Move UP to Naperville Blog #2

The school district has chosen a less expensive location for its third high school to be called Metea Valley.The land is on the east side of Eola Road, north of North Aurora Road and just south of the Illinois Prairie Path. Originally, they were going to build the third high school at the corner ...

Case-Shiller reports monthly on single-family homes in the 20 top markets. Their latest report was for data from October, 2007.It shows how much prices have fallen or risen on a one-year rolling basis. So, here's some figures to chew on:City              Percent Prices Down Miami             -12T...

You remember the song? "If I were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof.Well, in today's real estate market, here's what I'd do.Let's suppose that I had a million dollars (remember this is my fairy tale). I'd go out looking to buy four Naperville homes whose value would range between $400,000 and ...

According the Beige Book reports, all sectors of the economy are seeing the effects of the housing slump. In fact, the "R" word is now being tossed about. And, in the housing market, it's the "d" word. (If you don't know to what I'm referring, here's the answers: Recession and Depression.)We have...

I was out showing homes in Naperville school district #204 before my vacation and I had the distinct impression that prices were lower. So, this morning I did some research which backs up my "feeling."Harmony Grove 2006 Closed Sales27 homes closed$420,000 to $575,000 sales priceAverage Price: $48...

It's hard to write a blog that contains downbeat news. 2007 was just awful for real estate. And, 2008, I believe, will even be worse. According to RealtyTrac there are over 200,000 homes a month in the foreclosure process, and they expect that number to increase. By next summer we may have 2 mill...

As of 12/26/2007:  Number of Active listings: 948 Average list price:            $726,302    Average days on market: 226 The breakdown:  There are 193   3 bedroom homes on the market;  average price: $396,687.       Market time: 171 days There are 602   4 bedroom homes on the market;   average pr...

I was curious about the number of active agents in our MLS. During the summer when I checked we had over 53,000. Today, there are 48,957 active MLS agents. And, I suspect that in January that number will decrease when the Brokers receive bills and have to pay for non-productive agents.And, then I...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac quietly announced a new, up-front fee of 0.25% on all of the mortgages they buy or guarantee -- regardless of the credit quality of the borrower. So on a mortgage of $417,000, the highest amount that Fannie and Freddie can buy, that would mean an additional $1,042.50 in...

The Promenade in Bolingbrook opened last April and I saw it then with construction people still putting things in place. So, now that the holidays have arrived, I thought I drop in again.Holiday music was playing thru speakers that I assume were placed in the street lights. Very festive! Lots of ...