Wednesday, May 1, 2013
New data released this week shows Chicago area home prices fell 0.8 percent in February.
In February, Chicago-area home prices dropped for the sixth straight month according to new data released this week by S&P/Case-Shiller. The data reflects single-family home prices fell 0.8 percent in February compared with January. However, Chicago area home sales prices were up 5.1 percent compared with Feb. 2012, which is the second smallest year-to-year increase after New York in a 20-city index provided by S&P/Case-Shiller, reported Crain's Chicago Business. “Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement. “The 10- and 20-city composites recorded their highest annual growth rates since May 2006.” Local prices are down …
Friday, March 29, 2013
In 2012, Lake Forest homes sold for 16.7 percent less than they did in 2011, Chicago Magazine reports.
Home sale prices in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff have dropped, according to a recent Chicago Magazine article. The article profiled what homes cost in several suburbs and Chicago neighborhoods. Though home sale prices are down in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, prices are up in neighboring Deerfield, Highland Park and Northbrook. The magazine’s data shows the median sale price for a Lake Forest home in 2012 was $700,000, down 16.7 percent from 2011, and 28 percent since 2006. There were 240 home sales last year in Lake Forest, with homes staying on the market an average of 240 days, the magazine reports. The median sale price for a Lake Bluff home in 2012 was $406,000, down 5.3 percent from 2011, and 33.9 percent since 2006. There were 112 Lake …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Suburban landlords are feeling the benefit as more people avoid buying a home in this market.
Suburban apartment rents hit a record high during the first quarter of the year, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The median rent is up 2.6 percent compared to a year earlier as well as compared to the previous quarter, the article states. Occupancy rates, at 94.7 percent, are also high. The North Shore saw the biggest increase in rents at 12.2 percent, according to Crain's. Lake County, which has the highest occupancy rate at 96.9 percent, saw a slight dip in rent. For the full article and a more complete breakdown by region, click here.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Senior couple glad if market keeps them in their house for now, it's good to be in Lake Forest.
From 2000 to 2006, home values in Lake Forest grew by about 33 percent, and at an even higher rate of 43 percent in Lake Bluff, according Peter Moulton, vice president of @properties. Moulton spoke before more than 100 residents from both communities Wednesday as part of a Market Report for Spring 2012 presentation at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest. Since the market peaked, median real estate prices for Lake Forest and Lake Bluff have dropped by an average of roughly 42 percent, according to Moulton, while metro Chicago's market could depreciate by an estimated 10 percent. Both communities have yet to absorb the full effects of depreciation and foreclosures of metro Chicago homes, said Moulton. “People are finding in a sort of…
42.25011
-87.83707
Gorton Community Center of Lake Forest
400 E Illinois Rd, Lake Forest, IL
/articles/brokers-say-home-market-stabilizing-in-lake-forest-and-lake-bluff
184304
/locations/6304788
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Congressman holds a roundtable to gain local input on improving the housing climate.
Get a room full of real estate industry leaders and the person who called the meeting could get an earful on the housing market. That is what happened to Rep. Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth, on Tuesday morning in his Northbrook office when he invited 10 real estate professionals from different parts of the industry to his office for a roundtable discussion. “There was a high level of frustration in the room,” Dold said after the meeting. “This is a first step. There will be more meetings. This was a meeting to get an idea of what we in the role of government can do." Dold’s agenda included foreclosure, loan modification and refinancing, underwater properties, real estate values, mortgages, stumbling blocks to doing business and other issues. …
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Real estate prices plunged during the recession, and now sales agents say buyers have the edge.
In 2006, the housing market flew too close to the sun. And like Icarus with his wings of feather and wax, a previously golden sector of the American economy plummeted to a bloody crash-landing. But real estate agents across the North Shore say that one group has an advantage: buyers. In the North Shore especially, there's a surplus of houses but a dearth of buyers. That means those who want to move in have the hitherto unusual luxury of being the ones with the power. "If you're a young person with a steady 9-to-5 job, steady income and you haven't damaged your credit yet, it's a perfect time to buy," said Emery Moorehead, chairman of the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors and a sales associate in Koenig & Strey's Lake Forest …
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
After sitting on the sidelines for several years, local homeowners are ready to make their move.
Given the recent chaos in the housing market, it’s no surprise that most homeowners (unless necessary) put off making any major moves until the dust settled. But for those lucky enough to duck the worst of it, 2011 looks to be the year to get off the sidelines. No matter the project – buying land, building new, refurbishing old, or remodeling existing – many consumers are ready to make their move. Among local residents jumping in are Robert and Lisa Pommer of Lake Forest. They have hired Distinctive Custom Homes of Lake Bluff for a significant remodeling project and addition that will include a new first-floor master, enlarged kitchen, new windows and bathrooms. “Remodeling made sense for us,” explained Lisa Pommer. “After looking at other…
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Soft housing market turns sellers into landlords and buyers into renters
There’s something surprising about the $4.99 million, 8,800 square foot French provincial mansion on the market at 1955 Telegraph Road in Lake Forest. It’s not the nine full bathrooms, the lit front-yard fountain or the 15-by 17-foot walk-in closet that would dwarf most bedrooms. The surprise is that for $23,000 per month, owner Adam Grabowski is willing to rent it. The notion of renting out such a valuable home would have been unthinkable just few years ago. “Absolutely not,” Grabowski said as to whether he would have considered renting the gated, 2.2 acre property if the market was good. “Buyers are tougher to get right now, but renters are a little bit easier,” he said. Rentals Fit Right Now for Future Buyers Lingering malaise in home …
42.214247
-87.873745
1455 Telegraph Rd, Lake Forest, IL
/articles/mansions-go-rental-in-lake-forest-lake-bluff
/locations/3761656
42.233041
-87.895585
Conway Farms Golf Club
425 S Conway Farm Dr, Lake Forest, IL
/articles/mansions-go-rental-in-lake-forest-lake-bluff
184336
/locations/3761657
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
More realistic asking prices thought to be the primary reason for turnaround.
After many years of getting the biggest bang for your investment in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, those wishing to sell their home may have something to celebrate in 2011. The end of 2010 has seen a slight increase in home sales, as well as decrease in the average amount of days a home sits on the market. Area real estate agents attribute the upswing to more Lake Forest and Lake Bluff homeowners becoming realistic about their asking price when it comes to selling their home. "The people that have had a hard time, they have not been realistic about the asking price of their home," said Beth Keepper, Real Estate agent for Griffith, Grant, and Lackie. "Consequently, they sit on it month after month." Although the increased willingness to price …
42.2769
-87.842621
124 Ravine Ave, Lake Bluff, IL
/articles/real-estate-selling-times-decline-at-the-end-of-2010
/locations/2946854
42.28095
-87.83329
665 Maple Ave, Lake Bluff, IL
/articles/real-estate-selling-times-decline-at-the-end-of-2010
/locations/2946855
42.245954
-87.842503
335 N Green Bay Rd, Lake Forest, IL
/articles/real-estate-selling-times-decline-at-the-end-of-2010
/locations/2946856
