Wanted: Homes For Rent In Edgebrook. And In Sauganash.

By: Markus Azadeh • October 1st, 2007 • Filed Under • Print This Print This

for-rent

It’s a strange and interesting phenomenon, at the same time: I’m starting to get phone calls from folks who are in the market to rent single family homes in 60646. I don’t mind at all, in fact, I’m going with the flow, but Edgebrook and Sauganash are not predominantly famous for being rental neighborhoods, such as Downtown, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, or Lincoln Square. Mainly, because in 60646, we don’t have the multi-unit/apartment stock that these neighborhoods boast. 60646 is primarily comprised of single family homes. So far, the callers that have contacted me want to send their children to the Edgebrook/Wildwood, and Sauganash school systems.

Here’s what I’m thinking: If your house has been on the market for sale for a long time without any takers – the average market time for closed single family homes in Edgebrook has been 122 days this past summer, and in Sauganash, 147 days – AND you have already moved out of your property, and are possibly paying for two mortgages/taxes, why not consider renting out your vacant house for a while? This way, you’re covering your fixed expenses (perhaps even profiting), and when the real estate market gets back on even keel (hopefully next spring), you can then sell your house for a price that won’t hurt you financially. However, if being a landlord/landlady is not your cup of tea, please refer to my post from a few weeks ago, because you haven’t lost the battle yet.

The callers, contacting me about rental homes in 60646 are telling me that they are not willing to jump into homeownership with the current state of the real estate market (whatever that means to them). Personally, I think it’s a great time for home seekers to make a purchase move right now. But the point is, many of them are willing to shell out $2,000 or more a month to lease a 3-bedroom house in 60646. Spin the idea further, should things not look any better by next spring: Lease-purchase-option, anyone?

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There are 22 social media / blog comments thus far to “Wanted: Homes For Rent In Edgebrook. And In Sauganash.”

  1. Kevin C says:
    July 21, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    Interestingly enough, I’m looking for a rental in the Edgewater/Sauganash area. The size and price range of your idea is exactly in my range. Also, I’d be interesting in a lease-buy option. Please contact me if you have any listings . . .

    Reply
  2. jeremy says:
    April 7, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    I live close by, and want to get into edgebrook school, do you have an apt for rent? or do you have an address for me to rent? I can pay utility or some other fees?
    please email me back.

    thanks.

    Reply
  3. Later for Lunch says:
    April 10, 2010 at 10:53 am

    There’s a house for rent at 7122 Melvina

    Reply
  4. Barry says:
    August 23, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    I have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath house in Edgebrook for rent for $1700 per month. You can view the posting at http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1910995933.html

    Reply
    • Markus Azadeh says:
      August 23, 2010 at 6:36 pm

      That’s a good looking house there, Barry. Wishing you the best of luck with leasing it. And should you need any professional help with that **coughcoughshamelessplugcoughcough**, you know where to find me. :)

      Reply
  5. Rob says:
    July 8, 2011 at 7:57 am

    My wife and I would like to rent a house in Sauganash around October. Email me if you like.

    Reply
  6. Yvette Munoz says:
    August 12, 2011 at 11:31 pm

    My husband and I also want to move into the 60646 area. As my daughter is about to enter kindergarten. We cant afford to buy right now but renting a home/apartment would be ideal! Can you help?

    Reply
  7. 60646 renter says:
    August 25, 2011 at 8:52 am

    It is not surprising that there are so many interested renters given that renters have taken notice of the enormous price discrepancies between asking prices and selling prices in Edgebrook.

    I count roughly 26 homes for sale in the Edgebrook elementary attendance area, 18 of which are priced over $400,000 – and 13 are priced above $500,000 (14 if you count the $499,500 listed home!). Take note that more than half of the homes are listed above $500,000 because as we discuss this further, the significance of the $500,000 price point will become apparent.

    In addition to the 26 homes listed, there are an additional 10 homes currently under contract. Six of the 10 are listed under $400,000, and 3 of the 10 homes will likely close under $500,000, leaving (1) house of the 10 in the entire attendance area – in old Edgebrook- that will close above $500,000.

    Furthermore, there have been only 10 closed home sales in the last 3 months in the entire Edgebrook elementary attendance area during the summer months. Five of the 10 closed homes sold for under $400,000. Eight of the 10 closed homes sold under $500,000, and two closed just above the $500,000 threshold, one of which closed at a mere $502,000!

    That leaves the most expensive house sold this summer in the Edgebrook Elementary attendance area at a whopping $594,000; and it is truly a gorgeous house, brick, next to the golf course. I love it.

    Think about that for a second, half the homes in Edgebrook are listed over $500,000 and only two homes this entire summer sold over $500,000, one of which sold for $502,000…..

    Yet, despite these dismal sales figures, as of today, there are eight homes currently listed in the Edgebrook Elementary attendance area more expensive than the most expensive home sold in the last three months.

    The pattern I see is that Edgebrook buyers *really* like the $300,000 to $400,000 range, and a handful of buyers can upgrade to a $400,000-$502,000 home, and only an elite few can afford homes above $502,000.

    It’s not like hoards of $500,000+ buyers are going to appear out of nowhere to *snap up* all the available $500,000 homes. Heck, there are still plenty of $400,000+ homes and they’re also languishing. Buyers *really* like the sub-$400,000 priced homes and they *snap up* any sub $400,000 price home with 3 or more bedrooms in record time.

    Realtors need to do their part and show sellers these cold hard facts, that if they want to sell, they need to price their home right, and pricing it right means between a listing $400,000 and $500,000 for the very nice above average homes, and less than $400,000 for the average homes, and probably under $300,000 for the homes less than average.

    According to your own data, http://60646blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Edgebrook-Q2-2007-2010-Units-Sold.jpg during Q2 in ’08 there were 16 sales, Q2 in 09 there were 18, and Q2 in 2010 (homebuyer credit time) there were 24! Now this summer sellers only sold a mere 10 homes. I understand that Q2 and the last three months are not an apples to apples comparison because they are not the same months, but there is enough of an overlap to prove my point. Buyers have spoken loud and clear, and how many more abysmal and pathetic summers with 10 sales does Edgebrook need to have before sellers will capitulate and price their homes accordingly???

    The posts on this thread have made it abundantly clear that people are interested in living in Edgebrook, but just not buying at these ridiculous above $500,000 asking prices…. and with 10 sales this entire summer in Edgebrook….I bet the handful of realtors are starting to get the gnawing hunger pains in their stomach, it’s hard to feed a family when nothing is selling….

    Reply
    • Markus Azadeh says:
      August 25, 2011 at 5:55 pm

      Hi 60646renter. Really enjoyed reading your comment, which btw reminded me that I’m woefully behind on supplying my esteemed readers with 60646 home selling stats. I’m tardy 3 full quarters, to be exact, but I’m gonna get to it before the end of the year. Promise!

      Having said that, let’s quickly go over the stats for Edgebrook Elementary School attendance area, as reported by MRED connectMLS. Currently, there are 24 single family homes actively for sale by Realtors. Another 11 homes are under contract, of which 2 are short sales. The supply of available homes by price range is as follows:

      < $300K: 2 homes
      $301K-$400K: 5 homes
      $401K-$500K: 5 homes
      $501K-$600K: 5 homes
      $601K-$700K: 1 home
      $701K-$800K: 1 home
      $801K-$900K: 4 homes
      >$900K: 1 home

      The breakdown of the 11 homes that are currently under contract is such:

      < $300K: 2 homes
      $301K-$400K: 4 homes
      $401K-$500K: 2 homes
      $501K-$600K: 2 homes
      $601K-$700K: 1 home

      In Q2 2011, MRED reported 9 closed sales in the Edgebrook School attendance area, the breakdown of which is as follows:

      <$300K: 0 homes
      $301K-$400K: 5 homes
      $401K-$500K: 4 homes

      In Q3 – which we’re still in – MRED shows 5 closed sales thus far:

      <$300K: 0 homes
      $301K-$400K: 3 homes
      $401K-$500K: 0 homes
      $501K-$600K: 2 homes

      So, your data and MRED’s data are – for the most part – in synch. However, I can’t totally agree with your conclusion that there is barely a market for homes in Edgebrook that are priced higher than $500K. I think that folks who want to move to Edgebrook for one reason or another, naturally would flock to the below $400K or $300K segment, if they had to work within budget constraints. This is true for any relatively higher priced Chicago neighborhood, from the Gold Coast to Lincoln Park and Lake View. It just means that the pool of potential buyers for higher-priced homes is a bit smaller. Does this mean that all $650K+ homes in Edgebrook should be priced in the $300k-$400K bracket just because that’s the popular bracket? Probably not. It does mean though that sellers of higher end homes need to be a bit more aggressive in pricing their homes for sale than their immediate competitors, without leaving money on the closing table. Pricing your home: It’s not a science, it’s an art!

      Aside from that, Edgebrook has always been a community that attracts renters, in addition to homebuyers. Problem is – and I alluded to that in my post above – Edgebrook is not predominantly a rental neighborhood. The supply of rental housing in Edgebrook has always lagged behind demand. I would submit that the Edgebrook Elementary and Wildwood World Magnet Schools are a big driver for demand of not only rental, but permanent housing. Trouble is that not all families who would like to live in the attendance areas of these schools, have the financial means to purchase a home there. Hence, the high demand for rentals.

      Looking forward to more of your thoughts.

      Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    August 26, 2011 at 12:24 pm

    “Trouble is that not all families who would like to live in the attendance areas of these schools, have the financial means to purchase a home there. Hence, the high demand for rentals.”

    I think a lot of that ‘trouble’ is a result of delusional seller pricing, which has resulted in an abysmal 9 sales in Q2 this year. That’s roughly half the ’08 Q2 sales figures which was the worst 2nd quarter to date.

    I’m glad to see your stats correlate nicely to mind, I don’t have access to the MLS, so I take the information from a variety of other sources.

    Buyers really like the sub-$500,000 homes. This is the new paradigm, which is change from the past, because even as recently as last year, there were a lot $500,000 homes sold.

    Maybe those buyers will come back and buy the $500,000 homes en mass; maybe buyers will shun $500,000 homes in the area for the next generation. Who knows, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But I do know that as soon as one seller capitulates and sells a $600k tutor for $450k the rest will have to follow and I surmise that’s what many of these 60646 renters are waiting for.

    Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    September 7, 2011 at 8:40 am

    Wow, no homes have closed in Edgebrook or Wildwood in the last week – and I count only 5 closed homes in the last 30 days:

    $190,000
    $299,000
    $385,000
    $445,000
    $594,000

    I count 7 under contract in Edgebrook & 7 under contract in Wildwood.

    I count 25 for sale in Edgebrook & I count about 24 for sale in Wildwood.

    I count less than a dozen minor price drops in the last 30 days!

    There is obviously a war between sellers & buyers in the area.

    I think we all know who is going to win this standoff. Realtors so far have been taking the side of the losing party – sellers. Realtors need to do their part to encourage sellers to drop prices significantly and drastically. Buyers are not coming back. Large numbers of $400k+ buyers are not going to all the sudden magically appear out of nowhere and snap up all the listed property.

    I understand that seller won’t ‘just give their homes away’ but they’re not selling their homes either.

    So the standoff continues…the renters continue to rent, the sellers continue to list and the realtors go hungry.

    Reply
    • Markus Azadeh says:
      September 7, 2011 at 8:51 am
      There is obviously a war between sellers & buyers in the area.

      I think we all know who is going to win this standoff.

      There may be a fundamental misunderstanding on your part about how markets in general, and real estate markets in particular work.

      Please allow me to explain: Generally speaking, in a market where there is more supply than demand, prices will decrease to a point where supply and demand are eventually going to be in synch. In a real estate market with an abundance of supply, the above axiom is not necessarily true. The owners of a $700K home are not going to lower their asking price for their home to $350K – let alone accept an offer for $350K – just to sell it. Mostly because they have a mortgage that may be higher than $350K. They would have to short-sell their property which they may not be inclined to do, unless they have no other choice. Elsewhere on this blog, I have often alluded to the fact that Edgebrook/Wildwood are not neighborhoods that are heavily populated by distressed properties. To the best of my knowledge that is still true today. Banks on the other hand, look at their portfolio of non-producing assets differently: If there is no offer within a short period of time, they drastically cut their asking price. They have no emotional ties to their assets whatsoever. Homeowners in Edgebrook and Wildwood are not banks. They are real people!

      Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    September 7, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    The cliche “sellers aren’t just going to give their houses away” is just that – cliche. The market determines the price and the market is speaking loud and clear: more price declines are needed.

    Sellers have four choices: 1) take the house off the market; 2) hold firm forever; 3) hold firm until it becomes a distressed property; or 4) recognize the new market reality that cheaper homes sell. Your job as a realtor is to encourage #4, you know, if you want to sell more than 9 properties in edgebrook a quarter. You and I both know that the market is not ‘coming back’ and the longer a seller waits the less they’ll eventually sell for. This is a declining market and who knows where the bottom even is at this point.

    Reply
  • Markus Azadeh says:
    September 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm
    Your job as a realtor is to encourage #4, you know, if you want to sell more than 9 properties in edgebrook a quarter.

    When we represent sellers, one of our jobs is to negotiate the highest possible price (that the market bears) for our clients. When we represent buyers, one of our jobs is to negotiate the lowest possible price for our clients.

    I don’t disagree with you that buyers essentially determine what the market value of a particular piece of property is. And I also agree with you that sellers ought to know about what is going on in their marketplace. But that’s basically as far as we go. From there, it’s up to the sellers to decide. Your fourth option is not really an option. It’s a statement like “The sun comes up in the East every morning”. Just because cheaper homes sell, doesn’t mean that expensive homes have to sell for cheap! However, do expensive homes occasionally sell for cheap? You bet they do! But for that, you have to get up before the sun rises in the East!

    Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    September 7, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    Why go into business if you can’t sell?

    In career choice there are all these older guys who confuse ‘being busy’ with ‘making money’. Sure, they’re busy all the time and have a lot going on, but at the end of the day, ‘being busy’ is not selling properties. Sure, you have lots of listings, and there are showings, and new clients, but unless there are sales, it’s a waste of time…but these old timers, they don’t see that. I’m not saying you’re an old timer, but there are plenty of star realtors out there who sell, and sell well, even in this down market, and they tell sellers right off the bat “I will sell your house but you need to follow my plan and price realistically” and homes sell. Letting sellers decide how they’re going to do it is like giving doctors giving patients tell them how to practice medicine. Don’t let sellers tell you how to sell homes because guess what – they won’t sell. 9 sales in Q2 shows that.
    Thanks for these informal chats. Hopefully some 60646 sellers see this little chat and get a better sense of what’s really going on out there and why potential buyers won’t buy their homes.

    Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    September 28, 2011 at 6:40 pm

    I’ve been gone for a while, hoping 60646 would pick up a bit, and it hasn’t; This may have been the slowest quarter ever. Now I have to spend another winter in my cramped rental!

    I also read your post. I wish more buyers and realtors would to your theory because it makes total sense. Price right, and it will sell. Why can’t the sellers in 60646 figure this out?

    It’s going to be a long cold winter. I’ll be back in the spring.

    Reply
  • Markus Azadeh says:
    September 28, 2011 at 7:19 pm
    … It’s going to be a long cold winter. I’ll be back in the spring.

    That’s what I’m reading too, 60646renter. But here’s the thing: Consider that – even though somewhat of a remote thought – home prices in 60646 may rise next spring.

    Reply
  • 60646 renter says:
    September 29, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    Ha! They’ll fall in the winter and then rise again in the spring just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

    Reply

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