The state of Illinois currently has more than 50,000 active condominium and homeowner associations containing nearly 600,000 residential units, new comprehensive research by Association Evaluation, LLC has revealed.

The Community Associations Institute, a respected national organization, lists a total of 18,250 condominium and HOAs in Illinois as of 2015.

“Our research team was surprised to learn that thousands of condominium and HOA associations were uncounted in Illinois,” said Sara Benson, president of Association Evaluation, LLC, a Chicago-based real estate data-analysis firm.

“Apparently, thousands of smaller condo associations and HOAs are not registered with the state of Illinois simply because they are self-managed by untrained volunteer owners,” said Benson, who estimated that up to 80 percent of existing units are self-managed or controlled by developers.

The new comprehensive directory-the 2016 Association Evaluation Report on Illinois Condominiums and Homeowner Associations (HOAs)-found that the city of Chicago currently has 12,235 active condominium and homeowner associations containing approximately 305,000 residential units-half of Illinois’ total.

“Our team of research experts scoured hundreds of sources to pinpoint and profile every condo and homeowner association throughout Illinois, both large and small,” said Benson.  Read more: