2009 First Quarter
In this year's first quarter, there were 71 sales of single family homes in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, and Glencoe. The breakdown above is shown in the number of units sold by price range. I think this is interesting because although it shows a 67% decrease in the total sales from the same period in 2008, the biggest decrease in sales has been in the $0-500,000 price range as shown below.
2008 First Quarter
I think this is indicative of the struggles that buyers in the lower price ranges are having with credit and obtaining mortgages. Rose Sears, Baird and Warner's in-house mortgage broker told me that fully 50% of the people she talks to do not qualify for a loan. Back in the good old days, she qualified about 19 out of 20 people!
At the other end of the spectrum, the higher end homes are still selling briskly with the $500,000 to $1,000,000 actually selling more units in 2009 than in 2008. I think we can all agree that real estate now is unpredictable and simply will not follow any traditional routes.
But if you qualify, and particularly if you either don't have a house to sell or don't need to sell . . . you are GOLD. If you are thinking about jumping into the market, this is simply a great time to do so.
What are you waiting for?
Comments(0)