Sweet Home Chicago

Lake Forest, Highland Park, Glencoe - Real Estate Market Review

During the 6 months ending November 16, 2008, there were some similarities in trends across these three neighboring towns, and also some differences.

SALES
The number of homes sold during the past three months in each of these towns on Lake Michigan declined from the prior three months.

• Lake Forest sales declined by about 55% from 63 homes to 28 homes.
• In Glencoe the decline was about 45%, with 23 homes sold in the most recent 3 months from 42 in the prior 3 months.
• The decline in Highland Park was only 25%, with 77 homes sold in the prior three months, and 58 in the most recent three months.

DAYS ON MARKET
In all three towns, the supply of single family homes currently for sale far exceeds the number of homes being purchased.  This is no surprise - you've heard that across the country we have a buyers' market, which by definition is a situation where supply exceeds demand.  What I find very interesting is the number of days (market time) that homes are available for sale.

The average market time for the homes that have sold is significantly lower than the average market time for the homes that have not sold in all three towns.  This dichotomy is most pronounced in Lake Forest where the 28 homes that sold in the past three months were on the market for an average of 175 days, while the remaining 348 homes that are still for sale have an average market time of 295 days!

In Glencoe the 23 homes sold in the past three months with an average market time of 199 days, and the remaining homes for sale have been on the market for 250 days.  And in Highland Park 58 homes sold during the past 3 months with an average market time of 237 days, compared to the 361 still for sale with an average market time of 278 days.

So, why are certain homes selling faster than others in this buyers' market? The buyers out there are very savvy and they are looking for a good value.  The homes that are the best value for the money are selling first.  With all of the information about homes for sale now available through the Internet, buyers can easily do some comparative shopping before they even step foot inside a home - and that is exactly what they are doing.  Those sellers that put their homes on the market with a competitive price from day one, are selling before the other homes.  Those home owners that want to try a higher price point to start out, and then lower the price later are suffering with extended market times.

Here are my personal statistics...
The homes that I market for my clients have an average market time of 104 days and they sell for 96% of the list price.

Thanks for reading!

Thinking about Buying a Foreclosured Home? Think again!

This article by Ilyce Glink at InMan News is a great first step for anyone considering purchasing a foreclosed property.  Click Here to Read: Look Before You Leap

This article confirms something that I have been telling my clients for over a year - while there are some good deals out there in foreclosures, you need to do a lot of homework in order to find those deals and make them happen.  For your average homeowner, the investment of time that is required just isn't worth the savings.  And in many cases, once you've purchased your "great deal," then you've still got a ton of work to fix it up before you can even move in. And some cases, you can't even get inside the house before you buy it! 

Meanwhile, prices have been coming down, and there are some good opportunities to be found without going through the extra investment of time and energy required for a foreclosure. 

AND, as you know I am the perennial optimist, I really think that things are picking up.  There has been a flurry of properties going under contract over the past couple of weeks.  I have one contact pending now.  I had another one, but the deal fell through during the attorney review and inspection period - the buyer got cold feet.  And I have been negotiating another deal all day long today - I hope to have that one tied up later this evening or first thing in the morning.

Stop by my open house at 368 Ridge in Highland Park this Sunday from 12 - 2pm - great ranch on over 1/3 acre!!  www.368Ridge.com.

As always, thank you for reading!  

Glencoe - Crains Article

By Dan Rafter

Generations of execs make tracks to village

Pricey, even for North Shore; doing business with seatmates

Lawyers, doctors, engineers and CEOs all call Glencoe home — and it's not uncommon for a little deal-making to take place on the 20-mile commuter-train journey from the North Shore enclave south to Chicago's Loop.

Peter Stelian, the 42-year-old managing principal of Chicago-based investment banking and management firm Blue Vista Capital, has lived in Glencoe for seven years and talks business most every morning on the commute on Metra's Union Pacific North Line. Because Blue Vista is starting a fund to invest in off-campus student housing, Mr. Stelian has been chatting up real estate lawyers.

Earlier this summer, he sat next to a Glencoe resident who runs a real estate practice. He told this neighbor about Blue Vista's new fund and scored the name of a potential investor.

"We have a lot of impromptu business meetings on that train," Mr. Stelian says.

Glencoe, founded in 1869, retains a small-town flavor and the typical North Shore advantages of good schools (it's in New Trier Township) and plenty of outdoor space. To outsiders, its main attraction is the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Glencoe is one of the priciest communities in Illinois. For the first six months of 2006, the average sales price of a single-family home was $1.4 million, up nearly 8% from $1.3 million in 2005, says Terry Penza, executive director of the North Shore-Barrington Assn. of Realtors.

There are few lower-priced options; the median price for attached residences (which includes condos) was just over $318,000, Ms. Penza says, but just six such units were sold.

Ad agency legend Leo Burnett and vacuum cleaner magnate Earl Hoover once called Glencoe home. August Zeising, president of American Bridge Co., lived in the village for more than 50 years.

Today, Glencoe is home to Richard Keyser, chairman and CEO of W. W. Grainger Inc.; Daniel Hamburger, president and chief operating officer of DeVry Inc., and David Storch, president and CEO of AAR Corp.

Mr. Hamburger, 42, has lived in the village since 1999, when his family moved from Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. "This is a town where people care about each other," Mr. Hamburger says.

Residents are still raising funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina, long after the disaster has faded from the news. He also recounts the tale of a hire he made for DeVry after hearing a recommendation from a fellow resident — while watching one of his three sons play in a Little League game.

BEST PLACES TO LIVE Glencoe Population: 8,979 Area: 3.8 square miles Median household income: $164,432 Commute: 43 minutes by Metra Population figure estimates as of July 2005; household income as of 2000. U.S. Census and land area data are from City-Data.com. Commute times are to Chicago's Loop during morning rush hour and are calculated by Metra schedule.

Glencoe resident Peter Saravis, a director of Deerfield-based Focused Health Solutions, does his business over youth soccer. "I meet a lot of people who are in similar situations or industries to bounce ideas off of," says Mr. Saravis, 48. "We talk about recruiting other professionals, about strategic marketing."

Residents also talk of such hobnobbing taking place at the public Glencoe Golf Club and the local shops in the village's four-block business district.

"You'll go into the local Parkway Drugs, and people will come in and business will take place in an informal way," says Lenna Scott, 36, executive director of the Glencoe Chamber of Commerce. "Or maybe you'll go into the Little Red Hen (restaurant) and people will be talking about their businesses. No matter what you are doing, it's hard not to encounter someone in the business community."

©2006 by Crain Communications Inc.