"Chicago's Real Estate Market Struggles as Billionaires Offload Properties and Crime Rates Rise"
Chicago's luxury real estate market has been in a steady decline since 2021, and a billionaire is the latest to experience significant losses as crime continues to rise.
The downturn in the city's real estate sector has hit luxury condos particularly hard, with high-profile figures like Citadel CEO Ken Griffin selling part of his penthouse at a loss of $15 million, or 44%, just last month.
Griffin, who purchased the 37th and 38th floors of the No.9 Walton condo tower for over $34 million in 2017, sold them for $9 million and $10 million, respectively.
He quickly pointed to Illinois' political leadership, specifically Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, as a key factor in the city's rising crime rates and the plummeting value of real estate.
"The decline in Chicago real estate values reflects the failed political leadership in Illinois, a loss that ultimately impacts the people of the state," Griffin stated, just weeks after purchasing a set of 150-million-year-old fossils for $45 million.
In addition to Griffin's loss, the market for homes priced above $4 million in Chicago has seen a 28% drop in sales, with the median sale price decreasing from $5 million to $4.625 million. Furthermore, the median price for condos valued over $1 million fell by 9.1% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2021, according to a report from brokerage @properties.