Oak Park Real Estate Market Sees Year-Over-Year Growth, River Forest Sees Decline

By Joe O'Donnell

The 31 single, detached homes sold in Oak Park in September 2013 represented a 14.8 percent increase over September 2012, when 27 homes were sold, according to the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors (MORe).

In River Forest, eight homes sold, representing a 20 percent drop from September 2012, when 10 homes were sold, MORe reports.

The median home price of sold Oak Park homes, meanwhile, increased year over year while the median price of River Forest homes decreased by 17.2 percent. 

The median price of an Oak Park home increased from $345,000 in September 2012 to $380,000 in September 2013, according to the statistics. The median price of a River Forest home dropped from $503,750 in September 2012 to $500,000 in 2013.

In Forest Park, 11 homes were sold in in September 2013, an 83.3 percent jump from six sold in September 2012. The median price for a Forest Park home increased 1.8 percent, from $167,000 in September 2012 to $170,000 in September 2013. 

In the wider west-suburban area, Burr Ridge experienced the most significant increase in sales over the same period last year (120 percent), with Forest Park and Lemont also seeing big jumps. La Grange had the greatest percentage increase in median sales price, up 82 percent from September 2012 to September 2013. 

Overall, September 2013 sales in the Chicago suburbs were up 30.7 percent compared to the same time last year. The median sale price for detached homes increased 12.6 percent from the previous September, and the number of homes under contract rose by 30.4 percent.