homeowner

The Glen’s art fair was a huge success…again!

by

The annual Glen Art Fair was held this past weekend, August 8 and 9, and as always it was a huge success. This prestigious (and fun!) event attracted scores of artists from throughout the United States to Tower Drive, Glen Town Center’s “main street”. Attendance was high, and as they say, a good time was had by all.

The Glen is the north shore’s premier lifestyle community, meaning it has beautiful homes, an outstanding array of restaurants, upscale shopping, jogging trails, golf courses, tennis courts, and a picturesque lake.  It is located on the site of the former Glenview Naval Air Station in Glenview, Illinois, approximately 18 miles north of downtown Chicago.

Visitors to the fair were treated to art of many genres including paintings, photography, sculpture, glass works, folk art, crafts, cartooning, digital art, and even what is known as “wearable art”. In fact, as I’m typing this blog, I’m wearing a striking blouse that I purchased at the fair. I live in the Glen’s Tower Crossing development only a block away from the fair!

This will all occur again next August. You might want to jot it down in your calendar. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as those of us who are fortunate homeowners and residents of The Glen. And if you may be interested in living in the Glen, please give me a call. I am a local realtor who specializes in Glen properties – single family homes, row homes, town homes, two flats, duplexes and condos.

Margaret Ludemann

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

The Glen’s reputation is growing nationally and worldwide

by

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

Home prices in The Glen…by Neighborhood

by

Home prices in the Glen vary by neighborhood, and they range from the $300,000’s to over $2 million. There are ten subdivisions within the Glen development. Each was conceived, designed, and built by its own developer between about 2000 and…well, two neighborhoods are still being built. I’m frequently asked about home prices in these various neighborhoods, and that’s the topic of today’s blog.

But first a little background. The Glen resides on the land which was formerly Naval Air Station Glenview. When the base closed the land was sold to the Village of Glenview for development. In addition to privately owned residences, the Glen has an exciting retail area known as Glen Town Center. There are also parks, a lake, golf courses, a middle school and so much more. It has become the North Shore’s premier residential and retail community.

OK, now for housing prices; and I’ll break them down for you by neighborhood:

Cambridge has 244 single family homes, townhomes, row homes, duplexes, and two-flats. Prices range from the $400’s to over $1 million depending on housing type.

Chapel Crossing has 167 single family homes with prices between the mid-$800’s to approximately $1.4 million

Glen Shore offers 31 condo apartments priced in the $300’s to $500’s.

Landings’ 143 single family homes reside adjacent to Chapel Crossing with similar price points.

Patriot Commons currently has 68 completed townhomes and condo apartments; and more are under construction. These can be purchased from the $400’s to $700’s.

Regency is a newly completed subdivision with 149 townhomes and attached villas (duplexes), and two single family homes. Price points are in the $400’s to the high $700’s.

Southgate is composed of 237 single family homes ranging from $1 million to over $2 million. This community carries the highest price points in the Glen.

Southgate (on Langley Circle) has 62 townhomes and villas selling in the high $300’s to $500’s.

Tower Crossing’s 154 townhomes offer several models with prices in the mid-$600’s to mid-$800’s.

The Westgate neighborhood (currently under construction) will have 171 homes, a mix of single family, townhomes and row homes. Price points are between the high $400’s for townhomes to the low $800’s for single family homes.

So as you can see there is a great deal of variety in neighborhoods, home types, and pricing in the Glen. If you would like to learn more about homes in the Glen, please contact me at 847-401-1802 or margaret.ludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor.

Million dollar homes in The Glen

by

Of the 62 home sales in the Glen in 2014, 18 were for over $1,000,000. The Glen, on Chicago’s north shore in Glenview Illinois, is a luxury home residential development at the site of the former Naval Air Station Glenview.

There are several distinct neighborhoods in the Glen built by a variety of developers. Of these, three experienced $1+ million dollar sales last year: 3 were in Chapel Crossing, 4 were in Landings (formerly Concord), and 11 were in Southgate.

Southgate has the highest percentage of million dollar homes. In fact, of the 237 single family homes in the neighborhood, it is rare for a home to sell for under $1,000,000. The highest price paid for a home in 2014 was $2.2 million dollars, and it was in Southgate on property bordering the The Glen Club 18 hole championship golf course. Homes bordering the golf course have dramatic views, and the lots are larger than in any other area of Southgate and The Glen. The other ten Southgate homes with million dollar sales in 2014 sold for an average of $1,265,000. There are currently three Southgate homes listed for sale at over a million dollars: $2,795,000 and $1,799,000 and $1,689,000.

The four million dollar homes in Landings sold for $1,225,000 and $1,193,000 and $1,100,000 and $1,015,000, an average of $1,113,250.

The three million dollar homes in Chapel Crossing sold for $1,065,000 and $1,055,000 and $1,040,000, an average of $1,053,333.

Of the 18 Glen homes that sold for more than a million dollars in 2014 only 2 realtors sold multiple homes. There are more than 170 realtors in Glenview. I was fortunate to be among the three.

If you may be interested in purchasing a Glen home, please contact me. I am a long time Glen homeowner and a realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann  

margaret.ludemann@gmail.com   847-401-1802

Mortgage interest rates: good news for home buyers and sellers

by

A few weeks ago a potential buyer of a home in The Glen (in Glenview Illinois) told me that he was holding off buying a home until mortgage interest rates improve. I believed that was unwise, so I researched historical 30 year, fixed rate mortgage interest rates using Freddie Mac data. I grouped them into 5 year periods and calculated the averages. What did I learn…that recent mortgage interest rates are roughly half what they were 25 years ago!

The average rate in August (the most recent data available) was 4.12% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. This is a smidgeon higher than early months of 2013. Rates, however, have inched downward in each of the last 4 months; and that August rate of 4.12% is actually lower than the same month last year. So it is clear that home financing today is extremely low. While rates may bump along with modest increases and decreases in the short term, there is no evidence that they will become appreciably lower in the foreseeable future. In fact, it is likely that rates will eventually increase to more normal levels.

Interest rates matter…a lot…because they affect a buyer’s monthly payment and the total cost of financing over the period of ownership of a home. Every 1% rise in interest rates reduces buying power by approximately 11%. Obviously today’s low interest rates are beneficial to home buyers, but they are also good for home sellers. If buyers can purchase more house because of low interest rates, there are more qualified buyers for sellers’ homes.

If you are interesting in buying a home in The Glen or greater Glenview, please email me at Margaret.ludemann@cbexchange.com or call me at 847-401-1802.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor