'Distressed' Sales Dominate in Chicago Area

More than a third of the existing homes sold last year in the seven-county Chicago area were distressed properties, according to the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network. Nearly 38% of last year's sales in the Chicago suburbs were made under duress, as were 31% of the sales in the city itself. The RE/MAX report is based on transactions tracked by Midwest Real Estate Data, the region's multiple listing service, for the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will. "In the last two to three years, distressed properties have gone from being a small portion of the residential marketplace to a significant one," said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX brokerages in Northern Illinois. Of the 248 suburban Chicago submarkets, distressed properties accounted for 50% or more of all 2009 sales in 66 areas, with 44 of those areas in Cook County alone. In the city, distressed sales accounted for half or more of all transactions in 37 of the city's 77 neighborhoods. In Winnetka, Kenilworth and the city's Lincoln Park, however, distressed sales accounted for less than 5% of total sales in '09. Foreclosures accounted for 70% of distressed deals, while 28% were short sales, according to RE/MAX. "We continue to see problems with securing lender approval and processing of short sales, even though these transactions typically bring more money for a property than can be obtained after foreclosure," Mr. Merrion also reported.