Chicago

Glen residents are connected by private group email

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The Glen’s Yahoo group connects residents of the Glen with one another via email. The Glen, of course, is a luxury residential and retail development in Glenview Illinois on Chicago’s north shore. This group “list serv” allows residents to ask hundreds of neighbors for recommended service providers in a single email. So if you need a recommendation for a plumber or babysitter or whatever…you can email everyone else in the neighborhood and get numerous replies. And all replies go to everyone in the group as well.

But it’s not just to find quality service providers. Would you like to sell that old bike taking up space in the garage? Or get help in finding your lost dog. Or find out what people think of a new restaurant. Or find tickets to a Bears game that a neighbor is not going to use. It’s like having the whole community right there in your computer…hundreds of neighbors just waiting to help you out. And you can use any email address you want, not just yahoo addresses.

Don’t worry about your inbox being flooded with Glen emails. On an average day you’ll receive about 8 emails. They are clearly marked in the reference line as being from a Glen resident. Or you can receive one email each evening with all of the emails in a day bundled into it.

There are over 700 members of the Glen’s group. It’s open to any Glen homeowner or renter. And it’s free! You sign up with Yahoo which sends notification to the group’s volunteer moderator. The moderator sends the applicant an application used to confirm residency; and you’re in.

If you live in the Glen and are not a member, here is what you do:

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Glen. Click on JOIN THIS GROUP.

If you don’t have a Yahoo ID to sign in, you can get one by clicking the CREATE NEW ACCOUNT at the bottom of the Sign In To Yahoo box. After you’ve done that, follow the directions to join.

If you DO have a Yahoo ID: After clicking JOIN THIS GROUP just sign in to Yahoo, and follow the directions to join.

If you are thinking about living in the Glen, consider this just one more benefit.  I’ve lived here for 13 wonderful years.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802  margaretludemann@gmail.com

The Glen…urban living in the suburbs

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“It’s not just a home; it’s a lifestyle.” Over the years I’ve said this to scores of my home buyer clients who were considering the Glen, the luxury residential and retail community in Glenview Illinois. I include it in all of my marketing materials. And there’s good reason. You can find a nice home anywhere, but the Glen lifestyle is unique and wonderful.

Many years ago, as a young single woman just out of college, I moved to a condo at Division and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. I loved living in the exciting urban setting of Chicago. I loved the restaurants, shopping, and the theaters. I loved North Avenue Beach. I loved the convenience of walking to the gym, the grocery store, the laundry, and the train. I loved meeting friends for a drink after work. I loved walking down Michigan Avenue with all of the people hurrying off to work or play. What a life!

There were downsides, too, of course. Traffic congestion. Noise. Waiting in lines. Holding my purse close and tight while walking in crowds. So with all of the benefits of urban living, there were some less than pleasurable things as well.

Fast forward to 2003. I’m married. I have a three year old son. I need to consider safety. I need to think about schools. But, like many city dwellers, I didn’t like the idea of living in the suburbs. But then I heard about the Glen, in the north shore community of Glenview. I was told that it was a perfect blend of urban life in a suburban area, and I decided to take a look. One look was all it took for me to fall in love with the Glen. My husband and I bought a townhome bordering Glen Town Center. I discovered that, like in the city, I could walk to everything…the movies, shopping, restaurants, fitness center, laundry, spa, book store, and the Metra train station. I found a buzz while walking along Tower Drive, just like I experienced in the city.

But unlike the city I found that I could also walk to two golf courses, outdoor tennis courts, quiet walking trails, Gallery Park’s large open spaces, Little Bear Garden, and Kohl Children’s Museum. I also learned about Glenview’s world-class schools. In short, I found an urban lifestyle in suburbia. It’s called the Glen. I call it perfect.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

847-401-1802  margaretludemann@gmail.com

The Glen’s Glen Shore condos offer luxury and affordability

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The Glen in Glenview Illinois on Chicago’s north shore consists of privately owned homes, rental apartments, retirement communities and Navy housing. Of the 1,252 privately owned homes, occupied by 3,725 residents, you’ll find single family homes, townhomes, row homes, duplexes, two-flats and condo apartments. The largest of the various neighborhoods, Southgate, has 299 homes and 1,039 residents.

On the other end of the spectrum is Glen Shore, a luxury condo development with 31 units and 46 residents; and that’s my subject for today’s blog. Glen Shore is located at 2300 Chestnut Avenue, east of Attea Middle School, near Lehigh. It’s in the same area as Glenview State Bank. It is an attractive brick building with one, two and three bedroom units. The homes in the west side of the building have lovely views of Lake Glenview and Gallery Park which are the center pieces of The Glen.

One of the great attractions to Glen Shore is its proximity to the Glenview Park Center and Gallery Park. The park center offers a health & fitness center, indoor track, swimming pools, water park, a basketball court, and a senior center. Gallery Park has walking trails, tennis courts, playing fields, a lookout tower, amphitheater, Little Bear Garden, and fishing in Lake Glenview. Glen Shore is also equally convenient to the Glenview Train Station with Metra service to Chicago and Amtrak service to Milwaukee and the North Glenview/Glen Metra Station. Glen Town Center’s many shops and restaurants are also nearby.

The condos are beautiful units. One bedroom homes can be purchased in the $300s and larger unit pricing is in the $400s and $500s depending on size and view. The problem is that few come on the market due to the number and quality of homes and affordability. No homes sold in 2014, though three were sold in 2013.

If you may be interested in Glen Shore or other homes in The Glen, please contact me. I am a Glen resident and an award winning Realtor affiliated with @properties.

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

Glenview home sales in perspective

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In my blog a few weeks ago I provided a Cliff’s Notes summary of housing sales in Glenview Illinois (on Chicago‘s North Shore), comparing 2014 to 2013. A little longer view is interesting because it shows the result of the real estate market collapse and the subsequent rebound. This blog will deal with Glenview, not merely The Glen which is the upscale housing and retail development on the grounds of the former Naval Air Station Glenview.

Real estate sales and home prices increased rapidly in the early 2000’s peaking roughly in 2006 and 2007, when the home price “bubble” burst. 382 single family homes sold in Glenview in 2006. From there the decline was rapid and severe. 348 homes sold in 2007, a decline of 9%. In 2008 the story was even worse with only 290 homes sold, a decline of nearly 17%. From this point through 2013 home sales rose, as follows:

2009   305

2010   373

2011   394

2012   447

2013   536

So, from the low of 290 sales in 2008 to 536 in 2013, single family home sales increased 85%.

2014, however, was a different story. Home sales declined to 472. The question is why? Well, I suspect it was largely a hangover from the huge number of sales listings in 2013. In other words, as economic conditions improved in 2013 many homeowners – those who had been waiting to sell for years – finally listed their homes. With so many homes sold in 2013, there were fewer homeowners wishing to move in 2014. Some perspective is helpful, though. 2014, while having fewer sales than 2013, experienced the second highest number of sales in 10 years. So…was it a disappointing year? I say not. The market merely corrected a bit as a response to 2013.

I don’t yet have full year sales data for The Glen, but having analyzed two of its neighborhoods in depth, I believe we will find a similar pattern to greater Glenview. When I’ve completed my analysis, I will write about it in a future blog.

Glenview is an incredible place to live. If you are interested in living here – and perhaps in The Glen where I live – please email me at Margaret.Ludemann@gmail.com or give me a call at 847-401-1802.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

Prices increased in The Glen in 2014

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Home prices in The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois on Chicago’s north shore) rose again in 2014. While I haven’t completed my analysis of the entire Glen, I do have information about two of its neighborhoods.

Tower Crossing is the development adjacent to Glen Town Center (the shopping and dining “main street) with 154 luxury townhomes. If you’ve been to the Glen you will remember seeing them because the homes are 4 story, brick homes of Georgian architecture. These homes are large, ranging in size from 3031 sq ft to 4105 sq ft. In 2014 prices increased 3.9% after rising over 6% in 2013. The average price p/sq ft in 2014 was $206.01 compared with $198.28 in 2013. In the prior 3 years (2010 through 2012) prices were relatively steady at approximately $188 p/sq ft.

Prices also rose in Southgate. This development contains 237 large single family homes and 62 row homes. Among the single family homes 55 border The Glen Club’s 18 hole golf course, and 182 do not. I have analyzed the prices of single family homes. Prices for the homes that are not on the golf course increased 7% in 2014 to an average of $315.42 p/sq ft compared with $294.61 p/sq ft in 2013. There was only 1 home sold on the golf course, so I did not reach any conclusion as to pricing trends for golf course properties. Home sales (the number sold) in both developments were down last year, but I’ll save that discussion for a future blog.

When I complete my analysis for the entire Glen I believe I’ll find the same thing…home sales down, home prices up. That’s essentially what occurred in the real estate market nationally and in Glenview.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in The Glen, please give me a call. I am a long time Glen homeowner and a leading Realtor in the Glen and greater Glenview.

Margaret Ludemann

@properties Realtor 847-401-1802   MargaretLudemann@gmail.com