Chicagoland Area Real Estate Blog & News

How Has the Pandemic Affected Us?

Comparing the market from before the pandemic to the current situation.


Have you forgotten what the market was like pre-pandemic? Let's talk about what's changed over the past couple of years and how those changes benefit you.

Before the pandemic, interest rates were higher. At one point, they were as high as 5%. Today they're still down in the 3% range, although we anticipate that they will go up this year. Interest rates during the pandemic have been fabulous. At some points, they were in the 2% range. The average sales price has gone up 24% since January 2020. The $293,000 house you bought is now worth $363,000. Appreciating $70,000 in two years is huge!

"Interest rates are still low, but they will likely increase soon."

The amount of time it takes to sell a home has decreased. Before the pandemic, it could take as long as 100 days to sell a home. Since then, days on market has gotten as low as 35 days. Right now, it’s about 60 days.

In terms of pre-pandemic inventory, there were 30,000 homes for sale in our area. Now there are only 15,000. With 50% less competition, you can expect more money when you sell. That's exactly why prices were driven up during the pandemic.

If you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling, I'd love to help you. Reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Your February 2022 Chicagoland Market Update


Let’s take a look at the market stats for our February 2022 market.


Today I’m going to go over what happened in the Chicagoland real estate market in February 2022:

  • The average sales price last month went up 2% to about $370,000. If we compare February 2021 to February 2022, sales prices have gone up 10%. That’s great for sellers.
  • The average days on market went up to 66. This is normal; we usually see the days on market increase between December and February. Next month, we should see this number drop.
  • The average number of home sales is down 33% from February 2021 to just under 12,000. There aren’t a lot of homes out there to buy, but great buyers are still winning properties. It’s a good time to look for a house before interest rates increase.
  • The list to sales price is up to 98.5%. That means when a property is listed, it sells for 98.5% of its asking price on average. Keep in mind that this only applies if you price your property reasonably.

If you have any questions about these stats or real estate in general, feel free to call or email me. I would love to help.

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How Our Commission Rate Works


How is an agent’s commission determined on the Kite Team?


People often ask us how our commission right works—I mean, who wouldn’t want to know? Today I’ll quickly cover a couple of things to note about commissions here at the Kite Team.

We can help you sell your house starting at a 1% commission rate that increases based on the services you want. We only charge 1% commission in cases such as when you find your own buyer (like a tenant or family member) and you just need us to walk you through the contract, disclosures, etc.

For the listing side, the commission covers professional photography for your home, signs, and other services to expose your listing to the most possible buyers. Remember that there is a commission for marketing on the seller’s side as well as for the buying side. Agents and sellers need to be mindful about what they tell buyers concerning the commission rate because that can affect the number of showings you receive.

If you have any questions or would like to speak in more detail about our commission rates, don’t hesitate to call or email us. We’d love to have a conversation with you.

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