I measured it. It was ¾”. That was the distance between two articles on page 3 of the Chicago Tribune’s Business Section of March 26. One article said that home prices went down in January. The other said that January’s prices had gone up “solidly”. It’s no wonder that people get confused about the real estate market.
Now comes two new reports, one by the National Association of Realtors, the other by the Commerce Department. If you only read the headlines you would believe that the sky is falling. In fact Bloomburg’s report using Commerce Department data is entitled “Housing rebound in the U.S. loses steam…” Ah, but the devil is in the details. I’m here to tell you that there’s no loss of steam in The Glen’s (in Glenview) housing market.
As one reads these new reports carefully it becomes apparent that the loss of sales is primarily among homes priced under $300,000. First time home buyers, therefore, are having a difficult time. This is due largely to more stringent lending standards and higher mortgage interest rates. Higher priced luxury homes, like those in The Glen, are selling well now that the severe winter is behind us. Prices are continuing to rise as well. Here in The Glen the only significant barrier to greater sales is low inventory. But when quality homes come on the market, they are selling at a rapid pace; and this is true in most price points. Homes in The Glen, depending on neighborhood sell from the mid-$300’s to well over a million dollars. The average price paid for Glen homes in 2013 was $654,657.
So…the real estate market in The Glen is rolling along nicely. I believe we will experience a very nice gain in sales, certainly in home prices, when we see year-end numbers next January.
If you may be interested in living in The Glen, please contact me. I am a long time Glen homeowner and an award winning Realtor affiliated with Coldwell Banker.
Margaret Ludemann 847-401-1802 Margaret.ludemann@cbexchange.com