Strong 1st Quarter sales

Homebuilders in the Chicago metropolitan region carried their momentum from 2023 into the 1^st quarter of 2024 by recording 1,410 new home sales during the three-month period, an increase of 17.3 percent compared to 1,202 sales registered during the same timeframe in 2023.

Activity in the single family sector led the market with 945 sales posted during the most recent quarter, up 31.3 percent year-over-year. In the attached sector, quarterly sales dropped by a modest 3.5 percent from 482 units during the 1^st Quarter 2023 to 465 during the most recent three-month period.  

Sales in the city of Chicago during the 1^st Quarter 2024 continued to lag the suburban market with just 39 contracts, down 43.5 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, suburban transactions were up 21.0 percent.

Despite the overall increase in sales activity, the number of developments reaching final sellout exceeded that of new openings during the quarter.  As such, the total number of communities actively selling new homes reached a record low of 247 during the 1^st Quarter 2024.  For perspective, this level of competition reflects a drop of 28.8 percent compared to the 347 developments actively marketing new homes five years ago.

With total sales up and the number of developments down, per-project sales are at their highest level in 10+ years, especially among new communities.  For example, in the southwest suburbs, M/I Home’s Piper Glen community and Pulte’s Naperville Polo Club combined for 55 total contracts during their initial pre-sales period this quarter.

D.R. Horton led all homebuilders during the January-March 2024 timeframe with 311 contracts, followed by Lennar and M/I Homes at 284 and 240 sales, respectively. Rounding out the top five were Pulte with 223 transactions and Ryan Homes with 87 sales.