Karp Real Estate

Market Update - Glencoe Home Sales

During the past three months there were 32 homes that sold (closed) in Glencoe, according to the local MLS.  Of these, three were three bank-owned properties and three were short sales - that means that over 18% of the homes sold in Glencoe in the past three months were distressed properties.  All of these distressed properties were all sold for under $1 million.  (See chart below)

These distressed properties will continue to cause downward pressure on prices for all homes, not just the distressed properties.  For home buyers, this can be good news.  However, be very careful when purchasing a distressed property.  These  "bargains" don't come without any problems.  By the time a home is foreclosed by a lienholder, the home owner has not had sufficient funds to properly maintain the house.  This can have unforeseen consequences down the road for the new homeowner. Short sales are a mixed bag - some short sales are in better condition than others.  It really depends on the seller's reason for selling, and whether or not they have had the financial ability to take care of their home. 

 

There are currently 115 homes for sale in the MLS in Glencoe. With an average of 10 - 11 homes being sold in each of the past three months, it could take about 10 months for all of these homes to sell, assuming the sales rate is the same for the next few months. Typically home sales increase during the spring months of April, May and June, so hopefully these homes will sell a faster than that.

One concern I have is that 56% of the homes for sale in Glencoe today are priced over $1 million, while the sales in the past few months suggest that there are more buyers in the lower price ranges. Only 28% of the purchases in the past three months were over $1 million.  So it will probably take more time for the more expensive homes in Glencoe to sell than the less expensive ones.  The luxury market is softer than the rest of the market.

To find any home for sale in Glencoe, please go to www.KarpRealEstate.com.  Whether you are buying or selling, in today's market it is very important to work with a real estate agent that fully understands the dynamics of the local market! 

For more information about Nancy and homes for sale on Chicago's North Shore, visit www.KarpRealEstate.com.

Thank you for reading!

nsk

 

Free Energy Saving Tips

Here are some energy saving tips that I received this week from Michael Menn at Design Construction Concepts:

 

I found these 10 No-Cost Tips for Saving Energy that can be passed on to your clients.

 

Tip # 1.  Lock your windows.  Don’t just close them, but lock them to create an airtight seal that keeps out air leaks and drafts.

 

Tip # 2.  Plug power-draining computers and electronic equipment into a power strip with a switch, so they can all be easily turned off when not in use.

 

Tip # 3.  Turn off lights when leaving a room.

 

Tip # 4. Get free solar heat by opening the blinds and shades on your windows during the day.

 

Tip # 5.  Chill out and do your laundry in cold water and in the evening hours.

 

Tip # 6.  Add a sweater and lower the thermostat.  For every degree you lower your thermostat, you may be able to save 5% on heating costs.

 

Tip # 7. Run only full loads in your dishwasher and to save more money, only during evening hours.

 

Tip # 8.  Remove lint often from your clothes dryer and its outside vent.  And, run your dryer in the evening, when the extra heat helps warms the house.

 

Tip # 9.  Close the doors (and the heating vents) in rooms with minimal use, like walk-in closets, laundry rooms, and guest bedrooms, to reduce heat use in those areas.

 

Tip # 10.  Snuggle up under more blankets at night and turn your heat down lower to reduce energy costs.

 

These are simple, no nonsense tips on reducing energy costs in any homes. (Kathy Ziprik, Ziprik Consulting)

 

Best,

 

Michael A. Menn A.I.A., CGR, CAPS, Principal

Design Construction Concepts, Ltd.
425 Huehl Road Unit 15B
Northbrook, IL 60062-2323
847.498.1676 (P)
847.498.2463 (F)
michael@dcc-ltd.com
www.dcc-ltd.com

 

"Redefining Architecture and Construction"   

 

If you have something of itnerest that you would like me to share on my blog - just send it in!!! 

Thanks for reading!

nsk

Listen to Your House!

Once again, my husband woke me up in the middle of the night a few days ago because he heard something that didn't sound right.  He's not hearing burglars, or sirens outside.  He seems to have this sixth sense (or very sharp ears) when it comes to the mechanics of the house and for some reason it always strikes while I am sound asleep.

 

This time he said that he heard water running.  Since it was around 3 a.m. that was very strange.  We did have house guests at the time, so he thought that maybe one of them decided to take a shower or something.  He walked around the house and figured out that the water sound was clearly coming from the guest bathroom, but he didn't want to open the door and surprise our guests. 

 

He came back and reported his findings to me (I was already dozing again) and asked if I would take the "honor" of opening the door to the bathroom to check things out.  There were no lights on, so I was fairly certain that no one was showering. There was still a chance someone was in there, so I carefully opened the door and was relieved to find that no one was in the bathroom.  There is a second door to the bathroom that connects it to the guest room, which I carefully closed to avoid disturbing our guests.

 

The sink was not running and neither was the shower, so that only left the toilet.  I heard the sound of water, but there were no visible signs of water gushing anywhere.  I jiggled the handle on the toilet, but that didn't do anything.  This bathroom is only a couple of years old, so the toilet is fairly new.  I quietly left the bathroom and reported no people in the bathroom and no obvious water flowing to my husband who was waiting in the hallway.  Next he checked the sump pump and the ejection pump and determined that the ejection pump was working overtime.  He realized that the sound of the ejection pump going off and on is what woke him up.  The pump looked fine and seemed to be working properly.

 

Back we went into the bathroom.  My husband turned on the light that is over the shower so that we could see better.  He removed the cover to the toilet tank and glared into the tank which had barely an inch of water in it (the tank is supposed to fill up after each flush, so clearly there was something wrong).  As his sleepy eyes adjusted to the dim light, he spotted a piece of paper, actually a tag of some sort, that got caught in the mechanics of the tank.  Apparently this tag had been affixed to the side of the tank, and over time it came loose and got caught in the wrong place.

 

Had we not discovered this stupid piece of paper when we did, I assume that our water bill would've gone through the roof.  And maybe there would've been an impact on the ejection  pump from working so hard - who knows.

 

If I had been home alone I would've slept through the whole thing. Our house guests heard the water noise and they thought that we were showering or that it was our dishwasher running. 

 

Thankfully my husband catches these things.  This isn't the first strange noise he found in the middle of the night, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  There have been some false alarms, but I guess I'd rather have that then deal with the consequences of ignoring the strange noises, which have revealed a variety of malfunctioning  items plus some baby squirrels in the attic.

 

Thanks for reading.

nsk

 

To see any property for sale from your mobile phone with internet access, send a text message to 81118, and type in "baird" as the message.  An application will load that will allow you to see any home for sale, photos and all.   If you see a home that you'd like to look at in person, please give me a call (do not click on "call to see" because you'll get connected to someone else, not me!)

 

Otherwise, you can always find any home for sale in the Chicago area at my website: www.nancykarp.com.