Sell Your Chicago Home Now? Poll Hints at an Answer

Chicago’s holiday season is well underway now that we’ve passed the commercial post-Thanksgiving kickoff days: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. If you are one who is debating whether or not to sell your home during the holidays, there are plenty of both pros and cons. One good reason is the relative lack of competition; another is the attitude of most house hunters in December: they tend to be an earnest crew.
As to whether this particular holiday season looks like a good one to sell your own Chicago home, last week offered what might be a relevant hint. Although it’s true that measuring consumer “moods” can be an iffy proposition, last week delivered at least one piece of hard evidence. Since Chicago home buyers are by definition the ultimate consumers, it was one element pointing to how this year-end market might be expected to fare.

On Tuesday, the Rasmussen Reports polling organization published one of its periodic consumer attitude polls—this one zeroing in on residential real estate. Among the findings in a report titled “Homeowner Optimism Still Among Record Highs”--

• U.S. homeowners are “more optimistic than ever” about their home’s value.
• 69% of polled U.S. homeowners say that were they to sell their home now it would be worth more than what they owe.
• Already last May, 66% fewer had held that opinion—and that was the highest in nine years!
• Homeowners expect that their home’s value will continue to rise through 2019.

The positive real estate views were buttressed by a number of other positive signs. More than a third of those queried (39%) expect that they will earn higher incomes in the coming year—creating a large pool of workers who are “more confident than ever.” And on the employment front, fewer than ever (41%) say they know anyone who is unemployed and trying to find a job. Last May that number was 46%—making this the first time ever that this measure has fallen below 50%.

When you are nearing a commitment to sell your Chicago home, those kinds of supportive attitude indicators are definitely what you’d hope to hear. When the public shares the belief that house values are on the rise, that can be a persuasive factor supporting today’s rising selling prices. 

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