New Study Sheds Lights on Chicago MF Market

New research on the Cook County multifamily housing market by DePaul University's Institute for Housing Studies says significant price declines have occurred during the past three years, accompanied by a sharp increase in foreclosures, especially last year. The study looked at Chicago and 76 surrounding communities. The research found that the multifamily financing market has been virtually abandoned by all but two financial institutions: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The authors note that policy makers in Washington should keep this thought in mind as they "contemplate short- and long-term" changes to the GSEs. The study was written by James Shilling, the Michael J. Horne chair of Real Estate Studies at DePaul. IHS researchers analyzed Cook County Recorder of Deeds property data for repeat sales for 25,822 small (two-to-six unit) and 591 large (seven-plus unit) rental buildings in Cook County from 1998 to 2009.