lending standards

Conditions are favorable for home sales

by

Stepping back from my usual Glen-specific blog content, I thought I would share with you some thoughts about the state of the housing market generally.

The environment for home sales remains strong as it has been for the last couple of years. Jobs are critical to a strong housing market, so I was heartened to see that the nationwide unemployment rate recently dropped to 5.1% which is the lowest rate in many years. Consumer confidence, which of course is influenced by low unemployment, is strong; and that means that people feel good about spending money…and in the context of housing, to purchase their first homes or to purchase higher priced homes.

The other hugely positive factor that is impacting housing is available credit. Sure, it’s not like the wild, wild west days that fueled the build-up to the bubble, and that’s good. But slowly and surely lenders are becoming more reasonable about lending standards, making mortgages more readily available to prospective home buyers. Specifically as it relates to The Glen – which has an abundance of high price point homes – many of the largest banks have loosened credit standards for jumbo mortgage loans which exceed conventional loan limits.

So all of this is good news for home sellers and home buyers. If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch with me. I am an award-winning Realtor with @properties who lives in the Glen (in Glenview Illinois), and I would be delighted to discuss the benefits of living here.

Margaret Ludemann            847-4-1-1802   margaretludemann@gmail.com

Real estate market losing steam? Not in The Glen!

by

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 @properties.

Margaret Ludemann  847-401-1802   margaretLudemannl@gmail.com