Sweet Home Chicago

Neighborhood Watch and Lake Forest's Finest

I was showing some houses in Lake Forest this week, and had a run-in with the law! 

We had appointments to see three houses on the same block in Lake Forest.  All of the houses were vacant, and with all the snow on the street and in the driveways, we decided that it would be easier to just park in the driveway of one house, and walk to the other two.

As we were leaving the third house, three police cars pulled up to the house, and officers jumped out of the cars to approach us as we were leaving.  We were quite surprised, and asked if we had accidentally tripped an alarm or something.  Then they told us that they received a call from a neighbor about two people forcibly breaking in and entering the house! 

As the 4th police vehicle pulled up to the scene, I was explaining to the very nice officers that I am a Realtor and that we had appointments to see these three houses.  As it turned out, the third house does not have a for sale sign in front of it, so the neighbor that called to report us probably didn't know that the house was for sale.  The officers said that the neighbor knew that the house was vacant and was concerned when she saw us there.

So, kudos to the Lake Forest neighbor that is watching out for the property on her block.  And, kudos to the Lake Forest police who responded promptly!  Thankfully the policemen quickly realized that most burglars don't carry a clipboard with them as they are leaving the scene of the crime...

We were able to clear things up very quickly - business cards, property information sheets, and driver's license all were helpful in proving our innocence.  The lock box on the front door was helpful too.

Some sellers don't like to have a "for sale" sign in front of their home.  This story shows us one reason why you should have one!

Thanks for reading!

nsk

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!