Real Estate 
General real estate news and information
There are currently 128 blog entries related to this category.
Negative Home Equity by State
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 3:47pm. 41 Views, 0 Comments.
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.
…Orland Park Homes Year End Sales Statistics 2011
Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 11:16am. 95 Views, 0 Comments.
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
…Lots of News for 2012
Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 12:24pm. 154 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
…Why Agents Need Advance Notice to Set Showing Appointments
Friday, December 2nd, 2011 at 12:09pm. 186 Views, 0 Comments.
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.
…3rd Quarter 2011 Sales Stats for Homer Glen Homes
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 3:41pm. 186 Views, 0 Comments.
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
…Buyers Losing Homes By Taking Too Long to Decide
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 12:58pm. 155 Views, 0 Comments.
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
…6 Month Activity for Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park and Surrounding Suburbs
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 4:03pm. 209 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 |
Save Money on A Home Purchase With a VA Home Loan
Sunday, October 9th, 2011 at 8:34pm. 133 Views, 0 Comments.
Save Money on A Home Purchase With a VA Home Loan
Home loans are presently at an all-time low. Currently, lenders are able to issue new purchase, refinance and FHA loans at rates that were previously unheard of. These rates are a result of the economic crash and housing market crash of 2008, and allow first-time homeowners, veterans and everybody else to purchase or refinance a home at prices and rates that have never before been seen.
While this is great news for those who are currently looking for a new home, home buying gets even better for those who have worked in the Armed Forces and have served to protect our country and its freedom. Those who have been in the Armed Forces are eligible to receive a VA Home Loan. This
…6 Month Activity for Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park and Palos Park
Saturday, October 1st, 2011 at 6:22pm. 125 Views, 0 Comments.
The chart below will show market activity for single family homes for Homer Glen, Lemont, Orland Park and Palos Park for the first half of 2011.
| Village |
# of Sales 2011 |
# of Sales 2010 |
% Change |
Avg. Price 2011 |
Avg. Price 2010 |
% Change |
| Homer Glen |
68 | 81 | -16.1% |
$321,950 | $334,765 |
-3.8% |
| Lemont | 55 | 58 | -5.2% | $383,940 | $368,416 | 4.2% |
| Orland Park |
126 | 151 | -8.3% | $317,157 | $345,934 | -8.3% |
| Palos Park |
17 | 27 | -37% | $320,558 | $369,345 | -13.2% |
Every town has shown a decrease in homes sold. Palos Park has been hit the hardest with a large 37% decrease in the sale of Palos Park homes.
Palos Park showed the only
…Why Don't Sellers Want to Accept Your Contingent on Sale Offer?
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 10:48pm. 167 Views, 0 Comments.
We are in the worst market I have experienced since I started in the business in 1983. My welcome to real estate was interest rates that shot up to 18% and even higher. There was a lot of creative finacing out there, and homes were still being purchased. The good news is that those high rates didn't last very long, and the market got back to normal much quicker than what we are experiencing today.
There are way too many homes up for sale than buyers that can qualify for a mortgage. The lower priced homes are in 
competition with a slew of foreclosures and short sales so it's very hard to compete. If those sellers cannot sell their homes then they can't move up to the next home. It is a vicious circle, where you have to be priced really well