MetroStudy: Kane County Housing Market ‘Strongest in 7 Years’
A MetroStudy report on the Chicago area housing market says new-home starts for the second quarter of 2016 are up 5.6 percent year over year — the strongest annual starts performance in more than seven years.
And a big leader in the resurgence is Kane County, which has seen 1,096 second-quarter housing starts, up 3.98 percent compared to the second quarter a year ago.
According to MetroStudy, Kane and three other counties are responsible for the majority of activity in the Chicago region, with the “big four” accounting for 72 percent of all new homes starts in the second quarter.
“During the pre-recession years, the market expanded into the outlying counties of the Chicagoland area,” said Mark Gianopulos, Regional Director of Metrostudy’s Chicago office. “The post-recession market has seen a consolidation of activity around Cook and the traditional collar counties. Cook, Kane and Will counties in Illinois, along with Lake County in Indiana, continue to account for the majority of activity.”
One of the reasons Kane is doing so well is that established subdivisions are filling out in the post-recession times, and developers are keeping prices under $300,000.
“With a limited supply of lots in ‘A’ locations, builders are looking to infill locations rather than pushing out to those pre-recession municipalities to the west,” said Gianopulos.
According to an online article in Chicago Agent magazine, the Chicago area’s top 15 subdivisions accounted for 21 percent of the area’s new home activity. Chicago Agent says that is “likely because the majority of those areas feature properties priced under $300,000.”
Here’s how Chicago Agent ranked 10 of those subdivisions:
SOURCE: Chicago Agent Magazine
As the chart indicates, Cambridge Lakes in Pingree Grove was one of the top-performing subdivisions in the area.
Developer D.R. Horton’s website describes Cambridge Lakes as a “family oriented community featuring new homes in Pingree Grove, with the amenities of a village in a convenient location for commuters.”
The subdivision would qualify as its own small city when it is built out, with plans for 2,995 homes on 1,164 acres. Cambridge Lakes features a community center with three outdoor pools, a large gymnasium, aerobics rooms, cardiovascular and weight rooms, an on-site Charter School and pre-school, five baseball diamonds, three soccer fields, several playgrounds, and a skate park.
According to MetroStudy, deed data in the Chicago market shows the average sales price at $290,552.
Metrostudy forecasts Chicago-area new-home starts in 2016 to range from 6,200 to 6,500, representing growth from 6 percent to 8 percent.
“Interest rates and energy costs have remained low, providing further motivation for new home buyers,” Gianopulos said. “The amount of vacant developed lots available in the marketplace will provide the necessary supply to meet the demand forecast provided above through 2017.”
SOURCE: Chicago Agent Magazine
