real estate market

6 Tower Crossing homes now for sale! (6 for rent, too)

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Three months ago I wrote that only 1 Tower Crossing home was available for sale. My my, how the world has changed in 3 months. Since then 5 homes have been newly listed, and a total of 6 homes are currently for sale.

Tower Crossing is a 154 unit luxury townhome development in The Glen in Glenview, Illinois. To anyone who has ever visited the Glen’s restaurants or shops, Tower Crossing will be remembered as the homes bordering Glen Town Center on 3 sides. They are memorable, too, because they are 4 stories high with beautiful Georgian architecture.

There are 6 basic models in Tower Crossing and some major variations such as end units and bridge units. The homes are large, ranging in size from 3031 sq ft to 4105 sq ft. The price points of Tower Crossing homes range between roughly $625,000 and $900,000.

Now is a great time to be in the market for a Tower Crossing townhome because 4 of the models are for sale. There are 2 Astorias for sale, and 1 of them is an end unit. Astorias offer 3210 sq ft, and the end unit adds another 390 sq ft. 3 Blackstones (384 sq ft), an Omni 3625 sq ft) and a Drake end unit (3075 sq ft) are also on the market.

There are 6 homes also on the rental market ranging in prices between $3950 per month to $4500 per month.

The beauty of Tower Crossing lies not only IN the homes, but also outside. You can walk to 25 eating establishments, numerous boutiques, 2 golf courses (including The Glen Club), a movie theater and a book store. And if you walk across the street (Patriot Boulevard) you’ll find Battery Park, Lake Glenview, the Glenview Park Center, walking and biking trails, tennis courts and more. Residents of Tower Crossing will tell you that living here is all about the lifestyle. It’s the best combination of urban and suburban living.

If you are interested in learning more about Tower Crossing or anywhere in The Glen, please contact me at margaretludemann@gmail.com or 847-401-1802. I am a Tower Crossing resident and a leading Glen-area realtor.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties

11 more great reasons to live in The Glen

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In my blog last week (24 great reasons to live in The Glen) I told you about the convenience and fun of having 24 restaurants all within walking distance of Glen residents. Well, something happened last Saturday night that reminds me of 11 more great reasons. So here’s the story…

A Glen neighbor invited my husband and me to attend a party in their home. The theme was Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Is that fun or what?   So while I was getting all dressed up 1960’s style my husband was pulling together his formal attire for the evening. Tux, check. Tux shoes, check. Cummerbund, check. Bow tie, check. Tux shirt…oops, where’s the shirt? After determining that a) his shirt was at the laundry, and b) the laundry was closed, he was stuck. Then it occurred to us that we live a half block from Glen Town Center, the Glen’s shopping and dining “main street”. Quickly thinking through the many stores in the center, we decided that he had two men’s clothing stores within a block of our home. So he put everything on sans tux shirt and he ran out the door. (Yes, he was wearing a tee shirt under his jacket!) Ten minutes later he reappeared with a stunning white tux shirt; and off we went to the party.

So this morning I decided to look at the Glen’s directory, and I found 11 clothing stores in the center. Some are specialty shops that carry children’s clothes, sports attire, and women’s or men’s clothing. Von Maur, the large upscale clothing store, is also in Glen Town Center, and of course it carries most everything for most everyone.

The Glen (in Glenview, Illinois on Chicago’s North Shore) is a special place. The development has over 2,000 luxury homes, 24 restaurants, a movie theater, museum, art studio, and yes indeed 11 clothing stores…all within a short walk of any home. If you would like to learn more about living in The Glen, please give me a call at 847-401-1802 or send me an email at margaretludemann@gmail.com. I am an award winning Realtor who specializes in Glen homes (single family homes, townhomes, row homes, duplexes, two-flats, condos, and apartments). Home prices range from about $400,000 to $2,000,000.

Who knows…maybe one day you’ll live here…and be in desperate need of a tux shirt on a Saturday night.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

Westgate at the Glen Update

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It has been a couple of months since I last blogged about Westgate, the new construction housing development in The Glen in Glenview Illinois. At that time I told you about the “reservation event” which allowed early registrants to receive more information about the proposed development and arrange appointments with developer E.R. James Partners to select home types and locations. Two months later the vast majority of homes have been sold, though many are still available. Home construction has not yet begun, though as you can see from the attached photo, the builder has initiated grading. Work on underground infrastructure should begin soon.

Westgate, which is located on nearly 30 acres of land at the northwest corner of W. Lake Avenue and Shermer Road, offers 173 luxury homes. There will be 71 row homes, 68 mews townhomes, and 34 single family homes with first floor master bedroom suites. The development will have professionally landscaped common areas; and it will provide nearly maintenance-free living.

The early interest in Westgate suggests that this will be a popular addition to The Glen which already has 8 lovely neighborhoods with a wide variety of home types including single family, townhomes, row homes, duplexes, two-flats, villas, and condo apartments. In addition to beautiful homes the Glen offers two golf courses, upscale shopping, and over 20 restaurants in Glen Town Center. A local Metra station gets residents into downtown Chicago in 44 minutes. The development is also convenient to O’Hare International Airport by car.

If you are interested in living in The Glen, please contact me at 847-401-1802 or by email, margaret.ludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor

Real estate in The Glen: August lull, September to pick up

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I have a Glen-specific, proprietary website. In fact you may be reading this blog on that site. It provides information about real estate in the Glen (in Glenview Illinois)and allows visitors to search Glen listings. The search engine optimization firm that I employ provides the tech-marketing magic that brings prospective home buyers to the site; and I am provided with numbers of all kinds weekly.  These numbers show a late summer slow down in the Glen, which is seen nationally as well. In the 4 week period in May over 2,000 first time visitors came to my site. (This is a very POWERFUL tool!) The following 4 week periods declined by 7.6%, 6.7% and 10.9%. In the last two weeks alone (August 10 – 24) the number of first time visitors was down 35% from May. Looking at the site’s first time visitors in previous years shows this same pattern.

The good news for prospective home sellers in the Glen is that the number of first time visitors increases in September and then remains relatively even and strong until December. This trend is supported by my site’s prior-years data. So homowners thinking of selling, should be getting their homes on the real estate market soon to take advantage of the increase in buyer interest just around the corner.

But it’s not only buyers who take a real estate time-out in mid-to-late summer. The listings cupboard in the Glen is pretty bare right now, too. Of the 237 single family homes in the Southgate neighborhood, there is only 1 home listed for sale. The same is true in Tower Crossing, the large, 4 story brick townhomes adjacent to Glen Town Center. In that development there are 154 homes, but only 1 is listed for sale. At the Landings (formerly Concord) and Chapel Crossing neighborhoods (with 311 homes combined) there are only a couple of listings.

Spring interest among buyers is matched by sellers who want to take advantage of that peak selling season. People with children want to make their purchases and get moved in before the new school year begins. In mid-to-late summer interest drops as I’ve shown above; and smart sellers know this so many get their homes on the market in late winter/early spring; and conversely there are few new listings in mid-to-late summer or from Thanksgiving until early March.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor

MargaretLudemann@gmail.com   847-401-1802

Mid-Year analysis of Tower Crossing home prices

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Since I haven’t written about the Tower Crossing neighborhood in The Glen since February, I thought I would provide an update on pricing. Tower Crossing has 154 luxury townhomes ranging in size from 3031 sq ft to 4015 sq ft depending on model. Yes indeed, these are large homes! They reside in The Glen, the North Shore’s premier lifestyle community in Glenview Illinois. All homes are of brick construction, and they are 4 stories high. A particularly attractive benefit of living in Tower Crossing is that it borders Glen Town Center on 3 sides. GTC is The Glen’s main shopping and dining “main street”.

Like every housing development in the country, home prices rose rapidly between 2003 and 2006; then they dropped from 2007 until late 2012. Since then, they have recovered nicely.

2014 PRICES:

The price p/sq ft of the 3 non-distressed Tower Crossing homes that have sold in the first half of 2014 is $215.21. This was heavily influenced by an $850,000 sale, the highest price paid for a TC home in at least 6 years.

2013 PRICES:

The prices of the 8 homes that sold in the first half of 2013 averaged $195.78. Thus, Tower Crossing prices increased by 9.9% comparing the first halves of the two years.

PRICES 5 YEARS AGO:

In 2009 (during the heart of the real estate market collapse) Tower Crossing homes sold for an average of $179.43 p/sq ft. Thus prices have increased by 19.9% from 2009 to the first half of 2014.

Price appreciation in 2012 through 2014 has brought original homeowners back roughly to where they began in 2013. Most homeowners who bought in the 2005/06 timeframe still have some catching up to do on prices. Most who bought in 2009 through 2013 have realized a gain in the value of their homes.

If you would like to learn more about living in The Glen please call me at 847-401-1802 or send an email to MargaretLudemann@gmail.com. I am a long time Glen homeowner and an award winning realtor affiliated with @properties.

Margaret Ludemann