housing sales

Connecting Neighbors in The Glen

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The Glen is an upscale residential and retail community in Glenview, Illinois.  It is composed of 1,106 privately owned homes of various types including single family, townhomes, duplexes, two-flats, villas and condos.  2,439 adults live in these homes, and of course a lot of children as well.  The Glen is like a small town with its own “downtown” (Glen Town Center) with scores of restaurants, shops, theater and more.

The small town feel is one of the great benefits of living in The Glen even though it is a community within Chicagoland’s popular North Shore.  Contributing to this sense of community is our group email system which uses Yahoo as its technology engine.  Membership in The Glen Yahoo Group is restricted to homeowners/residents alone.

Sharing helpful information is the purpose of our email group…in other words, being neighborly.  Most emails deal with recommendations of service providers (“I need a plumber.”), promoting community activities (“This weekend is the art show in Glen Town Center”), assisting neighbors in need, promoting non-profit organizations, and even selling personal items such as the bike you no longer need or your priceless (!) collection of 8-track tapes.  For profit commercial & marketing activity is not allowed, though selling your extra Cubs or Bears tickets is just fine.

Some of the individual neighborhoods within The Glen also have their own group email systems in addition to the larger Glen group.  I know of groups for the Regency, Southgate, Tower Crossing, Landings, and Chapel Crossing neighborhoods.  Emails posted on these group systems tend to be neighborhood-specific, while The Glen group emails are about most anything that strikes your fancy.

Being neighborly is a treasured characteristic among residents of The Glen.  We take pride in our community where I have lived for 10 years.  If you would like to explore living in The Glen please contact me at margaret.ludemann@gmail.com or 847-401-1802.

Margaret Ludemann, Resident of The Glen and @properties Realtor

The lull between the (sales) storms

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The spring and early summer real estate market in The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois) was the strongest in many years.  The Glen, as many of my blog followers know, is an upscale residential and retail community built on the site of the former Naval Air Station Glenview.

As an example, in The Glen’s Tower Crossing neighborhood with 154 row homes, 15 homes have already sold in 2013 as compared with 6 by this same time last year.  In fact, only 11 Tower Crossing homes sold in all of 2012.  Most other Glen neighborhoods have seen the same strong sales performance this year, especially in Chapel Crossing, Landings, Cambridge and Southgate.  I should add Regency to that list.  As the only new construction project in The Glen, sales have been hot all year.

There is, however, a bit of a lull right now.  Late summer is typically a slow period in real estate.  Many buyers want to make their purchases and move in prior to the start of school, which in the Glenview Public Schools is August 20.  Using again the example of Tower Crossing, only 1 home closed last year between August 15 and November 9.  Closings in this period correspond roughly to sales contracts being signed between mid-July and mid-September.

The market will pick up again – I suspect strongly – in late September, and it is likely to continue until Thanksgiving.  So the point is that this is a particularly great time for buyers to be searching for their next home.  They will face less competition with competing buyers; and some sellers who missed getting their homes sold in the spring and summer may be a bit more flexible on price.  If you are interested in living in The Glen, please call me at 847-401-1802 or send an email to margaret.ludemann@gmail.com.  I live in The Glen, and know this market inside and out.

Margaret Ludemann

Glen Resident and @properties Realtor

Only 31 Homes Left at Regency at The Glen

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I have previously written about a new development under construction in The Glen, Regency.  Pulte is the developer of this new Glenview, Illinois neighborhood.   It is located just north of West Lake Avenue and west of Shermer Road.  For golfers it is an ideal location, walking distance to both The Glen Club’s 18 home championship course and Glenview Prairie Club, a 9 hole course + 4 paddle tennis courts.  All homes are short distances from Glen Town Center’s many shops and restaurants, and also to the Glen’s Metra Station.

149 homes are planned in Regency, consisting of 109 townhomes, 38 villas, and 2 single family homes.  The townhomes come in 4 models.  There are two models of villas (duplexes), both with first floor master suites.  I recently sat down with my friends at Pulte, and received these new updates.

Update:  As of today, all villas and single family homes have been sold, though some have not yet been completed.  Only 1 villa is currently for sale (it just came on the market); and it is a re-sale which I have listed.  It is the first villa re-sale in Regency.  The couple who owns this home have lived there for only 9 months, and they have been transferred.

Update:  Of the planned 109 townhomes 78 have been sold.  This is up to the minute news.  While I wasn’t a math major, I’m pretty sure that leaves 31 homes still for sale.  This is important information for anyone interested in maintenance free, new construction, townhome living in The Glen.  This has proven to be a very popular development, so the 31 remaining homes will not be available for long.

For additional information or to tour a Regency home please call me at 847-401-3325 or email me at margaretludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Resident of The Glen & @properties Realtor

Low Inventory, Fast Sales In Southgate & Tower Crossing

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Southgate is a luxury development in The Glen, Glenview, Illinois with 239 single family homes.  Throughout 2013 there have been very few of these homes for sale at any given point in time.  In fact, last week there were none.  1 home came on the market this week.  It is likely to be under contract soon.

The lack of sellers is the primary reason for low inventory in Southgate, of course, but AVAILABLE inventory is determined not only by how many homes are offered for sale but also by how quickly they are sold.  Well, Southgate single family homes – when they do come on the market – sell so quickly that the cupboard remains bare or nearly so most of the time.  Looking at the 10 non-distressed homes (not bank owned, not short sales) that have either sold this year or are currently under contract, 5 went under contract in 9 days or less.  1 went under contract in 30 days; and the remaining 4 sold within a respectable 2 – 4 months period.  That’s fast, especially when you consider that the average price in 2013 has been over $1.1 million.

I also track the Tower Crossing development closely.  Tower Crossing in The Glen has 154 luxury town homes with 3031 to 4105 sq ft depending on model.  Home prices are typically between $650,000 and around $800,000.  As of mid-July, 17 homes have sold this year or are under contract vs. 11 sold in all of 2012.  Yet it’s been rare this year when more than 3 homes have been for sale at the same time.  Of 4 recent sales that I have made in Tower Crossing, 3 were contracted within a week; and the 4th had offers before the home was listed.

So the luxury home market is alive and well in The Glen.  If you would like to know more about homes in The Glen, please contact Margaret Ludemann, resident of The Glen, @properties Realtor.  847-401-1802.

 

Buying a Home In the Glen Now vs. Waiting

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I have been speaking with a homeowner in The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois) who is interested in buying a larger home.  He currently owns a beautiful home in the Chapel Crossing neighborhood with a market value of $800,000.  He is interested in purchasing a home in Southgate, and he is willing to pay $1 million.

My client, let’s call him Bob, is concerned about the return he will receive on his current home which he paid $875,000 for a few years back.  He wants the larger Southgate home, but he doesn’t want to take the loss on his current home.

Together we looked at the current and projected increases in Glen home prices and interest rates.  He felt comfortable projecting an increase in Glen home prices of 12% in three years.  Interest rates are low, but they are moving up.  In fact, they have increased more than a point in the last 6 weeks.  Based on projections of a number of experts, Bob decided to project an increase in mortgage interest rates of 2.1% in three years.  So we did the math, and here are the results.

  • While Bob would lose $75,000 on his current home, his $1 million Southgate purchase would be $120,000 higher in three years.
  • If Bob bought the new home now, he would put $200,000 down (assuming 20%) vs. $224,000 in three years due to its appreciated value.
  • In three years Bob would be financing $896,000 rather than $800,000 today.
  • His mortgage would be $1,600 more each month if he waits three years.

The lesson is this:  If you are buying a more expensive home in a period of rising prices and rising interest rates, it’s often best  to not wait; take the loss on your current home now.  You will likely make up the loss on your next purchase, and you will end up paying less overall.  I will point out, though, that no one can be certain what will happen in the future.  So, be conservative in your projections and consider all options.

Margaret Ludemann, resident of The Glen, @properties Realtor, 847-401-1802