Slumping home prices across the nation are also hitting the North Shore, although Evanston hasn’t been as hard hit as many neighboring communities.
Newly released figures from the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors show that the median selling price of a single family detached home declined across the region in the first six months of 2008, compared to median prices for all of last year.
The decrease in Evanston was 4.6 percent, while in most nearby communities it was considerably higher — with the worst drop, 17.4 percent, seen in Lincolnwood.
The median selling price in Evanston fell from $550,000 to $525,000.
The new figures don’t include numbers for condos and other attached dwelling units, those are expected to be available in about a week.
The volume of home sales also declined across the area. Projected to an annual sales rate, the six-month numbers would show a decline of 20 percent in Evanston, 9 percent in Skokie, and greater than 40 percent in towns including Glenview, Morton Grove, Wilmette and Winnetka.
The average number of days it took to sell a home increased in most communities. Days on market were up 27 percent in Evanston, 30 percent in Glenview, 37 percent in Northbrook, but only 7 percent in Skokie.
Despite the troubled current state of the market, NSBAR figures show that the median single family detached home price in Evanston has still risen 53 percent so far this decade.