Sales of luxury homes in Chicago rose 7% in the quarter to 496 units. The median sales price was $1,342,500, a decline of 2.2%.

The growth in inventory occurred primarily among attached units, which include condominiums, cooperatives and townhouses. The attached luxury inventory rose 44.7% from its year-earlier level to 605 units. At the same time, attached sales for the quarter gained 9% to 181 units, and the median sales price inched up 0.1% to $1,326,400. The overall region's total luxury inventory was 2.2% higher at the end of June than it had been a year earlier.

Luxury attached sales were especially strong in the Loop, where they rose 33.3% to 20 units, and in Lincoln Park, where the increase was 17.9% to 33 units.

“The good news is that luxury sales for the quarter were the highest we've seen since we began tracking that data in 2011, and the suburban luxury market showed continued signs of improvement after a slow year in 2016,” adds Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. “What concerns us is that the growth in the inventory of unsold luxury properties in Chicago has risen significantly this year. However, it is encouraging to see that luxury sales in the city did register a modest quarterly gain.”

CHICAGO—Led by rising market for condos in the city, sales of luxury homes increased in the metropolitan Chicago area during the second quarter of 2017, according to a RE/MAX report on the sector. After rising 31% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2016, second quarter sales rose 8% to 899 units.

“People are starting to realize the market is coming back,” Chris Calomino, marketing communications manager for RE/MAX Northern Illinois, tells GlobeSt.com. As a result, more are “starting to put their houses back on the market.”

The RE/MAX report is a quarterly analysis of $1 million-plus home sales in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties from data compiled by Midwest Real Estate Data.

Although the overall single-family market has been plagued by a low inventory of homes for sale, the luxury market's inventory in Chicago has seen a big increase. It expanded by 26.3% to 1,132 units. Average market time was 142 days for homes sold during the quarter, up from 126 days a year earlier.

Sales of luxury homes in Chicago rose 7% in the quarter to 496 units. The median sales price was $1,342,500, a decline of 2.2%.

The growth in inventory occurred primarily among attached units, which include condominiums, cooperatives and townhouses. The attached luxury inventory rose 44.7% from its year-earlier level to 605 units. At the same time, attached sales for the quarter gained 9% to 181 units, and the median sales price inched up 0.1% to $1,326,400. The overall region's total luxury inventory was 2.2% higher at the end of June than it had been a year earlier.

Luxury attached sales were especially strong in the Loop, where they rose 33.3% to 20 units, and in Lincoln Park, where the increase was 17.9% to 33 units.

“The good news is that luxury sales for the quarter were the highest we've seen since we began tracking that data in 2011, and the suburban luxury market showed continued signs of improvement after a slow year in 2016,” adds Jack Kreider, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX Northern Illinois. “What concerns us is that the growth in the inventory of unsold luxury properties in Chicago has risen significantly this year. However, it is encouraging to see that luxury sales in the city did register a modest quarterly gain.”