Evanston IL Real Estate

 Today was a nice sunny day and I decided to go “Touring” properties for sale in Evanston. Here is what I say today:

Price Range:

$217,000- For a little over $200,000 you can buy a 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo located on the 3rd floor of a Vintage building in South Evanston. This sunny unit had a lot of space and charm with decorative fireplace in the living room, bay windows, formal dining room, heated indoor garage.

$399,000-For just under $400,000 you can buy a 7 room, 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath Georgian. This home had beautiful hardwood floor, new bay window in living room, formal dining room, lovely backyard garden, finished basement with play room, laundry and storage.

$475,000- Just reduced below $500,000 you can buy a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath recently remodeled  (90% New Construction) frame home. Great open floor plan with new kitchen, dining room, great room overlooking back yard. Upstairs has Master bedroom and bath suite.

$559,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 4 bedroom, 3. 5 bath duplex townhouse with no assessments. This home has 4 level of living space. First floor Living room, Kitchen, Family Room, Master Bedroom and Bath on 2nd level with 2 other bedrooms, 3rd level has 4th bedroom, and finished basement.

$700,000- Will buy you a 9 room, 5 bedroom, 3 bath Co-op in a 1927 Vintage Landmark building which is walking distance to the lakefront. Details include vaulted ceilings, arched room entrances, marble fireplace, plaster cornices and delicate grill work. A truely unique property with word class charm.

$789,000- For just under $800,000 you can buy a Victorian (Italianate) home  and coach house. The main house has 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths with wrap around front porch, 12 ft ceilings, country style kitchen, cast iron fireplace. The coach house has been gutted and restored and is currently used as an office.

$1,035,000- Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath Colonial home on an extra large 65 X 190 lot in NW Evanston.

$2,400,00-   Will buy you a 10 room, 4 bedroom, 5.5 bath Lannon Stone home with one of the best views of the lake. This home was totally re-designed in 2004 with new Kitchen, heating/cooling, windows, electrical and plumbing. Location, Location, Location. is the reason for the price of this home…

I am happy to announce my new website address to serve you better.

I am all about providing the public with FREE INFORMATION about the Real Estate Market in Evanston, Chicago, and the North Shore. As you visit the site I think you will find it very easy to use. Just scroll down to the picture tabs on the home page to search for listings, school information, featured listings, mortgage information, buyer and seller tips, and a way to contact me personally. If you want to find out how much your home is worth before contacting an agent just go to the Select Page and scroll down to Recent Home Sales. I hope you enjoy the new website and tell others to visit.

We just ended the first quarter and it is always interesting to look at the numbers and make assumptions about the relative strength or weakness of my local real estate market of Evanston IL.

As we all hear the national news about tumbling real estate prices, large numbers of homes on the market and rising foreclosures I am always challenged to make sense out this information and see how it applies to my local market in Evanston. The information I will be sharing with you here comes from my local MLS but the interpretations are strictly my own. I am sure others will not agree with me and have there own interpretations and that is ok with me.

ACTIVE

SINGLE FAMILY MARKET

In Evanston there are 275 single family homes on the market for sale. Of those 181 are homes that have been on the market 90 days or more. This means much of the current inventory of homes are homes that were on the market in the last quarter of 2007.

In Evanston there are 21 new single family homes on the market for sale.These are homes that are really new and not recycled old listings. Of those 4 are homes that are short sales and 1 is bank owned.

CONDO MARKET:
In Evanston there are 646 condos on the market for sale. Of those 342 are condo’s that have been on the market for 90 days or more. This means tha much of the current inventory of condo’s are those that were on the market in the last quarter of 2007.

In Evanston there are 33 new condo’s on the market for sale. These are condo’s that are really new and not recycled old listings. Of those 4 are short sales and 0 are bank owned.

SOLD

in Evanston 56 homes have sold with the average market time of 172 days. The Average sale price was $597,000 and the total sales volume to date is $33,441,500. During the same period in 2007, 58 homes sold in Evanston with the average sale price being $710,352 and the total sale volume of $41,200,400. What the numbers tell us is that we are not off on the number of homes sold this year as compared to last year but the average price of homes is dropping and affecting the total sales volume.

CONDO MARKET:

In Evanston 56 condo’s have sold with the average market time of 217 days. The Average sale price was $329,000 and the total sales volume was $18,458,311. During the same period in 2007, 143 condo’s sold with the average sale price $351,421 and the total sales volume being $50,253,266. What the numbers tell us is that the condo market is getting weaker, prices are falling and total sales volume is down. My question here is this because of new construction which is not reflected here in these figures or is really because the condo market is saturated with too much inventory. It is hard to tell at this point of the year.

It is not uncommon for the Midwest to have a Snow Storm in the Spring. I find the day after a storm is often a good time to take pictures because the white snow against a blue sky is quite beautiful. Following are some pictures I took today in Evanston.

Snow on Tree against Blue Sky

Snow on a Victorian Home

Lake Michigan with View of Downtown Chicago. Guess the names of the Tall Buildings?

Northwestern Continuing Education Building

Evanston Boys Basketball defeated Lockport (56/52) in the Illinois State Basketball semifinals for Class 4 A  Basketball on Saturday..  Evanston lost to Zion  Benton (51/54) on Friday.   Congratulations goes out to the Team for finishing third place  in the tournament and 3rd in the State with a record of 29 wins and 3 losses.

As of today’s date there are 227 homes for sale in Evanston, IL and 36 homes under contract since January 1, 2008. According to this information the average time on the market in Evanston is 6 months. Of interest is the number of homes under contract that have Home Sales Contingencies or Homes to Close Contingencies. (Home Sales Contingencies occur when the buyer has a home to sell but has a contract on a new home or a Home on the Market with a Contract but has not closed). According to the MLS there are 9 homes out of 36 homes that have such contingencies. What does this tell you about the real estate market in Evanston? Well in a very active buyers market such contingencies would never exist. Does this mean the Evanston market is slowing down? It is hard to say just yet. We are just entering the Spring real estate market and have had unusually cold weather and lots of snow which has turned many buyers away from the real estate market. It does however appear that Sellers are more anxious to sell and do not want to lose potential buyers and are accepting Home Sales Contingencies for the moment. I suspect when the market improves these contingencies will no longer exist.

Dear Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know how business is going this year. As you have probably heard, real estate home values are declining and sales of existing homes is at an all time low. Well, I am here to tell you some Good News! My business is doing great and getting better each day because I have started a career path to help people who are falling behind with their mortgage payments and have already received a Notice of Default. As a pre-foreclosure specialist I am helping people avoid foreclosure. If you or someone you know needs my advise can you ask them to call me. Wouldn’t it be nice to refer a family member or friend to someone you know and trust. Remember the help they receive may be their wisest real estate decision. I am giving you my 800 number which I have set up to assist people and to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION.

FREE INFORMATION 24 HOURS :

1-888-307-7311 EXT 11

If you or someone you know is in the market to buy a home and would like some information on how to buy a pre-foreclosure home then they can visit my website . (Search my listings and homes for Sale)

What do I mean when I say your success is my success. Well, every real estate transaction goes through a series of stages ending up with a successful conclusion which is buying or selling a home. Following are the stages I think about when working with buyers and sellers. I…

S- Seek to understand my clients needs, wants and desires.

U-Utilize my Knowledge as a real estate consultant

C- Contract and Negotiate

C- Coordinate the transaction details

E-Establish a Celebration Date

S-Set up a Moving Date

S-Set up a Lifetime Relationship

If you are looking for a realtor that has your interests in mind I hope to hear from you.

I feel it is time to give my opinion about the current real estate market since we are getting close to the holiday’s and look forward to being with family and friends. Real estate typically goes into hybernation during these months and then the anticipation begins for the Spring.

What will the real estate market look like this Spring? I feel the Spring Market in 2008 will remain a buyers’s market because there will still be a large inventory of homes on the market which did not sell in 2007 back on the market again in the first quarter of 2008.

How will buyers and sellers adjust to new challenges? The next big challenge will be how both buyers and sellers adjust to short sales, foreclosures, and bank owned properties. Experts are predicting more foreclosures in 2008 and as a result the real estate market will have a record number of homes for sale in 2008. I do not see the real estate market getting back to a normal market for a couple of years. Short sales, foreclosures, and bank owned properties are creating a new surge of interest in real estate by investors. These investors are looking for deals and these deals are affecting the sale price of homes on the market. I do not believe the market will get back to normal until these investors start selling off their real estate portfolio or there become fewer foreclosures.

If you are interested in learning more about Short sales, foreclosures, bank owned properties or just interested in finding out more information on real estate matters please feel free to contact me personally .

It’s official the feds lower interest rate by .50 basis points to help the economy. I would love to here your opinions:

1. Will lowering the interest rate by 1/2 point stimulate the housing market?

2. If you are a buyer sitting on the fence are you more motivated to look because interest rates are lower or are you still going to wait it out?

Love to hear your opinions…