kenilworth: Halloween in Winnetka and the North Shore!
- 10/29/22 03:40 PM
Halloween in Winnetka and the North Shore
On a particularly mild Chicago afternoon, I grabbed my bike and camera and rode around the North Shore. I snaked by through Kenilworth, Wilmette, Winnetka, and finally Glencoe. I hadn't set out to photograph Halloween decorations, but they were (as always) so fun I had to!
North Shore residents take their holiday decorating seriously. Halloween decor starts showing up in the third or fourth week of September. And Christmas/Hannukah decorations are often displayed before Thanksgiving and can stay up for months afterward.
So here's my array of the local Halloween scene covering all tastes: scary, sweet, gory, … (6 comments)
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kenilworth: Kenilworth IL Passes Liquor License Law - Dry No More!
- 03/27/17 02:00 PM
Kenilworth IL Passes Liquor License Law - Dry No More!Updated 2022
Kenilworth has always had the smallest commercial district of any North Shore village. Basically, Green Bay Road runs through town separating it into the east and west sides. There are a few shops and businesses on that stretch of Green Bay as well as a few on Park Dr.
I lived in Kenilworth for around 20 years and never gave it any thought. After all, we had Wilmette with its great downtown just to the south, and Winnetka on the north side. Kenilworth is tiny and nothing is very far. For the … (1 comments)
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kenilworth: Kenilworth 2014 Highest and Lowest Home Sales
- 01/29/15 02:37 AM
In Kenilworth, a beautiful lakeside home located at 619 Sheridan Road sold for $6,100,000. It has 4 bedrooms, 4 full and 2 half baths and a beautiful 9/10 of an acre with a private beach.
A very affordable Kenilworth home sold for $420,000 at 606 Roger Avenue. This home had 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and 1 powder room. Great entry level home for the Joseph Sears School District in Kenilworth.
… (1 comments)
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kenilworth: Chicago Trib Reports Million Dollar Home Sales Up - True in Winnetka?
- 12/15/14 05:43 AM
This weekend the Chicago Tribune reported that:
"In the Chicago area, home sales in the million-and-up category were up 8 percent from January through September, with a median price (in that bracket) of $1.35 million, according to Re/Max Northern Illinois."
I checked to see how those numbers compared to high-end sales in the North Shore - specifically Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield. I used the same time period - January through September in both 2013 and 2014.
There was indeed an increase in high-end homes in 2014 over 2013 - almost 13% more sales. The Tribune reported … (2 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka & North Shore Absorption Rate for Homes November 2014
- 12/01/14 06:42 AM
The absorption rate is a good standard by which to determine the kind of real estate market that is currently trending. "Kind of market" in this case means whether it's a good time to sell or a good time to buy.
A buyer's market occurs when inventory is high, sales are sluggish, and prices are dropping. A seller's market means homes are selling quickly and prices are rising. But what is the absorption rate?
Absorption rate: the rate at which a market absorbs (sells) inventory. The absorption rate determines how long it would take all the inventory to sell if no … (0 comments)
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kenilworth: Kenilworth Real Estate Market Report - October 2014
- 11/04/14 05:28 AM
Kenilworth posted 3 sales in October - and according to the numbers, they were priced well and sold
quickly:
Sold homes: 3
Average sold price: $801,250
Average list to sell price ratio: 99%
Average days on market: 8
Current Real Estate Market in Kenilworth:
For sale: 29 homes
Priced: $749,000 to $8,950,000
Under contract: 5 homes (with contingencies)
Pending: 1 home (contingencies cleared)
The average sale price may seem low but the three sales were approximately 400,000, 700,000, and 1,200,000. What is more revealing is that they sold at a phenomenal 99% of asking price - before any price reductions were … (0 comments)
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kenilworth: Chicago Homes Sales Down - What About the North Shore
- 09/25/14 05:10 AM
Earlier this week the Chicago Tribune wrote an article about declining home sales in the 9-county
Chicagoland area (Local Housing Market's Cool-Off Continues.) The author states that sales fell by 14% in August 2014 compared to August 2013.
Blaming a harsh winter and a stagnant economy, plus concerns about mortgage availability and rising rates has consumers edgy. The silver lining is that prices continued to increase in varying degrees depending on location.
How do our five communities compare to the larger Chicago numbers. I looked up homes sales in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield and also found that sales were … (3 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka and North Shore Houses for Sale 1000+ Days - What Does it Mean
- 09/24/14 04:01 AM
In the back of my mind, I know that there are some North Shore homes - Winnetka, Wilmette,
Northfield, Kenilworth, and Glencoe, that have been on the market for what seems like forever. Why does this happen?
I always explain to my sellers that "time", as in market time, is not their friend. The longer their house languishes, the more suspect buyers become. A well priced home should sell fairly quickly - particularly in a seller's market. Even if the seller is a little high, the offers will come if the price is adjusted quickly.
If the seller has grossly overpriced their … (0 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka & North Shore Condo Prices on the Rise
- 06/27/14 08:36 AM
I have thought for a long time that we could use some more condos in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield (although Northfield does have a good selection)
Baby boomers (me included) are looking to downsize and for those that want to stay in the North Shore, it's no easy feat. Yes, there are currently 56 condos for sale in the area, ranging from a 1-bedroom priced at $89,000 to a 3-bedroom luxury condo in Northfield for $850,000.
But if you have specific needs, say, wanting to take your dog along, the number shrinks to 44 available condos.
If … (2 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka & North Shore Real Estate Market Report - May 2014
- 06/05/14 01:41 AM
It's a mixed bag of results for market statistics for the various villages in the North Shore. Wilmette's average price sale and number of sales rose over May of 2013, but in Winnetka sales were down but prices were up.
Kenilworth's market is very low in total number of sales (just 1 in May) despite having a large inventory. Both Glencoe and Northfield had higher number of sales than last year, with Glencoe's average price remaining stagnant, and Northfield's average price going down.
All this tells me that the market is off-balance. As I've said month after month, homes in top condition … (2 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka & North Shore 1st Quarter 2014 Real Estate Report
- 04/24/14 07:28 AM
We are now going into the 2nd quarter of a strong seller's market in the North Shore towns of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe,Northfield, Glenview, and Northbrook. Here are how the numbers look for sold prices comparing the first quarters of 2013 and 2014.
In the first column, the average sold price of single-family homes in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield rose by 7.3% and in Glenview and Northbrook the price rose by 12%!
In addition, the average number of days to sell a house decreased by almost 2 weeks. There is a lack of inventory, but … (8 comments)
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kenilworth: Why Spring is Such a Good Time to Sell Your Home
- 03/28/14 08:03 AM
Chicago's North Shore villages of Winnetka, Northfield, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glenview, and Glencoe have traditionally kicked off their real estate season as early as January. Potential sellers have waited for the end-of-year holiday season to end before listing their homes.
Springtime brings a hop to your step! There is daylight savings time, warmer weather, and little green shoots pushing through the ground. Who wouldn't want to be out looking a new houses after months of cabin fever.
Sellers, meantime, can use the early cold months to get their house ready for market. This is the time to organize, clean up, and … (3 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Northfield - Not Enough Homes for Sale
- 03/04/14 06:33 AM
You may have heard that there are not enough homes for sale in the North Shore towns of Winnetka, Wilmette, Northfield, and Kenilworth. Seems impossible that just two years ago Kenilworth had over 100 homes for sale and now has only 35 with 4 being under contract.
It is a cycle that's hard to break - sellers aren't listing because they can't find anything to move into. Buyers are increasingly frustrated as good homes sell very quickly.
This chart shows the inventory of homes for sale in Winnetka, Northfield, Wilmette, and Kenilworth from 2011 to the present. You can see the … (1 comments)
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kenilworth: Kenilworth IL February 2014 Real Estate Report
- 03/01/14 07:11 AM
The frigid temps, snow, and ice have given us something to talk about this year. One of those things is how it has affected housing sales. A quieter start to the spring market is not just a local phenomenon - almost the entire country has been affected.It just means we can look forward to a robust April through June!
Kenilworth Home Sales
Total home sales: 2
Average sold price: $1,425,000
Average list price to sell price ratio: 91%
Average days on market: 136
Kenilworth IL Homes forSale: 29 homes
Range: $825,000 to $8,950,000
Under contract (with contingencies): 3
Pending (contingencies met): 3
… (0 comments)
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kenilworth: Are Winnetka & North Shore New Construction Homes Getting Larger
- 01/06/14 05:19 AM
In the Chicago Tribune, Mary Umberger wrote in December: "The McMansion lives! . . . No, I don't think the McMansion is dead. People want that square footage."
She spoke with a spokesman at Pulte Builders (who does not build on the North Shore) who said that buyers still want large spaces - whether it's the kitchen, yard, master bedroom, closets or garage.
I decided to do a quick survey on new construction homes that were built in 2003 versus new ones built in 2013.
In the towns of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield, I found that newly … (7 comments)
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kenilworth: The North Shore Real Estate Market Report for 2013
- 01/05/14 04:46 AM
2013 was the comeback year for local real estate. The comeback was slow and steady with increasing prices and demand in Winnetka and other North Shore villages. There were multiple offers and many homes sold quickly - it was definitely a seller's market.
I foresee more homes coming on the market in Winnetka, Wilmette Kenilworth, Glencoe and Northfield in 2014 as sellers adjust to the new dynamic - it's not so scary anymore to list your house for sale!
Here is how 2013 compared to 2012 in numer of houses sold, the average sold price, the ratio of the … (1 comments)
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kenilworth: 2014 Trends in Hardwood Floors | Westchester NY
- 01/03/14 02:11 AM
You can always tell the age of a house if the floors are original. The 1980s showed floors that were very light, and whitewashing was very popular. Floors got dark, then light again, and now they're trending darker again. If you are redecorating you will probably want to change the finish on your floors. I tell my sellers, however, not to change them because new buyers will want to choose their own stains and finishes.
Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth and Glencoe all have many new construction homes being built and they are all installing darker floors, and sometimes different plank widths. I … (3 comments)
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kenilworth: Winnetka & North Shore 3rd Quarter Real Estate Statistics
- 12/12/13 07:12 AM
Today's Chicago Tribune published an article in the Business section: "Cook County Home Prices Jump." The article stated that suburban Cook County saw in increase of 12.6% over last year
during the 3rd quarter.
Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield are all in Cook County. So I have prepared a Winnetka & North Shore 3rd Quarter Market report that shows exactly where prices have headed. The numbers are for the 3rd quarters of 2012 and 2013:
With the exception of 3-bedroom homes, prices have risen in 2013 over 2012 (which I think we all knew!)
Overall North … (4 comments)
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kenilworth: North Shore Real Estate Market Report - Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Evanston
- 10/08/13 07:50 AM
North Shore Real Estate Year-to-Date Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Northfield, Evanston, Glenview, Northbrook, Highland Park
Chicago's North Shore communities rebounded in 2013 - the figures have been up every month this year as I have shown in previous posts. Year-to-date single family home sales for the past 3 quarters is shown in this chart. With the exception of Northfield, all North Shore town showed an increase in sales.
Mortgage rates increased in May and June but that didn't slow down buyers' desire to purchase a new home. As has often been said, rates are still historically low. … (1 comments)
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kenilworth: 5 Things You Didn't Know about the North Shore Real Estate Market
- 08/06/13 07:38 AM
5 Things You Didn't Know about the North Shore Real Estate Market
There are many signs throughout the North Shore that the real estate market has changed for the better. One reason I like doing market reports is because of all the great data that comes out of it.
I've just done market reports comparing 2012 to 2013 year-to-date (January-July.) Here's what I discovered:
1. Kenilworth had the largest increase of total number of sales: up 71%
2. Winnetka home prices dropped 6% in 2013.
3. Northfield had the most condo sales both years: 21 … (5 comments)
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Halloween in Winnetka and the North Shore 
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