I looked at all new construction single family homes in Deerfield, Highland Park, Northbrook and Glenview, for the 24 weeks ending June 1^st 2008 (MLS data only). 

PRICE:  the median price during the most recent 12 weeks was $1,233,000.  This is higher than it was during the prior 12 weeks at $964,000. (I also looked at re-sale homes and there too I am seeing the median price increasing from the most recent 12 weeks to the current 12 weeks, but the numbers are even lower than these.  This confirms what I have felt for a while, that the lower priced homes are selling first, and then people that are upsizing will be able to start getting into the market after they sell their smaller homes).

SALES:  The average number of homes sold (closed) each week increased during the most recent 12 weeks to 2 homes per week, from 1 home per week the prior 12 weeks.  The average number going under contract each week was the same during the entire 24 weeks, at 2 homes per week.

INVENTORY:  The average number of new construction homes available for sale each week in the MLS dropped during the most recent 12 weeks versus the prior 12 weeks.  It was 171 during the prior 12 weeks and it dropped to 167  during the most recent 12 weeks. This is in direct contrast to the re-sale homes which continue to have a steady increase in the number of homes available for sale each week.  I think this is because there aren't many new construction projects coming onto the market right now.  The existing inventory of new construction homes is selling - slowly but surely - and there many (if any) new ones hitting the MLS.

My last post was about re-sale homes in the same areas.

Thanks for reading.

nsk

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Market Watch: Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook and Glenview Illinois 

Sales of existing homes (excludes new construction) in all 4 suburbs is picking up slightly.  During the 12 weeks ending June 1^st, 17 single family homes sold (closed) per week, on average.  This is an increase over the prior 12 week period where 11 homes were sold each week.  With a similar trend, we saw an average of 25 homes go under contract each week during the most recent 12-week period.  This was an increase from an average of 11 homes going under contract each week during the prior 12 weeks.  Details for each community are in the chart below.

The inventory levels, however, continued to rise. During the one week ending June 1^st there were well over 1240 single family homes available for sale in all 4 suburbs combined - with an average of 1,172 homes available for each week during the most recent 12-week period.  The prior 12 weeks the average number of homes for sale was 981.

The median price of the homes sold and going under contract have been increasing slightly each week.  At first this puzzled me.  But then I realized that since in general prices of homes have been going down, the best way to interpret this increase in the median price is as follows:

People that do not have a property to sell have been making purchases, since they are less affected by the current market slump.  Many of these are probably first-time home buyers, purchasing smaller, less expensive homes.  As these first-time buyers make their purchases, this then allows people the sellers to turn around and purchase a larger home.  So that explains the increase in the median price.  Hopefully this will continue to trickle up through all of the price ranges.

Thank you for reading!!! Your comments are welcome.

(My next post is about new construction in these same suburbs.)

nsk

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The good news is that the trend I noted for both Highland Park and Northbrook is also true for Deerfield.  That is, sales in the past three months appear to be stronger than the prior three months.

Here is how it breaks down...

During the past 6 months 45 homes sold for under $1.2 million in Deerfield.  Seventy five percent of those sales (34) were in the past 3 months - so there is a good trend here.  With 162 homes currently on the market for under $1.2 million, this means it could take over 14 months for all of these homes to sell (162 divided by the 3-month sales rate of 11.3 homes per month (34/3 = 7.5)).   For Highland Park inventory for homes in this price range is around 10 months, and it is even lower in Northbrook.  So if the sales rates stay the same, it could take longer for Deerfield to "recover" from the high inventory levels that we are seeing.  Over 80% of Deerfield homes currently for sale fall into this price range.

There were a total of 9 luxury homes sold (priced over $1.2 million) in Deerfield in the past 6 months; 5 of those sold in the past 3 months.  So the three-month sales rate is 1.5 homes per month.  With 43 homes on the market in this price range, there is over 28.5 months of inventory.  Highland Park and Northbrook inventory levels are higher with over 30 months of inventory for luxury homes in both areas.

Please keep in mind that all of this "analysis" that I am providing assumes that the sales rates stay the same as they have been for the past three months.  We can see from looking at the full 6-month period, that the sales rates are not static.  This is just a snapshot in time, and it provides a way to compare what has been going on in each of these suburbs on the north shore.  It is not particularly a prediction of what is going to happen.

I hope that you find this info useful.  I will continue to look at more of the suburbs on the North Shore as time permits.  I'd plan to take a look at the condo stats as well. I am actually working with several buyers right now, and my time with clients (buyers and sellers) takes priority over blogging!!   

Thanks for reading!!  Your comments, questions, requests are welcome.

Overall sales activity in Northbrook was similar to Highland Park over the past 6 months.  Sales activity picked up during the past three months.  As in Highland Park the less expensive homes had a stronger showing, with 80 out of 87 sales in the past three month priced at less than $1,200,000 (about 92% of the sales).  Seventy percent of the sales in the past three month were under $700,000.

Assuming that the sales rate for the past six months remains that same (I hope not!) there is almost 17 months of inventory in Northbrook right now (316 homes on the market, with 18.7 selling each month, on average).  If I use the 3-month sales rate, the inventory level is a little better, with just under 12 months of inventory (316 homes available with 29 selling each month).

Breaking it down by price range and using the 3-month (more optimistic) sales rate, here are the details:

Northbrook homes priced less than $600,000 have 6-7 months of inventory.

Northbrook homes between $600,000 and $1,200,000 have almost 9 months of inventory.

Luxury homes (priced over $1,200,000) have over 32 months of inventory!

Please give me a call if you want more information or if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading.

nsk

Home below is for sale in Glenview/Northbrook development called Willows West.  Needs some work. Contact me for details.

In spite of the rain, the Earth Day Festival in Highland Park was well attended. Since the crowds were less then anticipated, they didn't need my assistance as a volunteer.  I took advantage of the time (no appointments with clients, no family commitments) to check out the festival myself.

I learned about a new line of paints from Benjamin Moore - they are eco friendly, hypo allergenic, and they also cover better than the regular paints.

I learned about a new solar energy program that will be coming the the North Shore (eventually - timing tbd).  The deal is that this company determines what type/size solar panel you need, and then they install it on your roof.  You pay monthly to rent it out.  Your electricity then comes primarily from the solar panel, and if you need any additional energy, you still get it from ComEd.  You don't have to switch it back and forth, it all works together seamlessly - at least that is what they told me. 

A local business that provides theraputic massages services is also selling eco-friendly cleaning supplies.  They started out using the products for their shop, and now that they've moved into larger quarters they decided to start selling the products themselves.

Kudos to the planners of this fist-time event.  I think it was a success!

A simple analysis of MLS data shows that sales have picked up in Highland Park over the past three months versus the prior three months.   There were 121 single family homes that sold (Attorney Review/Inspection, Pending, or closed) during the past 6 months;  73 of those sales (over 60%) were from the past 3 months, or 24.3 homes per month.

There are currently 360 single family homes for sale in Highland Park, as of close of business today.  So, on average that translates into between 14 and 15 months of inventory, if the sales rate for the past three months stays the same (360 divided by 24.3). 

If you look at this by price range, the picture is quite different.  For luxury homes (over $1.2 million) only 12 homes sold in the past three month, or 4 per month.  With 123 of these homes currently for sale, that translates into over 30 months of inventory! (123 divided by 4).

For the less expensive homes, the sales rate is slightly over 20 homes per month, which tranlsates into about 10.7 months of inventory. 

All of these numbers are better than they were a few months ago - so the overall trend is where we want it to be, heading up.

Thanks for reading.

nsk

On Saturday May 3rd from 11-3 is the first Highland Park Earth Festival.  There will be food, music, demonstrations, lectures, kids activities and more at the Ravinia Train Station and across the street at Jens Jensen Park.  The Festival is to raise awareness of sustainability and recycling and how we can all make a difference by doing small things every day.

I am volunteering in the afternoon - hope to see lots of familiar faces at this worthwhile event!

Please check out the website at http://www.hpearthfestival.org/. 

(re-published from my blog Sweet Home Chicago )

In the wake of falling home values, I guess this was bound to happen.  I'm sure some people have been thinking about the possibility - and now it is here.  A friend of mine called yesterday.  She was wondering if I could pull up some information about recent sales in the area of homes comparable to hers.  The reason - her bank wants to have her home re-appraised. The bank suspects that the line of credit they've given her (a home equity loan) exceeds the equity in her home.  I'm assuming that the bank will want to lower the size of my friends line of credit, depending on the appraisal (that they want my friend to pay for!)   The good news for my friend is that she hasn't used up the entire line of credit...though she was hoping to have it available for college expenses in the coming year, or just for possible emergency use.

I have a home equity line too, as I'm sure many people do,and I've been wondering if the banks were going to start taking a look at their level of risk in these loans and what they would do to manage the problem.

Obviously, I'm not in the banking business, so I don't know all of the legal issues involved here.  So, what I'd like to know is this:

What if my friend, or I, or anyone for that matter has actually used their full line of credit and they now owe more than their home is worth.  Even without home equity loans to consider there are many home owners facing a similar situation - they're upside down on their mortgage.  What are banks allowed to do in these situations?  If someone is upside down on their mortgage, can the banks require them to remedy the situation and pay the difference? As long as these people can continue to make their payments on their primary mortgage and any equity lines, is there really a reason for the bank to take action.  I understand that the banks need to have collateral to guarantee their loans...but where does the line get drawn?

I would love to hear from any one that knows more about this so that I can tell my readers what to expect in the coming months.  I'm sure that many people with conventional (30 year fixed) mortgages have been feeling somewhat smug as the news goes on and on about the sub-prime mortgage crises.  This issue is much closer to home for many people (excuse the pun).

Thanks for reading.