My apologies for being somewhat tardy with Q1 2010 figures for Edgebrook, Sauganash, and South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park. Business has been picking up this spring/early summer, and I’ve fallen behind with writing, a bit. But a busy real estate market is good news for everyone, especially after an extended series of months with bad news. To be sure, we’re not out of the woods yet, in fact some experts opine that it could take years before we could see a healthy real estate market again. But all real estate is local, and market conditions differ from region to region, and from town to town. Hence, I refuse to pay attention to all the generally negative housing news, and rather focus on what’s going on in your real estate markets. And, lo and behold, in this edition of my quarterly 60646 market conditions report, I am about to share some stats with you that mainstream news professionals would consider “good housing news”.

Edgebrook Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2010 ↓↑

Encouraging stats in Edgebrook: Nine homes closed in the first quarter of 2010 which is almost twice as many as in Q1 2009. Early signs of a comeback? Better news: Neither of the nine closed homes were short sales or bank-owned homes. Edgebrook Q1 2007-2010 Units Sold In Q1 2010, average and median sale prices in Edgebrook declined vs. Q1 2009 (-14.5% and -18.4% respectively) but stayed in the vicinity of Q1 2007 and 2008 figures. So, even though Edgebrook home values have not been immune to the general softness of the market, there is absolutely no need to even waste a breath talking about real estate values in Edgebrook “crashing”. On another positive note, Q1 2010 saw a decline in average market times vs. Q1 2009. On average, it took a little over 4 months to sell a home in Edgebrook vs. 8 months in Q1 2009. Edgebrook Q1 2007-2010 Sale Prices There was no significant change in sale-to-list-price ratio in Q1 2010 vs. Q1 figures of recent years past, even though the green line below seems to indicate a big drop from Q1 2009 to Q1 2010. This ratio represents the percentage home sellers are willing to sell their homes for below their asking prices. For the past three years, this ratio has been almost 95% in the first quarter. It’s also testimony to the fact that Edgebrook is not a typical distressed property market. Edgebrook Q1 2007-2010 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio With 55 homes currently for sale in Edgebrook, the MSI-Index (Months Supply of Inventory) stands at 18.3 months which means that if no other homes came on the market for sale, it would take 18.3 months to sell off the existing inventory of homes in Edgebrook.

Sauganash Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2010 ↓↑

No dramatic developments in Q1 2010 in Sauganash. 2010 kicked off with 9 closed homes, one of which was an estate sale, and another one a short sale. This puts Q1 2010 on par with Q1 2009, but quite a long way from the 20 homes sold in the first quarter of 2007. Sauganash Q1 2007-2010 Units Sold I don’t want to jinx myself by calling it a recovery, but let us collectively acknowledge the fact that median home values in Sauganash in Q1 2010 increased by 25% over Q1 2009. Average home values rose by 17.3%. This is bloody GOOD NEWS! So what’s with the 254 days average market time? Well, there was one home that finally closed after being on the market for 681 days, and two other homes that closed after 461 and 466 days on the market. With only nine sold homes, relatively long market times on a third of the sold inventory, naturally leave a scuff mark on the stat sheet. But hey, values are up, so I’m calling the glass half-full. Sauganash Q1 2007-2010 Sale Prices The sale-to-list-price ratio in Sauganash improved a tiny bit in Q1 2010 vs Q1 2009, but is still 3.7% below Q1 2008. It basically means that home sellers in Sauganash were willing to part with their homes for 9.3% below their asking prices, on average. In Q1 2008, they were only negotiable up to 5.6%, on average. Sauganash Q1 2007-2010 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio With 50 homes currently for sale in Sauganash, the absorption rate measures 16.7 months. For the record, there were two more sales in Q1 2010 in Sauganash: A townhouse that closed for $515,000 and a 2-flat that changed ownership for $370,000.

South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2010 ↓↑

South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park never cease to amaze me: 14 closed homes in Q1 2010. Versus 3 sold homes in Q1 2009. You do the math. Granted, three of the 14 sold homes were estate sales and two of them were bank-owned properties. But still… Impressive! SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2007-2010 Units Sold More good news: The median home value in Q1 2010 beat the one in Q1 2009 by 13.4%. The average home value though, lost by 3.7%. The average market time rose to 157 days from 105 days in Q1 2009 which was mainly due to a property in the Edgebrook Glen subdivision that had been for sale on the market for a cumulative 894 days before it closed. Excluding that property, the average market time would have been 100 days. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2007-2010 Sale Prices And the good news for South Edgebrook and Gladstone Park continues: The sale-to-list-price ratio in Q1 2010 edged up to 95.7% from 94.9% in Q1 2009. Not a huge jump, but every little bit helps. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2007-2010 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio With 47 homes currently for sale in South Edgebrook / Gladstone Park, the MSI-Index (Months Supply of Inventory) stands at 10.1 months which means that if no other homes came on the market for sale, it would take 10.1 months to sell off the existing inventory of homes in South Edgebrook / Gladstone Park. Aside from the above reported sales of single family homes, in South Edgebrook / Gladstone Park, there were three 2-flats that sold, ranging from $210,000 to $380,000 and one condo that closed for $130,000. There are currently 14 multi-unit buildings and 9 condos actively for sale in this neighborhood.

Based on my personal experience, today, I’d like to offer ten tips to individuals/families that are contemplating moving to the neighborhoods of Edgebrook or Sauganash, on the northwest side of our great City of Chicago.

1. Edgebrook and Sauganash are predominantly single-family home neighborhoods. Looking at housing types, Sauganash is a bit more diversified, as one will find townhouses for sale – a housing type that’s completely absent in Edgebrook – as well as condominiums, and to a lesser extent 2-4 unit apartment buildings. The latter two housing types, while occasionally offered for sale, are rarely found in Edgebrook. Alas, rental properties are far and few between. As of this writing, there are two broker-offered rental properties in Edgebrook, and five in Sauganash. When these rental properties do become available, in the majority of cases, they are offered for lease by the owners themselves. Rentals are quite popular, because tenants get an opportunity to experience living in Edgebrook or Sauganash for a while without the commitment of a mortgage. Needless to say, many renters can’t imagine living anywhere else after a while.
2. Edgebrook and Sauganash residents primarily run their shopping errands in the nearby suburbs of Skokie and Niles, as I outlined here, a while ago. Wherever you end up residing in Edgebrook or Sauganash, you are never more than 3 miles away from the main shopping centers along Touhy Ave. in Skokie and Niles.
3. Car insurance is more expensive in zip code 60646 than in many other zip codes in Chicago. Our Allstate agent told us so, but he didn’t say why. And we used to live in Lake View where our car insurance bills were lower. Go figure.
4. If you’re moving to Edgebrook or Sauganash from a congested inner-city neighborhood, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that you can actually park in front of your own residence. Worst-case scenario, you park in your own driveway. “Dibs” is somewhat of a foreign concept in Sauganash and Edgebrook.
5. No other neighborhood in the City of Chicago offers the close proximity to nearby forest preserves like Edgebrook and Sauganash do. Check out the Forest Preserve District of Cook County FPDCC website for information about Region 4 resources (pdf-file). With the North Branch Trail System (pdf-file), for example, we’re talking about a paradise for jogging enthusiasts, walking fans, bicycle riders, and generally speaking, outdoor lovers.
6. Golf enthusiasts will be elated to know that in Central Edgebrook and Old Edgebrook, players have a choice of two golf courses. Inside city limits.
7. Close proximity to I-94 (Edens) and I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) is especially good news for those who commute to and from their workplaces in the suburbs, or downtown Chicago. The Edens Expressway is literally enveloped by Sauganash to the east, and Edgebrook to the west. The commute to the Tri-State tollway is about 5-6 miles from Sauganash or Edgebrook. O’Hare airport is located approximately 6-7 miles west. If you work in downtown Chicago, and prefer to commute by train, the Metra Milwaukee District/North Line stops in Edgebrook at the intersection of Devon Ave. and Kinzua Ave., and offers ample parking spaces for cars.
8. There is a vast supply of outstanding public and private schools, not just in Edgebrook and Sauganash, but in zip code 60646 in general. Performance results for public (CPS) schools are annually published by the Chicago Tribune, and I then compile the relevant results for zip code 60646 public schools here on this blog. The latest results can be found here. For further school information, please see this page.
9. Median home prices in Sauganash and Edgebrook are relatively high compared to most other Chicago neighborhoods, but it’s not impossible to find reasonably priced starter homes in these two neighborhoods. There are also distressed properties that are being offered in Edgebrook and Sauganash frequently, at very affordable prices.
10. Contact me! So we can get the ball rolling on finding you your dream home in Edgebrook or Sauganash.

“We’re not at all optimistic. There are just too many difficult things that have piled up on us.”
Perry Bigelow, CEO of Aurora-based developer Bigelow Homes, on the housing market.

Chicago homeowners will have to get used to a new reality, where selling a house routinely takes six months or more and home appreciation just barely outpaces inflation.
Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business.

More Chicago-area homeowners defaulted on their mortgages during the final three months of 2009 than in any other quarter since the housing crisis began in 2006.
Mary Ellen Podmolik – Chicago Tribune staff reporter February 4, 2010 based on year-end figures released by the Woodstock Institute

Let’s sum it up before we even get into the analysis: 2009 was not a good year for the housing market in 60646, Edgebrook, Sauganash, and Gladstone Park. Some of these neighborhoods fared better than the other and then again, all of them fared much better than many other Chicago neighborhoods outside of 60646. The real estate market, as we all know, is cyclical. And, at the bottom of the cycle, the market often doesn’t look pretty. We just put an ugly real estate year behind us, and we may not be out of the woods yet, as two major factors that put pressure on the housing market are still wreaking havoc on our economy: A depressed labor market with relatively high unemployment, and the subsequent rise of the distressed property pool. Meaning, tons of people who own homes are losing their jobs. Therefore, they can’t pay their mortgages any longer. As a result, we see more short sales and foreclosures. That in turn, puts pressure on home values. If you recall, the first wave of distressed properties starting roughly in mid 2006, was mainly due to sub-prime mortgages. That’s pretty much behind us now. Going forward, we have entered the territory of resetting Alt-A and Option ARM (toxic!) mortgages. We’re talking about massive amounts of loans that are going to default, all the way through 2012. This is no joke, ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to come out of this, bruised and battered.

BUT, it’s also important to see the signs that represent the light at the end of the tunnel. Take for instance the mortgage interest rate: It’s still relatively low, hovering around the 5% mark for 30-year fixed-rate products. Or, government initiatives that incentivize first-time home buyers, and more recently, existing homeowners, to purchase a home by offering a tax credit. The relative “flooding” of the market with bank-owned foreclosure properties (REOs) – while in and of itself a bad thing because of eroding home values – has suddenly enabled many first-time buyers to buy a home now, for the downpayment of which they otherwise may have had to save for several additional years. The distressed inventory is not staying vacant for long. It’s being re-distributed: Mostly to investors and first-time buyers (the latter group often losing out to the former, in bidding wars). The deck is being re-shuffled, if you will. So, among all the bad news, we still find some good news. And these have just been some of my observations in the field. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty…

Edgebrook Real Estate Market Conditions Q4 2009 and Full Year Stats ↓↑

At the end of the first quarter of 2009, I had expressed the hope that the shortfall in home sales in Edgebrook would be made up during the rest of 2009. Alas, my hopes did not materialize, and Edgebrook ended the year with a total sale of 58 single family homes. This represents a decline of 26% vs. 2008 and a shortfall of 43% vs. 2007. However, in the fourth quarter of 2009, we had 16 sales vs. 14 in Q4 2008. Not sure that I want to call this a turnaround of the market yet, but it’s nice to see the bleeding stop for a little bit. Edgebrook Q4 2006-2009 Units Sold Edgebrook 2006-2009 Units Sold Bad news: In Q4 2009, home values in Edgebrook eroded further. The median sale price of a home in Edgebrook fell to $373,500 which was almost 8% lower than in Q4 2008. Undoubtedly, out of 16 sales, the closing of four bank-owned foreclosure properties and two short sales had something to do with this development. Ordinarily, these non-arms length transactions should not factor in the equation, but look, when 27.5% of the total market value in Q4 2009 ($5.9MM) are distressed home sales, we can no longer pretend that the distressed portion of the local market operates in a vacuum. On an annual basis, the median sale price was 7.8% below 2008 and 3.6% below 2007. Good news: Average market times in Edgebrook fell from 110 days in Q4 2008 to 80 days in Q4 2009. For the whole year, 2009 market times were roughly equal to 2008 figures: On average, it took a good five months to sell a home in Edgebrook, in 2009. Edgebrook Q4 2006-2009 Sale Prices Edgebrook 2006-2009 Sale Prices Another sign of hope on the horizon: In Q4 2009, the sale-price-to-list-price ratio increased to 95.4% which means that on average, Edgebrook home sellers were willing to part with their properties for only about 4.5% below their asking prices. Given the fact that 6 of the 16 sellers were banks, this figure is not surprising, as banks are not interested in “non-performing assets” and had therefore offered these homes for down-to-the-bone asking prices already. Throughout the year, this ratio fell to 92.6% which is a little more than a percent vs. previous year. Edgebrook Q4 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices Edgebrook 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices With 45 homes currently for sale in Edgebrook, the MSI-Index (Months Supply of Inventory) stands at 8.4 months which means that if no other homes came on the market for sale, it would take 8.4 months to sell off the existing inventory of homes for sale.

Sauganash Real Estate Market Conditions Q4 2009 and Full Year Stats ↓↑

The Sauganash real estate market made a big comeback in Q4 2009 to slightly edge ahead of 2008 figures. The 22 homes sold in Q4 2009 were exactly double the number of sold units in Q4 2008! It was a successful “Hail Mary” pass of sorts that was responsible for a total sale of 57 homes in 2009 vs. 56 in 2008. Gotta love a good comeback. We probably owe a big thank you to the first-time home buyer tax credit for that one when everybody was rushing to close their home purchase by the end of November 2009. Sauganash Q4 2006-2009 Units Sold Sauganash 2006-2009 Units Sold Just like in Edgebrook, home values in Sauganash continued to erode in 2009. While the median home price in Sauganash in Q4 2009 managed to beat out the one in Q4 2008 by 5.2%, on an annual basis, the median home value in Sauganash lost 19.2% in 2009 vs. 2008. There were seven foreclosure sales and two short sales in Sauganash in 2009. However, removing these 9 transactions from the analysis only slightly raises the median home value to $412,500 which is still 16.8% below 2008 results. Average market times in Sauganash improved in Q4 2009 to 182 days vs. 191 in Q4 2008. For the entire year, it still took an average of 152 days to sell a home in Sauganash vs. 191 days in 2008. Sauganash Q4 2006-2009 Sale Prices Sauganash 2006-2009 Sale Prices A very pleasant surprise was to see the average sale-to-list-price ratio climb to 93.4% in Q4 2009. This has been the highest SLP ratio in the fourth quarter of the past four years. Again, distressed inventories were already discounted, so no surprise there. But if I remove the nine distressed transactions from the analysis, I arrive at a ratio of 92.6% for the year which is still remarkable. It means that Sauganash home sellers are once again starting to become a bit less negotiable, in terms of price. Sauganash Q4 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices Sauganash 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices If no other homes came on the market for sale in Sauganash, it would take 7 months to sell all the existing inventory of 51 homes that are for sale.

South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park Real Estate Market Conditions Q4 2009 and Full Year Stats ↓↑

I have saved the best for last: South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park. Home sales in these two sub-neighborhoods tied the Q4 results of 2008 with 13 sold homes, but for the entire year of 2009, unit sales increased by 16%. In fact, with 52 sold homes in 2009, SEGP had the second-best annual sales result within the past four years, only behind the 61 units sold in 2007. Are things starting to look up in South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park? SEGP Q4 2006-2009 Units Sold SEGP 2006-2009 Units Sold Even though SEGP median home values declined by almost 12% vs. 2008, in Q4 2009 they handily beat the Q4 2008 results by nearly 13%. Moreover, average market times dramatically declined in SEGP. In Q4 2009, on average, it took 67 days less than in Q4 2008 to sell a home. And while it still took almost 5 months on average to sell a home in SEGP in 2009, this figure was 40 days less than in 2008. SEGP Q4 2006-2009 Sale Prices SEGP 2006-2009 Sale Prices Not unlike Sauganash, South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park posted remarkable sale-to-list-price ratios, both quarterly, as well as annually. While the SLP ratio in Q4 2009 edged out the one in Q4 2008 by 0.7%, in 2009, that figure increased by 0.3% over 2008. Could this perhaps be the sign of a real estate market that has finally bottomed out? I’m curious to read your thoughts on this subject. SEGP Q4 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices SEGP 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices 39 single family homes are currently for sale in South Edgebrook and Gladstone Park, hence the absorption rate is pushed to 9 months. Please note that in all sub-neighborhoods of zip code 60646, the current MSI-Indices are in single digit territory. This is a good thing!

I fully realize that I am almost two months late with Q3 2009 home sale figures for Edgebrook, Sauganash and Gladstone Park. My excuse is that I was busy moving my business from one RE/MAX office to another which, contrary to popular belief, is quite time-consuming. Add to that a whole bunch of very exciting business initiatives at my new office, and next thing you know, I’m falling behind on blogging. But …, better late than never (said the Cook County Treasurer when she mailed your second installment property tax notices for 2008, a couple of weeks ago ).

I’m going to preface this installment of 60646 quarterly real estate market conditions by saying that – not unlike the Chicago Bears’ 2009/10 season – our Edgebrook, Sauganash, and Gladstone Park home selling season in 2009 is unlikely to make a meaningful comeback. I don’t want you to peg me as the eternal pessimist, but realistically speaking, at this point, we’re in too deep of a valley to stage a dramatic come-from-behind assault on the glorious home sale figures of years past. Of course, the fourth quarter that we’re in at the moment, could still be the savior of this year’s home selling season, but with about 6 weeks left in the calendar for 2009, and a quick glance at the October and November MLS sales figures, chances are that at the end of this year, we’re going to look like Jay Cutler and his Bears offense in the red zone: Hideous!

Without further ado, I invite you to peruse the 3rd quarter 2009 home sale figures for Edgebrook, Sauganash, and Gladstone Park. And as always, I look forward to your comments and thoughts on these, as well. Also on behalf of RE/MAX Cityview, my family and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Edgebrook Real Estate Market Conditions Q3 2009 ↓↑

18 sold Edgebrook homes in Q3 2009 is the equivalent of a decline of about 45% year-over-year. Deja vu, in Q2 2009, there were 18 home sales in Edgebrook as well. Edgebrook Q3 2006-2009 Units Sold The bad news continues…the average home price in Edgebrook in Q3 2009 fell by 9.2% to $431,500 and the median sale price dropped by 6.7% to $419,750 vs. Q3 2008. To add insult to injury, the average market time in Q3 2009 rose by 27 days vs. Q3 2008 to 154 days. The graph below shows a frightening linear upward trend in average market times since Q3 2006. Edgebrook Q3 2006-2009 Sale Prices The next graph actually concerns me somewhat, because it shows signs of the onset of value erosion. Even though Edgebrook home sellers seem to have come to grips with lower average asking prices (red bars), in Q3 2009 they still ended up selling their homes 7.2% below asking price on average. Typically, about 10-15% below asking would be the sign for a distressed property neighborhood. But in Q3 2009, out of the 18 sales in Edgebrook, only two were short sales and only one was a bank-owned sale (REO). All other transactions were at arm’s length. Edgebrook Q3 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices The next image is the result of a 10-minute brainstorm, as I was trying to come up with alternative ways to present the stats to you in a way that wouldn’t bore you to death. The “Market Activity” table shows the various price ranges the 18 sold homes fell in, as well as the total market volume. Edgebrook Market Activity Q3 2009 With 51 homes actively for sale in Edgebrook, the MSI-Index (Months Supply of Inventory), a key absorption metric, currently stands at 8.5 months. In other words, if no other properties were to come on the market for sale, it would take 8.5 months to sell off the existing inventory of 51 homes in Edgebrook.

Sauganash Real Estate Market Conditions Q3 2009 ↓↑

Q3 2009 home sales in Sauganash tied the figure for Edgebrook at 18 units. This is actually a respectable result vs. Q3 2008 for Sauganash, even though short by 3 sales. But still better than Q3 2007 and Q3 2006. Sauganash Q3 2006-2009 Units Sold Let’s start with the good news: In Q3 2009, the average market time in Sauganash fell to 111 days, from 204 days in Q3 2008. What is not so pleasant is that in Q3 2009, the average sale price in Sauganash fell 28.2% to $359,850 vs. $501,119 in Q3 2008. The median sale price in Q3 2009 took a massive nosedive of 41.3% to $282,000 vs. Q3 2008. Sauganash Q3 2006-2009 Sale Prices Just like in Edgebrook, signs of home value erosion are starting to creep into Sauganash as well: In Q3 2009, home sellers sold their properties for an average of 8.2% below asking price. In Sauganash though, out of 18 homes sold, one was a short sale, and four homes were bank-owned sales (REOs). Together, these five distressed property sales represented 18.7% of total sales volume in Sauganash in Q3 2009. Sauganash Q3 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices The market activity table below shows that in Q3 2009, the majority of homes (14) in Sauganash sold below $450,000 which explains the massive decline of the median sale price vs. Q3 2008. Incidentally, all five distressed properties were sold below $300,000. Sauganash Market Activity Q3 2009 With 47 homes currently for sale in Sauganash, the MSI-Index stands at 7.8 months.

South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park Real Estate Market Conditions Q3 2009 ↓↑

In zip code 60646, the pleasant neighborhood surprises in Q3 2009 were South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park. First off, with 14 single family home sales, SEGP was not far behind its Q3 2008 results. SEGP Q3 2006-2009 Units Sold While average and median sale prices were down 23.4% and 22.3% vs. Q3 2008 figures, average market times drastically fell from 269 days to 120 days. This is good news, as inventory seems to start moving again. SEGP Q3 2006-2009 Sale Prices More good news…While home sellers in SEGP were selling their properties for 9% below average asking price a year ago, in Q3 2009, they were not prepared to part with their real estate for more than 6.5% below asking price, on average. This warms my heart, somewhat. Of course, this should not cause us to lose sight of the fact that both average asking and selling prices declined vs. Q3 2008. SEGP Q3 2006-2009 Sale-List Prices No surprises in the market activity chart, as SEGP inventory is on average relatively lower priced than Edgebrook and Sauganash inventory. However, average sale prices in SEGP could rise soon, as listing activity in the MLS has resumed on the “Edgebrook Glen” subdivision inventory, within the past couple of weeks (For Sale in South Edgebrook / Gladstone Park). SEGP Market Activity Q3 2009 With 37 homes currently for sale in SEGP, the MSI-Index stands at 7.9 months.

It’s been a homecoming of sorts, at my old (business) stomping grounds when I was associated with a real estate company that displays the Rock of Gibraltar, about five years ago. 6430 N Central Ave. in Edgebrook’s central business district, has been home to RE/MAX Cityview for the past year, and is now my new office as well.

The three years I spent at RE/MAX First Class Realty in Skokie were rewarding, from a business point of view, as well as socially, as I met a number of new and familiar colleagues, and Skokie clients. But given the fact that my business centers around Edgebrook, Sauganash, Gladstone Park, and Forest Glen, there was a need to relocate back here. Obviously, in Edgebrook, we’re not suffering from a shortage of real estate offices, and since I bleed RE/MAX red-white-and-blue, the decision to join RE/MAX Cityview was fairly simple. My sincere thanks go to the owners of RE/MAX First Class Realty in Skokie, the Kontos family, for providing me with a first-class business environment during the past three years, and for whom I have the utmost respect. I will miss them and most of my colleagues there, but it was simply time for a change.

RE/MAX Cityview in Edgebrook is owned and operated by Robert and Ramina Padron, a super dynamic couple who are on the fast track to turning this office into a neighborhood real estate powerhouse. I’ve only been here about two weeks, and I already feel at home. Here are a couple of snapshots of my cubical, and of our conference room:

My new office

Conference Room

During my first week, not only did Rob help me hook up my computer to the office/printer network, he also FIXED my PC with a printer problem that I was having for about the past year. And that’s because Rob is not only the broker/owner of this office, but he also has a information technology background. Right up my alley. Rob and the office staff have really done a tremendous job in making my transition super easy, as switching offices even within the RE/MAX system poses some significant administrative challenges. As if that wasn’t already enough of a nice welcome, check out what I ran into the other day, walking in to the office:

Welcome sign

I’m really not much of a ham, actually, more a shy kinda guy, but I suppose that at least all the visitors to Happy Foods now know that I work at RE/MAX in Edgebrook. Thanks Rob and Ramina. You guys really know how to make your new associates feel welcome. And I’m not even talking about the delicious designer cookie basket I found on my desk on my second day in the office.

So, now that we’ve got the big news out of the way, it’s time for you to visit me at my new digs. Whether you’re selling or buying real estate in Edgebrook, Sauganash, Forest Glen, Gladstone Park, or anywhere else in Illinois for that matter, contact me. I am as close as your phone, or email program.

The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices were released last week, and the findings for Chicago were as follows: a 1.1% home price increase from April 09 to May 09 and a 17.5% price decline when comparing May 09 to May 08. Needless to say that Case-Shiller’s findings seldom match up with what we find home values to be in zip code 60646, and that’s not only because Case-Shiller don’t track home values on a quarterly basis. Judging by the blogosphere’s commentary, the latest Case-Shiller figures seem to be the strongest in nearly three years, however, in large metropolitan areas such as in Chicago, where we might be interested in specific neighborhood stats, Case-Shiller figures aren’t really helpful.

Edgebrook Real Estate Market Conditions Q2 2009 ↓↑

If you recall, in Q1 2009 we ended up with a sale of only 5 homes in Edgebrook, and my hope then was that we’d stage a come-from-behind type of sell-a-thon the rest of the year to make up for this low figure. Well, it hasn’t quite happened, although with 18 homes sold in Q2 2009 we did a bit better than the same quarter last year, in Edgebrook. Luckily, the year is not over yet. Edgebrook Q2 2006-2009 Units Sold Here’s the good news: In Q2 2009 the average home value in Edgebrook was 6% higher than in Q2 2008, and the median home value … wait for it … was even 15% higher, quarter-over-quarter. More good news: The average market time sank from 199 to 189 days in Q2 2009 vs. Q2 2008. Now, you’re probably thinking “ridiculous”, but hey, at this stage of the game, I’ll embrace ANY good news on the market conditions front, no matter how small it may be. Edgebrook Q2 2006-2009 Sale Prices Here now, comes a little bad news: The average sale-to-list-price ratio took a bit of a hit in Q2 2009. It stood at 90% which means that 18 Edgebrook home sellers were willing to part with their homes for 10% below their average asking prices. Just in the last quarter (Q1 2009) I was impressed with how this figure in Edgebrook refused to go below 95% (well, 94.9% actually) but I guess in this economic climate and buyers’ market in general, one needs to do what one needs to do, in order to accomplish one’s real estate goals. Edgebrook Q2 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of August 5, 2009 there are 64 single family homes actively for sale in Edgebrook which translates into a 10.7 Month Supply of Inventory which is an absorption metric that’s pretty close to single digit territory, as I had hoped for at the end of the last quarter.

Sauganash Real Estate Market Conditions Q2 2009 ↓↑

In Q1 2009 Sauganash had a slight distressed property problem, where two thirds of all closed homes were either short sales or foreclosures. In Q2 2009, this was no longer the case. To be sure, with 12 closed homes in Q2 2009, we’re still far removed from the glory days of real estate sales in Sauganash. But of these 12 homes, only one property was a distressed sale. Insert a little shameless self-promotion at this point: I was actually responsible for the sale of the most expensive home in Sauganash in Q2 2009. Sauganash Q2 2006-2009 Units Sold Sauganash average and median prices in Q2 2009 were down 7.5% and 5.9% vs. the same quarter last year, and the average market time increased to 266 days, quarter-over-quarter. Ouch! Sauganash Q2 2006-2009 Sale Prices More bad news about Sauganash market conditions: The average Sale-to-List-Price Ratio continued nosediving to 92.2% in Q2 2009. Still better than in Edgebrook though, and testimony to the fact that the distressed property problem in Sauganash – while not yet completely resolved – is slowly but surely being overcome. Sauganash Q2 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of August 5, 2009 there are 60 single family homes actively for sale in Sauganash which translates into a 15 Month Supply of Inventory.

South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park Real Estate Market Conditions Q2 2009 ↓↑

Market conditions in Chicago’s South Edgebrook and North Gladstone Park were nothing to write home about either, in Q2 2009. Four homes sold which is exactly one more than in Q1 2009, and on par with Q2 2008. Less than half the amount that were sold in Q2 2006. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q2 2006-2009 Units Sold Average and median home values were down 6.2% and 5.2% respectively quarter-over-quarter, but again, with four units sold, I don’t know if there is any statistical significance to these figures. The good news: Vs. Q2 2008 (210 days), the average market time in Q2 2009 dropped down to 90 days which is actually a “normal” figure. The explanation for that might be in the last graph. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q2 2006-2009 Sale Prices Average Sale-to-List-Price Ratio in SEGP followed suit with Edgebrook and Sauganash in Q2 2009 and stood at 90.2%. This means that this year in SEGP, four buyers got relatively better deals than four buyers around the same time, last year. It could also explain why market times decreased to 90 days, on average. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q2 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of August 5, 2009 there are 21 single family homes actively for sale in South Edgebrook / North Gladstone Park which translates into a 15.8 Month Supply of Inventory. Also, in SEGP, currently there are 19 multi-unit buildings (2-4 flats) for sale, between $300,000 and $590,000.

I’d been working with buyer clients since March of this year who were looking to purchase a luxury home in Sauganash. The list of potential candidates was not extremely long, but was sufficient to get a good feel for what types of amenities/space/finishes/feautures one could expect in a Sauganash home in the $800,000 to $1,700,000 price range. The main search criterion was that the home had to be newer (one to five years old), if not new construction. We visited almost all of them, and my clients finally chose 5735 N Kostner Ave.

This home was built in 2007 on a 40′ x 125′ lot, but had never had any occupants since it was constructed. Its predecessor was a ranch without a basement. The developer tore down that home and excavated the ground to make room for a basement which boasts 9-foot ceilings today. In addition, this luxury residence offers two floors of living space, with a total of six bedrooms, 3 full baths, and one half bath. This property is 2 minutes walking distance from Sauganash Park, and since pictures are worth a thousand words, I’ll let you have a look at them below. I recommend that you click on the full-screen button to let the images really come alive. Enjoy.

The first quarter of 2009 is in the books. The market stats for 60646 weren’t pretty, as far as residential real estate sales are concerned, but then again, home sales have been down everywhere else. The latest Case-Shiller home price index for Chicago (February 2009) fell by 17.6% year-over-year, and – with the exception of Edgebrook – Sauganash and Gladstone Park home values pretty much fell in line with the February 2009 Case-Shiller figure for Chicago. Gladstone Park average home values fell by 18% quarter-over-quarter, and Sauganash was down *gasp* 43.9%!! My humble attempt at an explanation for this massive Q1 2009 home value fail in Sauganash can be found below. Edgebrook posted “only” a loss of 4.3% on average home values, quarter-over-quarter. I know what you’re thinking now. Yes, it sounds ugly, but we’re gonna have to work our way through this housing mess, and as long as the existing inventory doesn’t get absorbed by bona-fide demand, home prices will continue to decline, everywhere. My professional advice to sellers presently is, if you don’t have a compelling reason to sell your home at this point, don’t put it up for sale. If you must sell your home, you need to face the realities of the marketplace. We won’t sugarcoat anything. We’ll provide you with the data, along with our pricing recommendation. Then, you make the call. On the other hand, if you’re contemplating buying in the current market, I recommend that you read Mary Umberger’s latest Trib column “Buying a house: 5 reasons to do it now, and 5 reasons to wait”.

Edgebrook Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2009 ↓↑

In Edgebrook, five homes sold/closed in Q1 2009, for a decline of 62% quarter-over-quarter. It wasn’t a good start into the year, so we’ll have to hope that this shortfall in number of homes sold will be made up during the rest of the year. Edgebrook Q1 2006-2009 Units Sold As mentioned above, average home values in Edgebrook declined moderately Q-o-Q by 4.3% to $544,300. The median home value jumped by 23% to $615,000. However, please keep in mind that with a total of only 5 sales in the quarter, this figure may not hold much significance. Average market times in Edgebrook were nothing to write home about either, in Q1 2009: 244 days vs. 169 days in Q1 2008. Edgebrook Q1 2006-2009 Sale Prices And here’s the amazing thing about Edgebrook real estate values: For (at least) the third year in a row, sellers have not been willing to part with their homes for more than about 5% below asking (listing) price, despite rising market times. In Edgebrook, there have been very few pre-foreclosure listings, and bank-owned (REO) properties which in turn has lead to relatively solid home values. Edgebrook Q1 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of May 15, 2009 there are 53 single family homes actively for sale in Edgebrook which translates into a 31.8 month supply of inventory. This is a relatively high MSI (Months Supply of Inventory) figure, and I would anticipate that many of the homes currently for sale in Edgebrook, for one reason or another, won’t succeed in finding buyers this year, hence, bringing the MSI figure hopefully back down to single-digit territory. I hope they will sell though.

Sauganash Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2009 ↓↑

A review of Q1 2009 real estate market conditions in Chicago’s Sauganash neighborhood cannot begin without acknowledging that 6 out of the 9 homes sold/closed in this quarter were short sales and REO sales!!! At present, this distressed property problem in Sauganash is nowhere near being resolved. As of this writing, according to Realty Trac’s records, there are 27 pre-foreclosure homes, 7 bound for auction, and 6 REO’s (bank-owned homes) between Peterson and Devon Avenues, as well as 9 pre-foreclosure homes, and 2 REO’s south of Peterson Ave. in Sauganash. This inventory will take some time to work its way through the system, the results of which we probably won’t see until some time in the third and/or fourth quarters of 2009. Sauganash Q1 2006-2009 Units Sold Consequently, the average sale price in Sauganash fell to $364,133 which represents a 43.9% decline vs. Q1 2008. At $338,700 the median sale price in Sauganash took even a bigger hit of -46.5% vs. Q1 2008. At 85 days, average market times held steady in Q1 2009 vs. Q1 2008. Rock-bottom pricing on most of the aforementioned distressed property sales likely had a positive (depressing) effect on market times. Sauganash Q1 2006-2009 Sale Prices The chart below shows the sale-to-list-price ratio in Sauganash which took a big nosedive in Q1 2009: Sellers (lenders in 2 out of 3 cases) approved a 10% discount below asking price. It’s a typical sign of the times where banks are attempting to get potential “non-performing assets” off their books. In a “normal” market like Sauganash saw even in Q1 2008, more than a 5% concession on the part of home sellers would have been hardly conceivable. Sauganash Q1 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of May 15, 2009 there are 56 single family homes actively for sale in Sauganash which translates into a 18.7 month supply of inventory.

South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park Real Estate Market Conditions Q1 2009 ↓↑

This marks the inaugural (separate) review of South Edgebrook/Gladstone Park real estate market conditions. If you recall, at the end of 2008, we decided to separate sales activity in the “SEGP triangle” (South Edgebrook Gladstone Park triangle, hey I think I just coined a new term), because we wanted to avoid mixing these figures with those of Edgebrook, as they’re quite different markets, in terms of housing stock as well as price levels. Alas, I’m afraid that going forward, we may not have enough sales activity in this market to justify a separate review. In Q1 2009, only 3 single family homes sold/closed in SEGP. While this represented an improvement Q-o-Q, it’s still dismal, let alone insignificant, statistically speaking. Of all the neighborhoods in 60646, SEGP is the one with the most multi-unit building (2-4 flats) inventory for sale. In fact, there are twelve multi-unit buildings for sale in SEGP, as of this writing. However, in Q1 2009, not one multi-unit in SEGP sold/closed. In all of 2008, there were only 3 sales of multi-unit buildings in SEGP. And don’t even get me started on condos or townhomes, because that’s not what sells in SEGP. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2006-2009 Units Sold Average sale price dropped in Q1 2009 by 18% to $310,000 vs. Q1 2008, and median sale price fell by 33.9% to $250,000. Again, statistically not really significant with only 3 sales in Q1 2009 and 1 sale in Q1 2008. Average market time in Q1 2009 was 105 days. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2006-2009 Sale Prices Sale-to-list-price ratio in Q1 2009 stood at 94.9% which is remarkable, because one of the three closed homes was a bank-owned (REO) property which sold for full asking price. Again, not much sales activity in SEGP, but home values have continued to remain stable. SEdgebrook-GladstonePk Q1 2006-2009 Sale-to-List-Price Ratio As of May 15, 2009 there are 25 single family homes actively for sale in South Edgebrook / Gladstone Park which translates into a 25 month supply of inventory.

Did you catch the community review of Sauganash in the Tribune last week on Friday? It was a nice write-up titled “Sauganash: Urban area with suburban vibe” by Mary Lu Laffey.

A local resident Realtor who was interviewed for the story opined that “the neighborhood has not been impacted by foreclosures”. I hate to disagree with my colleague, but Sauganash short sales put a significant dent in the first quarter 2009 home values in Sauganash, as I will outline in a blog post next week.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget that we Sauganash and Edgebrook residents love our neighborhoods, regardless of where property values are.

It seems like we can’t dodge the bullets, these days. They’re coming at us from every direction: On top of depressing unemployment stats, if it’s not City Hall, trying to raise our property taxes, it’s the new governor, attempting to increase income taxes. And then there was Cook County last year, jacking up the sales tax. Public services? Out the door. Touhy Avenue (a major artery), stretching between Central Ave. in Niles and Park Ridge has potholes the size of craters. Oh, it’ll be fixed (temporarily), next fall. And, we all will pay for it. Like we’re asked to pay for so many things.

But when was the last time you read that the public school you’re sending your child(ren) to on the northwest side of Chicago, received a significant amount of money from (a) the City of Chicago, (b) Cook County, or (c) the State of Illinois for really necessary building repairs, modernization, or even structural additions, so you’re children don’t come back home from school thinking they’re sardines. Despite this lack of investment by government, our public elementary schools are still some of the best ones in Chicago (and in Illinois). Why? Because as parents, we’re involved. Mainly, in our schools’ PTA’s. We raise money, we donate our free time, we organize events, and we get involved in our childrens’ academic lives. Donating your free time to help your school’s PTA is very admirable. Helping your school’s PTA raise money in these trying times is extremely noble.

Case in point: Wildwood IB World Magnet School needed new flooring (so students can move around safely), and new lockers. The only way this could get financed was with the help of the PTA. And they came through. Wildwood students were greeted with brandnew hallway floors and lockers, on the first day of school, in the last school year. For this school year, Wildwood School was able to add 15 new Apple iMac computers to their library (sweet, I wish I had one of those) courtesy of the PTA’s efforts and a voluntary technology school fund that many parents contributed to. This does not even touch on all the after-school programs at subsidized rates that are offered to further our childrens’ minds and talents. All these advances have been made for the benefit of our children. Paid for, not by the City, not by the County, not by the State, but by us parents.

What is the point that I’m trying to make with this story? The point is that your (financial) help is needed again. Economic times are tough, but our childrens’ education is more important – at least, that’s what I believe in with regard to our kid. I don’t know about the PTA’s revenue sources in other 60646 elementary schools, but to the Wildwood School PTA, the most important fundraiser of the year is the annual spring fundraising event. It costs $65 per person at the door, but for that you’ll get a nice dinner, the opportunity to get acquainted with and to network with other parents, and have a good time. Should you feel generous, there is an all-evening auction of fantastic items. My wife and I look forward to seeing you there, next weekend.

Wildwood IB Magnet School Spring Fundraiser Event Info

Edgebrook Elementary School Spring Fundraiser Event Info (under PTA News and Events tab)

Sauganash Elementary School Spring Benefit Event Info