ACTIVE LISTINGS July, 2008 # Units Avg. MT Avg. List Price 1356 191 $680,191
From the above charts we can notice several things. 1) The number of homes on the market has decreased. 2) The Average Market Time has increased to almost 8 months. 3) The Average List Price has increased.
SOLDS # Sold Avg LP Sold Avg SP SP:LP Ratio Avg MT 720 $515,447 $490,300 95% 137 And, yet there's a big … (1 comments)
move up to naperville: Seller's Mistake Helps Buyer
- 08/09/08 12:19 PM
I was out showing Romeoville townhomes this morning. Priced between $160,000 and $200,000. Just off of Weber Road. The subdivision is newer, under 10 years of age, and there are about 8 units on the market. We've now seen four...and two of the properties are possibilities. However...one of the units that we walked into required us to wear dark sunglasses! The home was painted with bright oranges, yellow-greens and red. And, you saw all those colors at once. The property has been on the market over 300 days, and I'm betting that every buyer who walks in...turns around and walks out. … (1 comments)
move up to naperville: Poorly Designed Town homes
- 06/29/08 05:57 AM
I worked with a townhouse buyer last week...she's over 50...but not a senior. And as we viewed several properties I wondered about the "new" fashion in town homes in our area. In the past three years builders have been putting up townhomes which are above the garage. This means that you have to walk up a full flight of stairs. Now, I don't know about you, but I no longer have kids to carry in the groceries. I can't imagine dragging up several bags of groceries every week. In fact, as the laundry rooms are also on the bottom level, I … (4 comments)
move up to naperville: More Freight Trains through Naperville
- 04/22/08 02:39 AM
Canadian National Railway is trying to acquire the EJ&E railroad tracks for $300 million. I hope that they're stopped. Why? Because they would increase the number of freight trains going through Naperville and DuPage county horrifically. The old EJ&E tracks for the most part are at ground level. When a freight train with a 100 cars goes through, traffic stops. The worst intersection is on Route 34, Ogden Avenue, which is a four lane highway at that point. Last summer I waited 20 minutes for a slow moving coal train to lumber by. Traffic was backed up for at least a mile. Imagine, a freight … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: Becoming a Rental Agent
- 04/15/08 02:52 AM
This market really brings back memories of the early 1980's. Yesterday, I talked to a client from Michigan who has decided to rent a house in Naperville for the next year. That was in the morning. In the afternoon, I received a referral from a Florida agent. Again, his client wanted to rent a home in our area. And, yes, they can search thru our rental listings. There are over a 100 properties for rent, ranging from one bedroom condo units to five bedroom 2-story homes priced over $3000 monthly. Currently, I have five clients coming to our area from California, Michigan, Florida, … (5 comments)
move up to naperville: Chicago Area FHA limit increased to $410,000
- 03/08/08 02:33 PM
OK...we have a temporary limit increase till the end of December, 2008. And, hopefully, they (the government) will make this increase permanent. In Naperville, the majority of the single family homes are over $400,000. And, we used conventional mortgages because FHA didn't go up high enough. And, truthfully, they still don't. But that's another rant. Right now, first-time buyers who have a small down payment, generally 3%, will be able to purchase a condo, townhouse or small single family in the Chicago area. For example: a $200,000 property will require $6000 as down payment...and additional savings. FHA likes to see some money in … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: So long, farewell...Countrywide's on its last legs
- 03/08/08 02:22 PM
Countrywide, a California lender, which did lots of business in the Chicago area is being investigated by Lisa Madigan, our Illinois Attorney General. She has asked them to provide her with files of Chicago closings from the past few years. She believes that there is evidence of fraud...and redlining. And today the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI in New York, with oversight from Washington, is also looking into "widespread fraud" in the way Countrywide originated mortgages. And, they are being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possibly improper accounting. If this were baseball, I'd say three strikes and you're out. … (3 comments)
move up to naperville: Oh NO! Not another mini reduction!
- 02/23/08 05:14 AM
Do you remember I showed a previous mini-reduction email about two months ago? Well, this morning's email brought me another amazing mini-reduction. Eileen, You showed my listing at xxxx Lane, Plainfield on 8/9/2006.I have recently reduced the price on this listing from $549,000 to $548,500 and thought you may want to bring your buyers back for another look. If I remember correctly one of the earlier reductions was from $550,000 to $549,900. A mini-mini reduction! So, let's analyze this missive. #1, I showed the property almost 18 months ago! Those buyers have been in their "new" home for 15 months. #2, the property was overpriced then, and … (2 comments)
move up to naperville: MGIC, restricts underwriting areas effective March 3, 2008
- 02/11/08 12:36 AM
Here's a memo, from the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Company, February 6, 2008 Dear Valued Customer: As a result of our ongoing evaluation of market conditions and loan performance, we are making a number of changes to our base underwriting guidelines and have created a new set of guidelines for areas exhibiting market weaknesses. The following underwriting guideline changes are effective for mortgage insurance applications received by MGIC on or after March 3, 2008. (Then it goes on to break down underwriting guidelines. FICO is very important...and it better be above 660! And if the appraiser says that the property … (5 comments)
move up to naperville: Heart Attack Snow
- 02/06/08 10:02 AM
This winter has been one of the snowiest in our records. I exercise daily by shoveling the driveway. This morning's snow started as sleet and froze. Then heavy wet snow fell on top of that. Ugh. Cold too. I learned many years ago to shovel this type of snow very carefully. Because it's so wet, it's very heavy. You have to take small shovel fulls. And you don't try to do too much or as many people will tell you, it's a heart attack in the making. Of course, after shoveling all winter, I guess that I've built up my muscles! But, I'm … (5 comments)
move up to naperville: SIRVA Relocation files Chapter 11
- 02/06/08 06:52 AM
Moving company Allied Van Lines Inc., along with its corporate parent Sirva Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, the latest victim of a heavy debt load and the downturn in the U.S. housing industry.The company, which is based in Westmont, Ill., (which is really near Naperville), although they used to tell their relo clients that they were in Oak Brook as it has more cache. I expect that several other relocation companies are feeling the same pangs. They've spent too much money buying the relo clients' homes, which they now can't sell. As I've mentioned before, so many of my clients are relo … (5 comments)
move up to naperville: Re-financing Caution
- 01/28/08 04:46 AM
With mortgage rates down (in our area around 5.5%) folks with adjustable mortgages will try to refinance. Especially if they expect their rate to re-adjust up. However, here's a warning. If you have your house on the market for sale, you probably will not be able to refinance. If you had your house on the market in 2007 you'll probably need to wait 3 to 12 months to get a new mortgage. Why? Because lenders who do a refi and then have that loan sold within a short period of time don't make any money. And, we know that lenders and banks do … (2 comments)
Interesting playing around with year over year stats. Almost the same number of homes are on the market. But, notice that the market time has increased. The active listings for 4 bedroom homes have been on the market for approximately 8 months. No wonder, I've been showing so many vacant properties! And, average prices have also decreased in the 3 and 4 bedroom category. Yet, in the more expensive 5 bedroom homes, the price actually increased. I suspect that there are several reasons for this: 1) buyers in this price range are doing custom designs and upgrading and 2) they can afford … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: FHA RAISES THEIR LIMIT TO $725,000
- 01/24/08 06:23 AM
As part of the congressional rebate program to stimulate the economy, FHA will now insure mortgage loans up to $725,000. However, I'm betting that amount will only be good in limited markets such as New York City, Chicago Metro area, San Francisco, San Diego and possibly Miami. Our Naperville area had/has conventional limits of $417,000. Anything higher than that is considered a jumbo loan with higher rates. Those rates have been as high as 1% over the conventional rate in the past six months. What will this accomplish? It will probably help those buyers who are looking to buy property under $650,000. It … (2 comments)
move up to naperville: Naperville School District #204 contemplates 3rd High School
- 01/23/08 02:44 AM
The school district has chosen a less expensive location for its third high school to be called Metea Valley. The land is on the east side of Eola Road, north of North Aurora Road and just south of the Illinois Prairie Path. Originally, they were going to build the third high school at the corner of Route 59 and 75th street. That proved to be too expensive and after several months of determining the cost of that location, they district looked at other locations. This new location is farther north and west than the original location. They expect the school to open by … (1 comments)
move up to naperville: Harmony Grove and Ashwood Creek and Ashwood Park Prices
- 01/15/08 11:51 PM
I was out showing homes in Naperville school district #204 before my vacation and I had the distinct impression that prices were lower. So, this morning I did some research which backs up my "feeling." Harmony Grove 2006 Closed Sales 27 homes closed $420,000 to $575,000 sales price Average Price: $483,000 Harmony Grove 2007 Closed Sales 17 homes closed $424,000 to $621,000 sales price Average Price: $471,000 Hmmmmmmm...fewer sales and lower average prices. Also, noticed more vacant listings and higher buyer agent's commissions. Ashwood Creek/Ashwood Park 2006 Closed Sales 18 homes closed $599,000 to $1,068,000 Average Price: $811,247 Ashwood Creek/Ashwood Park 2007 Closed Sales 27 homes closed $453,000 to $1,060,000 Average Price: $730,340 The Ashwoods are newly developed sub-divisions … (1 comments)
There are 193 3 bedroom homes on the market; average price: $396,687. Market time: 171 days
There are 602 4 bedroom homes on the market; average price: $728,764. Market time: 237 days
There are 137 5+ bedroom homes on the market; average price: $1,216,136. Market time: 259 days
Much longer market time...almost 6 months at the lower end of the price range. 487 homes sold within the past six months. Average selling price: $497,521. 62 homes over One Million dollars sold so far in 2007. The most expensive … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: Some Interesting Naperville Stats
- 12/21/07 09:57 AM
I was curious about the number of active agents in our MLS. During the summer when I checked we had over 53,000. Today, there are 48,957 active MLS agents. And, I suspect that in January that number will decrease when the Brokers receive bills and have to pay for non-productive agents. And, then I was curious as to how many agents work out of Naperville real estate offices: 2168. Hmmmmmmm...and we only show 1450 closed Naperville single family closed units. So, there's not a lot of business out there. Those 1450 single family homes were on the market on average for over 222 … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: New closing fees with government loans
- 12/13/07 03:02 AM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac quietly announced a new, up-front fee of 0.25% on all of the mortgages they buy or guarantee -- regardless of the credit quality of the borrower. So on a mortgage of $417,000, the highest amount that Fannie and Freddie can buy, that would mean an additional $1,042.50 in up front costs to the buyer. This fee is supposed to be in effect on all mortgages after March 3, 2008. So, those buyers even with good credit scores will be paying to help out these entities stay solvent. And, what it means is that most lenders sell … (0 comments)
move up to naperville: Edward Hospital in Naperville
- 12/07/07 01:34 AM
Edward Hospital is just south of downtown Naperville, a few blocks north of my office. I drive past it several times a week. And, there is always a construction crane on the property. In fact, I'd think that the crane should be part of their logo. They announced yet another addition to the hospital. Originally they wanted to buy some of the adjacent homes but there were problems with pricing and with the homeowner rules and regulations. So, they revised their plans and will now build a smaller addition. When we first came here in 1975 the hospital was tiny. You could find … (1 comments)
An assortment of odds and ends that may or may not pertain to the greatest city in the Midwest: Naperville.
Also some commentary on the Naperville real estate market.
Naperville Single Family Stats Compared-July and October, 2008;)
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