 homes each year, or this amount of homes would have to become available for sale. Yet the actual number of homes being built is a fraction of this amount, at just 8,876!

This inventory and demographic data combined provides such an easy way to express to potential clients why they shouldn't delay their purchase, which again can help you increase production and gain the trust of key referral sources.

The bottom line is we have an inventory shortage, and this is a big reason as to why now is such a good time to purchase a home before it becomes even harder if inventory tightens even more or rates move higher due to rising inflation or other reasons. Plus, there's also the strong forecasted appreciation rates as discussed above and the fact that homes are selling fast.

Improving Job Market, a Good Sign for Housing

Despite the dip in employment last year due to the pandemic, as was the case across much of the country, job growth in Cook County has remained healthy otherwise and it is already coming back.

The current unemployment rate is 8.01%. Though this is higher than the national average of 6.1%, we expect to see the unemployment rate decreasing further as the economy continues to reopen.

A healthy job market is another reason the housing market is expected to remain strong in the Cook County area, as people are more inclined to purchase a home when they feel secure in their job. The opposite is also true.

MBS Highway’s Real Estate Report Card is just one of the many tools in MBS Highway that can be the crucial differentiator in turning prospects into buyers who have won their dream home – and turning originators into advisors their clients trust. With an MBS Highway membership, you'll have access to all of our tools, including Bid Over Asking Price, Buy vs. Rent Comparison, Loan Comparison tools, daily coaching videos, lock alerts and much more.

Do you want analysis like this on a daily basis? Try all of these tools for free with a 14-day trial and see for yourself the kind of difference they make in your business!