Local home owners have reason to celebrate. Edgewater real estate has seen a 50.3 percent price growth and a median sales price of $237,000.

After the country’s housing bubble burst in 2008 which led to a nasty recession, many home owners saw their properties greatly devalued. However, Redfin released a new report yesterday showing another year of growth in Edgewater home prices. In fact, it was the second-highest increase in Chicago (following just behind Oakland on the south side).

Edgewater homes are also in demand. With the low interest rates of the past few years coupled with appreciating assets and rising rents, people are holding onto their properties in order to make money.

Year-over-year, inventory is currently down 19.1 percent in Edgewater with 293 units on the market currently. However, the area saw 149 sales in just the first three months of this year.

Redfin real estate agent Nate Brecht told EVB, ““Edgewater has a varied housing stock that covers all price ranges, from starter condos to million-dollar single family homes. Add in great transit and Chicago’s most important natural resource, Lake Michigan, and it makes sense that people would gravitate to the neighborhood.”

Chicago is doing very well with home prices up 12 percent over all. Hyde Park, Bridgeport, McKinley Park and the Gold Coast all saw price growth of at least 40 percent in their communities. Chicago has also seen seven consecutive months of inventory decline, falling 8.4 percent (the steepest drop in two years). New listings are also down 5.5 percent.

With all the progress in the neighborhood, Edgewater should see continued growth. “The neighborhood is doing a great job supporting its commercial corridors. Everyone knows about Clark Street in Andersonville, but there’s also been redevelopment of North Broadway, which is exciting and draws people to the east of the neighborhood,” said Brecht. “When you add in the $15 million UPN line Metra stop that’s going in at Peterson and Ridge, you have indicators that the neighborhood is investing in itself.”