Seems there’s been a little condo boom in the Pilsen / Near West Side neighborhoods over the past couple of years. Hardly earth-shattering news, but the MLS statistics give some insight into the development boom. William Leslie of New View Realty ran a search for us of the area bounded by Halsted Street, Western Avenue, Roosevelt Road and 26th Street – which takes in Pilsen but also, of course, parts of Heart of Chicago, the ever-expanding University Village and the Near West Side.
The average condo price for 2006 was $315,212, up from $176,000 in 2004 – an increase of 79 percent. Take that increase with a statistical grain of salt, however. The number of condos purchased so far this year was 475, up from one (yes, one recorded condo sale, according to MLS stats) in 2004.
Of course, the MLS doesn’t keep track of every transaction, but the stats also give a good sense of how much this part of Chicago, especially University Village, has grown in two short years. University Village’s sales are likely giving momentum to Pilsen market prices.
As for single-family homes, the average price in 2006 was $245,017, up from $177,468 in 2004 -a jump of 38 percent. The number of transactions was only up slightly, to 51 sales in 2006 from 47 in 2004. We’re working on some more Pilsen-specific statistics.