In Recovery: 12 Communities to Keep an Eye On

Dennis Rodkin makes a highly speculative yet fairly-well grounded prediction for the dozen city and suburban communities best poised for a housing rebound. He consulted Chicago Magazine's own housing-value charts from the April edition for comparative stats for 2010 and 2011. The measures of interest are percentage price change and 2011 average sale time as a percent of 2010. The following communities fared best year-over-year, in descending order: Chatham, Avondale, Grand Boulevard, Hebron, Inverness, North Center, Kenilworth, Olympia Fields, Elk Grove Village, Edison Park, Burnham, and Logan Square. All had positive percentages in both columns, and hence, may be charting an upward course (outside variables aside). Except for Chatham and Grand Boulevard, the figures reflect only single-family home sales. Thankfully Rodkin doesn't just rest on the stats, he gets out to chat with the foot soldiers— agents and analysts. [Deal Estate]