Chasing the CTA Blue Line: Avondale home sales trending up

I spent some of the weekend looking at homes near the CTA Blue Line in the Irving Park and Avondale neighborhoods.

Our single family home buyers typically look for locations close to public transportation and in good school districts. The later can be somewhat subjective but the the former is pretty simple. They want to walk to the train.  We often follow the CTA Blue Line train heading northwest to find a home that meets our client budgets.

Bucktown/ Wicker Park have been popular for a long time and come in on the higher-end range.  Logan Square has exploded with hot bars, restaurants and residential development over the past five years. Now Irving Park and Avondale neighborhoods are meeting the demand for relatively affordable houses along transportation (and near some cool bars too).  Prices and development are up trending up.

Avondale single family home sales
130 single family homes closed in the Avondale neighborhood in 2016.  The median price over the year was about $450,000.  There were many new construction home sales.  The highest sale was a 2016 build at 2834 N Richmond St, Chicago, Illinois 60618 for $885,000. 

• 117 Avondale single family homes closed over 2015 with a median price of only $365,000.  
• In 2014, 109 houses sold with a median price of $345,000.

Affordable single family homes in parts of Avondale can still be found within walking distance to Logan Boulevard and trendy restaurants.

The more pricey Avondale location for houses tends to be between the Belmont CTA station (soon to get a $15 million overhaul) and the Logan Square station and east of North Central Park.  Homes are now commonly bought up for gut renovation or complete new construction in hot beds of Avondale.