real estate sales

Positive economic environment for real estate sales

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The economic environment for real estate sales was positive through most of 2014, and that good news should continue in 2015. After a slow start in the first quarter 2014 due to the long winter, the American economy had the strongest 6 month performance in 11 years including a 5% growth rate on an annual basis in the 3rd quarter.

Job growth picked up steam in 2014. Nationally the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.6%, down from 7% a year ago and from its high of 10% in October 2009. Illinois unemployment dropped to 6.4% (through November 30), its lowest point since June 2008.

Interest rates remained low during the year. That was somewhat surprising as they were expected to rise in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

The Dow ended 2014 at 17,823, up 7.52% after a remarkable increase of 29.65% in 2013.

The economy is expected to be favorable for home sales in 2015…with growth picking up, unemployment continuing to fall, and mortgage interest rates remaining low (though moving up modestly later in the year). A week ago, mortgage rates hit their 20 month low. Freddie Mac reported the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage interest rate at 3.59%; and 15 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 2.92%

I see home prices rising again, in line with historical norms of 3% to 4%. The bottom line is that if you want to sell your home in 2015, you’ll probably get it done and at a better price than a few years ago.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor, homeowner in The Glen, Glenview, Illinois

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

2013 homes sales UP in Tower Crossing

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Tower Crossing is a townhome development in The Glen, Glenview Illinois.  It is composed of 154 stunning units varying in size from 3031 sq ft to 4105 sq ft.  2013 was a very successful year for real estate sales, home rentals and home prices in this development.  In this blog I will tell you about the increase in sales.

20 Tower Crossing homes sold in 2013, compared with 11 in 2012, 13 in 2011, 6 in 2010, and 7 in 2009.  I had the good fortune to list and sell nearly half of all homes sold in 2013 (9 of 20).  7 realtors combined to sell the other 11 homes.

1 Distressed property sold in 2013.  A single distressed property sale in 2013 represents an improvement as compared with 2012 (4 sales) and 2011 (3 sales).  Distressed properties (bank owned or short sales) typically sell for well under market value, and that was the case with the Omni model bank owned property that sold in 2013.

Only 1 listed Tower Crossing home failed to sell in 2013!  20 of 21 listed homes sold last year compared with 4 failures in 2012.  Given the strength of the real estate market last year, it is surprising that even one home failed to sell. This was NOT my listing.

Time-on-market was greatly improved in 2013.  Time-on-market refers to the number of days between listing a home for sale and when it goes under contract with buyers.

The 19 non-distressed Tower Crossing homes sold in 2013 were on the market for a combined 1012 days, an average of 53 days.  This compares very favorably to 75 days in 2012.  It is vastly improved over the roughly 4 months in 2011 and 7 months in 2010.  I am proud that my non-distressed Tower Crossing sales in 2013 averaged only 17 days on market.  Tower Crossing homes sold by other realtors averaged 79 days.

Margaret Ludemann, Tower Crossing homeowner and @properties Realtor, 847-401-1802