Realtor

Where the kids are…in The Glen

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The Glen is a housing and retail development in Glenview Illinois, on Chicago‘s North Shore. It’s filled with luxury homes, restaurants galore, boutiques, a book store, a movie theater, and (drum roll please)…a lot of kids! In my most recent blog I wrote about the new Glen census which tells us that roughly one-third of the 3,921 residents in privately owned homes and rental housing are children. I’ve had a few emails asking which specific Glen neighborhoods have the most.

There are 9 such neighborhoods in The Glen (not counting Navy and senior housing). Naturally the neighborhoods with the most single family homes have the most children. In these neighborhoods about 40% of residents are kids. Chapel Crossing (43%), Landings (44%) and Southgate (40%) have only single family homes. Cambridge (42%) offers single family homes, town homes, duplexes, and two-flats.

2 neighborhoods offer only attached homes and have roughly 20% children:  Tower Crossing (18%) and Patriot Commons (19%). Another neighborhood, Regency, has a high percentage of town homes; and 19% of its residents are children.

Aloft (5%) offers rental apartments in Glen Town Center, The Glen’s shopping and restaurant “main street”. And Glenshore (7%) has condo apartments.

Obviously the large single family home neighborhoods are great for kids. Lovely homes. Big yards. Did I mention BIG YARDS? But before you get the wrong impression, Glen neighborhoods with attached housing are also great for the little ones. I live in Tower Crossing, a development with 154 4-story town homes with 3,031 to 4,105 square feet. We moved here 11 years ago when my son was 3 years old. Our development has a wonderful common area which, to my son, represents his back yard. The additional benefit is that he’s grown up barely one block from all of the fun in Glen Town Center. He walks to the movie theater, meets his buddies for hamburgers at Mooyah, and wanders our wonderful book store.

The bottom line? The Glen is a great place for children whether your preference is for large single family homes or for attached housing. If you would like to learn more about The Glen please email me at MargaretLudemann@CBexchange.com or call me at 847-401-1802. I am an award winning Realtor living in and selling Glen homes.

Margaret Ludemann, @properties Realtor

New census of The Glen tell us a lot about the homes, neighborhoods and residents

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The new census for The Glen has just been completed, and it is interesting reading. For instance it tells us that there are 4,960 residents residing in 2,221 homes in the 13 development areas (read: neighborhoods), as of August, 2014. Of these nearly 5,000 residents, 1,367 are children.

Each year the Village of Glenview (in Illinois) has this census done to calculate payments to various jurisdictions which provide services to Glen residents. So, for instance, the more children in schools means that the village owes more money to local school districts. Let’s dig a little deeper into the census results.

The 13 development areas include 9 with privately owned homes or rented single and multi-family homes. The other 4 include Navy housing and 3 senior housing communities. Navy? Yes, indeed. The Glen resides on the grounds of the former Naval Air Station Glenview; and there remain 112 housing units for Navy personnel of which there are 213 adults and 80 children.

In the 9 communities with privately owned and rental homes, there are 3,921 residents of which 1,287 (33%) are children.   Here is a breakdown by neighborhood:

Chapel Crossing: 167 homes, 368 adults, 277 children

Landings (Concord): 143 homes, 324 adults, 250 children

Southgate: 299 homes, 626 adults, 413 children

Cambridge: 244 homes, 481 adults, 200 children

Tower Crossing: 154 townhomes, 306 adults, 68 children

Patriot Commons: 68 homes, 122 adults, 23 children

Regency: 146 homes, 179 adults, 43 children

Aloft: 181 apartments, 185 adults, 10 children

Glenshore: 31 homes, 43 adults, 3 children

Of the 1,287 children in The Glen, 1,175 are of school age. 82% attend public schools. 18% attend private schools. This last number is particularly interesting because in most suburban communities the percentage of children in private schools averages between 4% and 8%. This variance is likely due to the economic standing of Glen residents. In other words, it is a development comprised largely of affluent families who can afford private education.

There is a lot of additional information in this year’s census, and I will include more of it in future blogs.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @properties Realtor

847-401-1802, MargaretLudemann@cbexchange.com

Mortgage interest rates: good news for home buyers and sellers

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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

New homes in Westgate at the Glen are still available

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So, how many Westgate at the Glen homes are still available? Read on.

Westgate is the new, upscale housing development in The Glen in Glenview Illinois. It is located at the northwest corner of W. Lake Avenue and Shermer Road. Respected home builder E. R. James Partners LLC is the developer. 173 luxury homes are planned in three housing types. There will be 71 row homes, 68 Mews Townhomes, and 34 single family homes. The development will be built in 2 phases with deliveries between 2015 and 2017.

The project kicked off with a reservation event a couple of months ago, and the development opened for sales shortly thereafter.  As of last Friday there were still many homes available for sale.  Here is the breakdown by housing type:

Row Homes:

  • All row homes to be built in phase 1 have sold.
  • Phase 2 homes cannot yet be purchased, however the developer is taking “reservations” with a down payment. Reservations are not binding on the buyer. When final home prices become available for this phase, buyers with reservations may complete their purchase. Currently there are 24 row home reservations. 8 units do not as yet have reservations.

Mews Townhomes:

  • 19 townhomes are still available in phase 1.
  • All 26 townhomes planned for phase 2 are available.

Single Family Homes:

  • 26 of the 38 single family homes have been sold. All single family homes will be built in phase 1.

The news here is that Westgate homes are indeed still available! There were rumors that the development sold out, however as you can see homes in all 3 housing types may be purchased. If you may be interested in a Westgate home or perhaps a home in any other Glen neighborhood, you may contact me for a showing at 847-401-1802 or by email at margaret.ludemann@gmail.com.

Margaret Ludemann, Glen homeowner and @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