News About The Glen

Interest in buying homes starting early

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There are definite signs that buyers interested in purchasing homes are starting early this year. In a typical year, new contracts for home sales decline significantly after Thanksgiving, and the real estate market is dead through year end. Within a week or two after the New Year, we begin seeing a few buyers poke their heads up from the ice and snow. But any significant buyer interest is typically not noticeable until sometime in mid-February to early March.

This year is different. Not sure why, but it is. Here are two indications of early interest that I’ve seen just in the last week:

First, I listed a home a few days ago, and I had an offer that very day. And it was a good offer. In fact, the offer was made without the buyer seeing the home!

Second, my proprietary website, www.homesintheglen.com, had a near record number of first time visitors (556) last week! I haven’t seen that number of first time visitors since the top of the market last July; and it’s the second highest number ever on my site.

I should say that my Glen website, which shows homes for sale in The Glen in Glenview Illinois, is a very real barometer of buyer interest. It is the only Glen-specific, Glen-only website in existence, and it produces real home buyers. I have been able to track visitors to sales rather easily. So, let’s look at a comparison of that 556 visitor number to previous years. In the same week a year ago, the site had 336 first time visitors. And the year before that? 368.

This time of year there are fewer homes for sale, so sellers have an advantage of less competition. It looks like this year they’ll have more than the usual number of buyers looking at their homes.

If you are interested in selling your home or in buying, please give me a call. I am an award-winning Realtor affiliated with @properties in Glenview, Illinois.

Margaret Ludemann

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

92 days, 2 hours, 18 minutes, 53 seconds

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OK, this will be a little different from my normal weekly blogs about real estate in The Glen (in Glenview Illinois). Well, actually, it will be a lot different.  This blog is about a piece of real estate that’s diamond shaped and measures about 340′ down the lines and 400′ to center.  Confused?  Well, if you are a baseball fan like me you know what I’m talking about, so read on.

As an active – very active – realtor serving The Glen I have three professional websites. My Glen website is www.homesintheglen.com which will tell you everything you want to know (and more) about this great development. Tower Crossing is the very popular townhome community in The Glen, and it’s where I live. My website – with loads of information about this community – is www.towercrossinghomes.com. I have a more generic website, too, www.margaretludemann.com.

So what’s the baseball angle? Well, if you’re like me you are already counting down the days until baseball’s Opening Day. I used to get out my calendar and count the days, but then I thought…hey, I’ll get an electronic counter timed for that magical day when life in all its glory begins anew.

So on the bottom of the home pages of my three websites you’ll find an Opening Day Counter…by days, hours, and minutes. Oh…seconds too! As I type this blog I see that I only have to wait 92 more days + 2 hours, 18 minutes and 53 seconds.  I can’t wait.

Pretty cool, huh?

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

Glen Town Center to get a nice facelift in 2016

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The Glen is about to receive a very nice upgrade in 2016. The Glen is an upscale residential and retail development in Glenview Illinois on property that was once a naval airbase. It was developed beginning in 2010, and it continues today with new homes still being constructed.

I live a half block from The Glen’s main shopping and eating area called Glen Town Center. It’s filled with scores of boutiques and eateries as well as a theater, coffee house, and book store. Over time some parts of the sidewalks have shown their wear as freezing and thawing have done minor damage. And some of the trees along Tower Drive, the main street through the area, have suffered, too. Don’t get me wrong, the place still sparkles…I mean it looks TERRIFIC…but it’s going to look even better!

The updating planned for next year will feature new sidewalks, trees, other landscaping, and signage. My neighbors join me in my excitement for this project which will add to the already strong appeal for shoppers, diners, current residents, and yes to those who are considering living in The Glen. Plans have been created, vetted and approved by the Village Trustees. Work will being in March, and completion is forecast for September.

If you haven’t been to The Glen I urge you to stop by for a meal and shopping. If you’ve been here before I suggest you think about making it your home. We have single family homes, townhomes, row homes, two flats, duplexes, and condos. Home prices range from the high $300s to over $2 million. For more information about homes in The Glen, please contact me. In addition to being a Glen homeowner, I am an award winning Realtor focused on Glen properties.

Margaret Ludemann   @properties Real Estate

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

Kids in The Glen

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Kids. Lots of them. Right here in The Glen!

In fact we have 1,336 children (ages birth through the 12th grade) in the 1,254 privately owned homes in this upscale residential and retail community in Glenview Illinois. As a long time Glen resident and as a Realtor who focuses heavily on The Glen, I know what a wonderful place this is for children. I have a 15 year old son who has grown up here, and he loves everything about it. Gallery Park, Lake Glenview, soccer fields, tennis courts, Kohl Children’s Museum, Arclight Movie Theater, and so much more.

We have eight developments with privately owned homes in The Glen, not counting Westgate which is under construction. Here is a breakdown of children in each:

Chapel Crossing: 167 homes 284 kids 1.7 kids p/home

Landings: 143 homes 236 kids 1.65 kids p/home

Southgate: 299 homes 413 kids 1.38 kids p/ home

Cambridge: 244 homes 234 kids 0.96 kids p/home

Regency: 148 homes 76 kids 0.51 kids p/home

Tower Crossing: 154 homes 73 kids 0.47 kids p/home

Patriot Commons: 68 homes 16 kids 0.24 kids p/home

Glen Shore: 31 homes 4 kids 0.13 kids p/home

Not surprisingly the developments with the most single family homes have the highest percentage of children p/home: Chapel Crossing and Landings. Southgate and Cambridge have a mix of single family homes and attached housing. On the other end of the spectrum, the developments with the most attached housing (mainly townhomes and condos) have the lowest percentage of children p/home: Tower Crossing, Regency, Patriot Commons and Glen Shore.

If you would like to know more about The Glen please give me a call.

Margaret Ludemann, Realtor, @properties

847-401-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

1 Glen home. 2 offers. Jump ball.

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A couple of weeks ago I presented two purchase offers to one of my Glen seller clients. By “Glen seller” I mean a homeowner in the upscale development known as The Glen in Glenview Illinois. I only had this home on the market for a few days, but a strong marketing campaign produced immediate showings, resulting in two qualified buyers vying for the home at exactly the same time. What to do?

Obviously this was a nice problem for my sellers. Typically in this situation sellers will choose one of two paths.

They can select the best offer, and authorize their realtor to negotiate exclusively with that buyer for a higher price and better terms. If the negotiation process produces an agreement, the sellers have succeeded in selling their home, assuming of course that no inspection or financing problems pop up. If negotiations bog down the sellers may choose to go back to the other buyer and begin negotiations.

Alternatively sellers can call for a jump ball. That’s basketball terminology of course, but it’s apropos in this case. The sellers’ realtor asks both potential buyers to provide their “best and final offer” by a certain time, usually within 24 to 36 hours. While home buyers are generally not thrilled with this approach, they usually comply; and it generally produces a great result, particularly in situations where there are two highly motivated buyers whose initial offers were similar in price and terms.

So how did it work out for my Glen sellers? Well they chose the “best and final” route. But this one had a twist. They didn’t select the higher priced offer. It turns out that the lower priced bid had far more favorable terms and no conditions of material concern. Interesting, huh?

If you would like more information about real estate in the Glen, please contact me. I’m a Glen resident and an award winning realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann     847-401-1802     margaretludemann@gmail.com