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Lots of News for 2012
Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 12:24pm. 145 Views, 0 Comments.
Lots of "News" for 2012
For the first time in a while I feel optimistic for the upcoming year. We are busier than normal at this time of year, so I feel 2012 will be even better, and might show a quicker start to the selling season. We have some new things coming up and I'd like to briefly go over them here.
There's a new team in town
I have already introduced my husband Jimmy Herter and my son Matt Orr. Jimmy got licensed last year and is now a Broker. My son Matt has helped us out on and off over the years and he has committed to giving us more time. Matt is our "new" photographer with his new camera. Our photos have always received compliments from happy sellers, but we've now kicked them up a notch.
We have a new newsletter
…6 Month Activity for Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park and Surrounding Suburbs
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 4:03pm. 204 Views, 0 Comments.
I recently shared 1st half of 2011 sales activity for only 4 neighboring towns and decided to add more towns in my service area. The table below will show sales activity for the 1st half of 2011 for single family Homer Glen homes, Lemont, Lockport, Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Hills, Orland Park and Palos Park.
| # of Houses Sold | Average Sale Price |
| Town | Sold YRD | Sold YRD | YOY | Avg Price | Avg Price | YOY |
| 2011 | 2010 | % Chg | 2011 | 2010 | % Chg | |
| Homer Glen | 68 | 81 | -16.1% | $321,950 | $334,765 | -3.8% |
| Lemont | 55 | 58 | -5.2% | $383,940 | $368,418 | 4.2% |
| Lockport | 86 | 134 | -35.8% | $176,621 | $202,241 | -12.7% |
| Mokena | 58 | 55 |
Is Home Ownership Losing Popularity?
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 at 6:57pm. 542 Views, 1 Comments.
Everyone knows that prices continue dropping in many areas, including Illinois suburbs. But those low prices could
be good enough for buyers to consider making a purchase this year. An easy way of figuring out if it's worthwhile purchasing a home vs. renting is to figure out what your mortgage payment would be compared to current rental prices. You also need to take into consideration tax deductions for mortgage interest and real estate taxes for home owners, although they might not last forever. Feel free to use my mortgage calculator, although this does not compute any tax deductions.
There is More to it Then Just Monthly Payments
Even if your mortgage payment is more than a local rental, there is a completely different lifestyle in owning
…Homer Glen Festival
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 2:54pm. 1034 Views, 0 Comments.
It was great timing to be able to attend this year's Homer Glen Parade and Festival since we'll be moving to our Homer Glen home soon. My husband's old band (he doesn't play with them much anymore as he is in a different band) played last year and this year. I missed last year's festival so was happy to be able to make it this year, although I didn't see the parade.
I thought that attendance was light but my friend told me it was twice as many people as last year's event. It will hopefully grow larger year after year.
Someone mentioned that there was a wolf on display so I went looking. Before finding the wolf I stopped by a petting area with some interesting looking alpacas (I thought they were llamas), goats and a pony.
Behind
…Oak Lawn Real Estate Sales Statistics 2008-2009
Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 1:10pm. 436 Views, 0 Comments.
It's statistics time to see how different southwest suburbs have fared over these tumultuous years. The first chart is for Oak Lawn homes for sale and the second chart is for all attached Oak Lawn properties.
Detached Oak Lawn Homes Sales Statistics 2008-2009
|
Number of Homes Sold |
Average Sale Price |
| 2009 | 2008 | % Change |
2009 | 2008 |
% Change |
| 313 | 268 | 16.8% | $196,518 | $237,064 |
-17.1% |
As you can see, the number of Oak Lawn homes sold has increased and has the highest amount of homes sold comparing the 3 top southwest suburbs reflecting most homes sold (Oak Lawn, Orland Park and Tinley Park). That's the good news,
…Orland Park Real Estate
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 11:48am. 384 Views, 0 Comments.
In preparing a Comparative Market Analysis for an Orland Park home for sale, I wanted to see how Orland Park is faring in today's declining market. The easiest way to check this out is to collect the data created for us by our local real estate board.
The data shows us the following, which is based on what has happened during the first half of 2009 vs. 2008:
Amount of homes sold: 2008 = 124 2009 = 118 - showing a decrease of 4.8% of total sales of single family homes
Median Sale Price: 2008 = $325,000 2009 = $294,500 - showing a decrease of 9.4% in the median price
How does this affect sellers?
I'm reading more and more about properties not appraising. There are different
…Is the Media Creating This Declining Market?
Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 3:49pm. 729 Views, 0 Comments.
I made a post on Active Rain (a popular real estate blogging site with agents from all over the world) about Orland Park homes for sale - current supply and demand. I put the following chart on that post showing factual information from April of last year to April of 2009. I did not make this chart myself - I copied it from a program that I utilize that gets the data from our MLS (multiple listing service). It is not easy to read here since I had to shrink it down to fit in this blog. But even without reading the numbers, you can see how many homes are up for sale (red) compared to those with contracts (blue) or that have already sold and closed (green). As of today, there are 332 Orland Park homes for sale and this chart was compiled a few days
…There Are Great Deals In This Market
Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 9:08am. 390 Views, 0 Comments.
I am seeing such great deals lately that I'm actually considering selling my home. When we purchased our home we thought it was big enough. But after living in it we discovered we could have used a little more space.
We should not lose money on our home, although when figuring in the work we've done on it (remodeling bathrooms, putting in hardwood floors and some new windows), we'll be lucky to break even. But we don't care.
The math is in our favor. Even if we don't see good appreciation on our home (that we purchased in 2003 - just before prices started to skyrocket) we will more than make up for it with our next purchase. In fact, I've seen foreclosed properties that are larger than our home going for less money, just because it's a
…Sellers - Read This If You're Serious About Selling Your Home
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 9:59pm. 431 Views, 0 Comments.
I showed Oak Lawn homes for sale over the weekend and also showed properties in Chicago Ridge, Palos Heights and Palos Park. The first home was vacant new construction and the agent was holding an open house. She stayed out of our way and allowed me to show the home to my buyers, who know me and know I'm looking out for their best interests. One of these places was a nice home on a busy street.
The 2nd home showing was a whole different story. I was told the seller would be home but did not expect what occurred. I warned my buyers the seller would be home before we entered the house. They were not happy with the information and she commented, "I thought sellers were supposed to leave during home showings." I told her they should leave but
…Chicago Suburbs Welcome Spring
Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 10:18am. 322 Views, 0 Comments.
Boy, do we need to be told it is finally Spring! This has been a cold, snowy winter and I'm so done with the cold weather. It's such a nice, sunny day out today and I feel invigorated. I think buyers are feeling the same way.
I have been working non-stop since last week and am getting to the point that I can't handle all of the buyers that are coming out to view homes now. I can only be at one place at one time! That's why I'm starting to team up with other agents. Last year was a record year for me but it started earlier. This year has been a slower start but things are sure picking up.
I was optimistic about real estate in 2008 and with what has been happening recently with buyer interest and even more listings coming on market,
…