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        <title>Chicago Suburb Real Estate &amp; Area Guide</title>
        <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/author/judy-orr/</link>
        <description>New real estate listings, entertainment, recreation, news and things to do in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.</description>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/happy-homer-glen-home-buyers.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/happy-homer-glen-home-buyers.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Happy Homer Glen Home Buyers</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
We found the buyers for 14459 Abbott Rd., Homer Glen.  They were first-time buyers and we worked hard to get them a great price on their Homer Glen home.  We saved them $22,400 off of list price, and this was not a short sale or foreclosure.  We go to bat for our buyers and we've saved buyers thousands of dollars over the years.


Buyers - if you're looking for a property in the southwest suburbs we're your team.  Judy Orr has 29 years experience and her husband, James Herter, is her team mate.  We are full-time agents and we fully represent you and your best interests in what could be the biggest financial decision you've ever made.  We educate first-time buyers and try to make purchasing a home as fun and stress-free as possible.


Sellers - we have many means of attracting buyers.  We can't guarantee we'll sell your home or if we'll attract a buyer working with another agent, but we do a lot to attract buyers to our listings, whether they call us or come with the agent they're working with.  We make your home look fantastic with our photos, we create a website just for your home and we do much more.  We have top Google placement for the most searched words in the areas we service.  Buyers come to our website and do their searches and we convert many of them.


Give us a call at 708-536-8200 or contact us.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:35:06 -0500</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/homer-glen-homes-under-200000.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/homer-glen-homes-under-200000.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Homer Glen Homes Under $200,000</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The average sales price for Homer Glen homes in 2011 was $317,170, so anything priced under $200,000 should be  considered a bargain for the area.  If you're a first-time buyer some of these homes might be nice little starter homes.  They might also work out for those empty nesters that are downsizing.


But there will be some larger homes at discount prices that are short sales or foreclosures.  Homes in this price range can go quickly and we're starting to see multiple offers.  A good priced foreclosure has always brought in multiple offers for the most part but we're showing good buyer activity right now.


I'm seeing more buyers sitting on the fence wondering if they should make an offer and the property already sold.  Again, it happens more in the lower price range of any town.


Right now there are 9 homes in Homer Glen priced $200,000 or under.  Some of these might already have an offer, but technically our MLS considers them in Active status (even though it is Contingent) until it goes Deal Pending or is Closed.  You can tell the home's status by looking under "Essential Information" to the left and all the way down to "Status."  If it says Contingent then you will probably have to wait for the deal to fall apart and the listing to be reactivated.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:34:22 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/homer-glen-real-estate-2011-sales-statistics.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/homer-glen-real-estate-2011-sales-statistics.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Homer Glen Real Estate 2011 Sales Statistics</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The table below shows the difference between the sale of Homer Glen homes in 2011 vs. 2010.






# of Homes Sold


% Change


Average  Sale Price


% Change










2011


2010


 


2011


2010


 




139


128


8.6%


$317,170


$336,531


-5.8%






Like many surrounding suburbs, the amount of sales went up in 2011 compared to 2010.  There was an 8.6% increase in single family Homer Glen homes sold.


Like many other towns Homer Glen showed a 5.8% decrease in average sales price.  Some areas are showing double digit decreases so it could be worse, but prices are still dropping.


This means that if you're a buying in Homer Glen this is a great time to make that purchase with current low interest rates and low prices.  No one knows when we'll reach bottom, but I am super busy with buyers right now and if buyers continue purchasing at this pace prices will stabilize at some point.  A nearby town, Palos Park, showed a price increase so it is happening already in some villages.


Click the link to see updated Homer Glen real estate sales statistics from 2005 to the present for both detached and attached properties.


Call Judy Orr or James Herter at 708-536-8200 if you're ready to start looking at properties in Homer Glen or any other southwest suburb.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:41:45 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/negative-home-equity-by-state.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/negative-home-equity-by-state.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Negative Home Equity by State</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 



I rarely give out links to other websites as I usually present local real estate statistics and things that I can write a full blog post on my own without outlinking to other sources.  But I happened to find an interesting article with a map showing negative home equity in all 50 states.


Since I own an Orland Park home (a Homer Glen home with an Orland Park address) plus own a 2nd home in Scottsdale, AZ, it was interesting to see how those states stacked up.


When you link to the map, you'll notice that Illinois has 21-30% of negative equity mortgages.  This means that 21-30% of Illinois home owners that have a mortgage owe more than what their home is currently worth.


In Arizona, that figure jumps to 41% and up, which was not surprising.  That was the highest percentage and was shared with Florida and Nevada, three of the hardest hit states when the real estate boom went bust.


What surprised me the most was the amount of states with very few home owners that were under water.  Check out the map here.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:47:52 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/orland-park-homes-year-end-sales-statistics-2011.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/orland-park-homes-year-end-sales-statistics-2011.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Orland Park Homes Year End Sales Statistics 2011</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I've been eagerly awaiting the sales stats for 2011 for Orland Park homes and surrounding areas, and they're finally out.  I've posted quarterly and semi-annual stats and now we have the whole story. 






# of Properties Sold



% Change



Average  Sale Price



% Change











2011



2010







2011



2010









282



266



6%



$318,088



$357,690



-11.1%







I was thinking we'd have a higher percentage of properties sold last year compared to 2010.  A 6% increase is better than nothing or a decrease, but I thought it would be better.


The bad news is a double digit decrease in prices.  Orland Park seemed to be holding price better than many other villages, but look at those average sales prices, comparing both years.  Will 2012 be better?  Only a year from now will tell!


This is the first double digit price decrease for Orland Park homes since I started posting statistics.  If you'd like to see different sales stats from 2005, click on Orland Park Real Estate Sales Statistics.  If you're thinking of buying and/or selling a home in Orland Park or surrounding areas, give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 or Contact Me.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:16:32 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/lots-of-news-for-2012.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/lots-of-news-for-2012.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Lots of News for 2012</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
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


Every year I start out writing my custom newsletters and do good sending them out until things get busy and I can't keep up.  I've actually gotten phone calls asking me where the newsletter is?  I was happy that they were missed, but I felt guilty not being able to keep up.


We have decided to set a goal of a quarterly snail mail newsletter and we will keep in touch with our friends, family, past and future clients in other ways during the year.  Because my newsletters are created by me, it takes up a lot of time.  I haven't found a pre-made canned newsletter that I would want to send.  So we'll commit to 4 a year and if it runs smoothly with our new team we might increase that to 6 issues a year.  We'd love to be able to put one out every month but I have other ideas for mailers so we'll see how it goes.


We have a new territory


About a year ago we moved from Oak Lawn to the Homer Glen/Orland Park area.  We have an Orland Park address but we're truly in Homer Glen.  We've always worked in this area but it was on the perimeter of how far we'd go.  Now it is our back yard and we want to focus on this area for new listings.  


If you live outside the general area (our main towns will be Homer Glen homes, Lemont, Lockport, Mokena, Orland Hills, Orland Park and Palos Park), don't think we can't work with you.  Call us first and let us know where you're looking to buy and/or sell and if we can't help you we will find you a great local agent who will.


We have a new marketing plan


Customer service and thinking out-of-the-box has always been our modus operandi, and we have put together an unsurpassed marketing program for our listings.  We'll be writing about some of them in the future and introduce our techniques individually.


The new year is almost here!


This year flew by (don't we always say that).  We are excited to put our new plans and systems into action as a cohesive team in 2012.  If you are thinking of buying and/or selling please give us a call at 708-536-8200 or use our Contact Form.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:24:57 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/why-agents-need-advance-notice-to-set-showing-appointments.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/why-agents-need-advance-notice-to-set-showing-appointments.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Why Agents Need Advance Notice to Set Showing Appointments</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Real estate agents know that it can be fun and exciting viewing potential homes that you might be interested in purchasing.  When you find a home online, in an automated e-mail or driving down the street, you might want to see it right now.  However, even if it is a vacant home, we still need to make an appointment with the listing office.


If you want to view several homes, we need time to set up a logical route, put a viewing time on each one and then call each individual listing office.  We need to be in our offices to print up the listing sheets before we can even work on setting up the appointments.  Although we can use our smart phone, tablet or laptop on the road if necessary, it isn't that easy if there are multiple properties to set up.  If you reach us when we're out of our office, we most likely will need to get back in order to set up appointments, especially if there are more than one. 


Sometimes we have to contact individual agents who set their own appointments, and we usually get their voice mail.  I don't understand why a busy agent would set their own appointments, but some do, and we are at their mercy of when they're going to listen to our voicemail and then they have to call the owners if the home is occupied.  I've had agents not call me back at all and I had to chase them down.  That's another story I've written blog posts about before.  I doubt their sellers know that they're missing out on showings because of the way their agents set appointments on their own.  At Classic Realty Group we have office staff that set our appointments during our business hours.  If the home is vacant, I usually use the automatic showing system that is built into the MLS.  Our sellers will only miss out on showings if they're not available.


Busy agents might already be working with their buyer or seller clients when you're interested in seeing a home.  That's why we also need advance notice, so we can set aside enough time to show you properties without rushing you through.  We want you to take your time viewing properties and that's how we treat all of our buyer clients.


If you want to see a home please give Judy Orr or Jimmy Herter a call or text at 708-536-8200 and we'll do our best to get you in as quickly as possible.  We show homes in Homer Glen, Lemont, Mokena, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Park and most southwest suburbs.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:09:55 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/3rd-quarter-2011-sales-stats-for-homer-glen-homes.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/3rd-quarter-2011-sales-stats-for-homer-glen-homes.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>3rd Quarter 2011 Sales Stats for Homer Glen Homes</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Following are sales statistics for Homer Glen homes for the third quarter of 2011







# of Properties Sold



% Change



Average  Sale Price



% Change











2011



2010







2011



2010









39



23



69.6 %



$292,333



$314,063



-6.9%







It is nice to see that there is a huge 69.6% increase in the amount of Homer Glen homes sold.  Many more buyers came out this year vs. last year.  Sales suffered last year after the Home Buyer's Tax Credit ended in April, when home sales tanked.  There was a rush to get in on the credit, and when it expired things went downhill, bringing prices with them.


Prices are still on a downward spiral but the percentage is at least in the single digits, unlike some other southwest suburbs.  For the first time in a while I have a positive outlook on 2012 - I just hope I'm right! 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:41:46 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/buyers-losing-homes-by-taking-too-long-to-decide.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/buyers-losing-homes-by-taking-too-long-to-decide.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>Buyers Losing Homes By Taking Too Long to Decide</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A buyer recently sent me a list of Palos Park homes she wanted to view.  When I started setting up appointments I was told that one of the homes just accepted an offer and there would be no further showings.  I relayed this to my buyer, who was very upset because it was the top choice on her list.





This is a buyer who has been viewing properties online for a long time.  They just started actually going out and viewing homes, although they are not in a hurry.  I have seen this happening with buyers more this and last year than ever before.  These buyers are looking for homes part-time.  Some go out once a month, some a little more and some even less.


When you're only sporadically looking for homes you can miss the best deals.  Even in a slow buyer's market in the southwest suburbs, the good homes priced correctly are selling.  So when you only go out to look once in a while, you're probably viewing the homes that continue to sit on the market, while the best deals are being scooped up by motivated buyers that are out there looking and ready to write an offer.


I never push buyers to purchase before they're ready.  But it does get frustrating when a buyer is so upset that a house they were very interested in sells because they felt they had all the time in the world and the house would be available until they were ready.  Yes, there is much more inventory than buyers looking, but if the house shows the best in its price range, one of those other buyers will probably like it too.  If they're ready to buy and you really aren't, you're going to miss out on all the best listings.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:58:00 -0500</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/6-month-activity-for-homer-glen-lemont-orland-park-and-surrounding-suburbs.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.cook-county-real-estate.net/blog/6-month-activity-for-homer-glen-lemont-orland-park-and-surrounding-suburbs.html</link>
            <author>judyorr@gmail.com (Judy Orr)</author>
            <title>6 Month Activity for Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park and Surrounding Suburbs</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
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


5.5%


$305,268


$334,138


-8.6%




New Lenox


87


96


-9.4%


$241,805


$264,404


-8.6%




Orland Hills


16


25


-36%


$178,078


$196,206


-9.2%




Orland Park


126


151


-16.6%


$317,157


$345,934


-8.3%




Palos Park


17


27


-37%


$320,558


$369,345


-13.2%






As you can see from the above chart, Lockport, Orland Hills and Palos Park took more than a 30% downtown in the amount of homes sold for the first half of 2011 compared to 2010.  Lemont homes were the only real estate that actually appreciated in value.  Home values should be more important to a home owner than amount of homes sold, although that also shows us supply and demand, and there is too much inventory vs. qualified buyers.


If you have a home to sell in any of the above towns please give the team of Judy Orr and Jimmy Herter a call at 708-536-8200.  We have an unsurpassed marketing plan and would love to share it with you.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:03:37 -0500</pubDate>
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