home buyers

The Glen’s reputation is growing nationally and worldwide

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The Glen’s sterling reputation is growing nationally and internationally. You can’t imagine how many calls and emails I receive from prospective buyers who are not from Glenview or even the Chicago metropolitan area. Buyers find me via my proprietary website www.homesintheglen.com when searching the internet for houses in the Glen or just to learn about the area. And due to the borderless nature of the internet, along with employee word of mouth networks of nearby corporate headquarters, the Glen is known as a great place to live.

The Glen is the premier residential and retail development on Chicago’s North Shore. It has over a thousand luxury homes of every type: single family homes, townhomes, row homes, villas, duplexes, two-flats, and condos. Home prices range from $350,000 to over $2 million. Glen Town Center, the Glen’s retail hub, offers upscale and casual dining and shopping. Two golf courses, Kohl Children’s Museum, a book store, park, lake, and gardens add even more to the rich lifestyle in the Glen.

So here is how our reputation has grown throughout the country and indeed the world. Within a few minutes from the Glen you’ll find large corporate offices for such giants as Kraft, Allstate Insurance, Aon, Anixter International, Illinois Tool Works and Scott Foresman. Remote employees of these and other nearby corporations often come here on business; and while here, they visit the Glen for shopping or dining. One look and they fall in love with the place. They go back home – wherever that may be – singing our praises. When employees are transferred to Glenview headquarters the first place many look for homes is the Glen.

This worldwide reputation makes for a healthy real estate market in the Glen. If you may be interested in living the Glen lifestyle, please call or email me. I am a long time Glen resident and an award winning Realtor with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann

MargaretLudemann@gmail.com 847-401-1802

What if your realtor doesn’t know the Glen neighborhoods?

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Home purchases can go south when buyers are ill advised by uninformed realtors. I run into this all the time here in The Glen (in Glenview IL) where there are ten unique neighborhoods with different types of homes, different sizes, and different price points. This is especially true for attached homes such as townhomes, condos, and duplexes because there typically are multiple models within a development that have their own unique characteristics and price histories.

The Regency at the Glen development is a prime example. Regency offers 104 townhomes, 38 duplexes, and two single family homes. There are four models of townhomes with sizes ranging from 1523 square feet to 1835 square feet. The beautiful duplexes come in two basic models, and like the townhomes there are many upgrades that add value. I was recently involved in a deal in this development where I represented a townhome seller. Another realtor brought a potential buyer to the home, and an offer was made. The offer was extremely low, but the buyer and his agent didn’t think so. Why? Because the realtor found “comps” (the prices of recent sales of supposedly similar Regency homes) that were incorrect. The realtor was not intimately familiar with that market and didn’t realize that he was finding comps for the wrong model which was much smaller than my listed property. The buyer was ill advised, being told that the home should sell for $X. So his expectation was set at an unrealistically low price. I had to educate the buyer’s realtor about the various models, their sizes, their upgrades, and price histories.

This happens frequently in Tower Crossing at the Glen as well where there are six basic townhome models and significant variations even within each model; and some of the upgrades make material differences in price. For instance some models have expensive elevators while others do not. Tower Crossing’s homes vary in size from 3037 square feet to 4105 square feet…a significant difference. Home prices range, based on model and upgrades, between the low $600’s to nearly $900,000. So for a buyer to be properly advised, the realtor has to understand Tower Crossing intimately.

The bottom line is this: If you are buying a home be sure to find a realtor who is very, very familiar with the specific neighborhoods in which you are looking at homes. If you choose the wrong one, you may be making a costly mistake.

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

Update on Patriot Commons at The Glen

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After a construction pause of a few years, Toll Brothers is once again building at its luxury townhome and condo site in The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois). I visited the construction site – about 3 blocks from my Glen home – last week and again over the weekend to get a full understanding of what’s been sold and what’s for sale. But first a little history.

Patriot Commons burst onto the Glen scene just as the real estate bubble was about to burst. I well remember the long lines on the first day the homes were available to purchase. But that happy scene was short lived as the economy went south and real estate sales dried up. Toll Brothers built and delivered part of the development, then took a time out until the market recovered. Last year they re-started sales and construction, and Patriot Commons has once again been a hit.

The development – just south of the Glen’s shopping and restaurant “main street” called Glen Town Center – includes townhomes and condos. The townhomes have nearly sold out. In fact there is only one unit still available, a Brantley model with 9’ ceilings, 3 bedrooms, a study and a loft, and a 2 car garage. This home carries a base price of $674,995; and the buyer will receive credits to be used for options/add-ons.

The next phase of development will be a condo building which will offer 35 one and two bedroom homes + dens; plus each unit will have 1 indoor parking space. Size of units range from 1100 to 1450 square feet. Prices of 1 bedroom units begin in the $300s. Six homes have already been sold. Construction for this building will begin in the spring, and delivery is scheduled for the summer of 2016.

For Glen buyers who want new construction, Patriot Commons is a great choice. Not only are the homes lovely, but the proximity to Glen Town Center’s restaurants, shops and movie theater make for a rich and active lifestyle.

If you would like to visit or just learn more about Patriot Commons or The Glen please call me at 847-401-1802 or email me at margaret.ludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor

Glenview home sales down, prices up

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Full-year 2014 real estate sales and pricing data for Glenview Illinois are not yet available, but I have some preliminary numbers that are quite interesting.  Glenview is a north shore community near Chicago with many luxury homes.  The data represent transactions from January 1 through November 30. This data is not only for The Glen but rather for all of Glenview. Later in January I will be able to provide Glen-specific full year sales and pricing information.

So, for the first eleven months of 2014 home sales in Glenview were down 8%. This is for unit sales; that is, the number of homes sold. That’s not really surprising since 2013 was a banner year, a period when home sellers got off the sidelines after the long haul back from the depths of the recession.

Home prices in 2014, however, show an entirely different story. The median price of homes sold in Glenview was up 6%, and the price per square foot was up 10%. This is rather remarkable after such a strong 2013.

I also have information about sales prices vs. list prices in 2014, through November. The average selling price of a Glenview home was 96.4% of the average list price. Not bad. In real estate anything at 95% or higher is considered quite good. So, 96.4% suggests solid performance, though perhaps not extraordinary. In other words, the negotiating leverage between sellers and buyers was relatively even.

Home prices in The Glen tend to be higher than most (though not all) of Glenview. It will be interesting to see Glen-only sales and pricing data for the year. So check back with me via these weekly blogs toward the end of January or early February.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor

MargaretLudemann@gmail.com   847-401-1802