Real Estate Agent
Wayne Martin
Retired
Cell: 239-826-7400
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Real Estate Agent
Alan May
Residential Real Estate specializing in Evanston, the entire north shore, and northern areas of Chicago.
Cell: 847-924-3313
Office: 847-425-3779
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All About Illinois Real Estate

By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
Naperville, IL continues its strong  market showing in September, 2021:There are currently 221 available single family homes.  Of those - 34 are in "New" status, 4 in reactivated status, 13 Price Changes, 170 in "Active" stage.   With October already 15 days in - there are 22 homes in Pending status.Thinking of selling or buying in Naperville?  Give me a call and let's get  the process started!
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
How is the Million plus price category in detached home sales doing so far in Naperville, IL compared to 2020?As of 10/19/2021 - there have been 123 Million dollar and above homes sold.  In 2020 there were only 53 homes sold at this point.   This is a 43.09% increase in million plus home sales!Year to date in single family homes total at this point in 2020 there were 1,587 homes sold.  Currently there are a total of 1,851 homes sold.  In 2019 - pre-pandemic home sales in Naperville were 1,404 in the single family detached category.   There are currently 54 homes available for sale in the Million and above price range with 2 in the $10M and  more category with 15 under contract and 1 in pending status (10/19/21).  There are an additional 11 homes in the Private Listing category with the ...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
There were 7 homes that closed in Hubbard Woods in September. Three of them sold for over the list price, and four sold for below list price. All sold relatively quickly except for one that took many years. There were just two new listings both of which would be considered luxury homes with high prices.   SOLD HOMES IN HUBBARD WOODS September 2021   1381 Asbury List price: $549,000Sold price: $600,000 (9.2% over list)Days on market: 9 960 Old Green BayList price: $1,225,000Sold price: $1,187,500 (3% below list)Days on market: 74 1140 Chatfield List price: $1,599,000Sold price: $1,405,000 (12% below list)Days on market: 139 795 LocustList price: $1,345,000Sold price: $1,459,000 (8.5% over list)Days on market: 4 135 N. SheridanList price: $1,549,000Sold price: $1,500,000 (4% below list)Da...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
What Sold In Your North Shore Village in September 2021  Current Winnetka Real Estate MarketClick to see all Sold Winnetka homes in September Homes currently for sale: 45Private Network homes for sale: 20Under contract or pending: 42Current months supply of inventory: 2.3See all Winnetka Homes for Sale Current Wilmette Real Estate MarketClick to see all Sold Wilmette Homes in SeptemberHomes currently for sale: 56Private Network homes for sale: 11Under contract or pending: 44Current months supply of inventory: 2.0See all Wilmette Homes for Sale Current Kenilworth Real Estate MarketClick to see all Sold Kenilworth homes in SeptemberHomes currently for sale: 13Private Network homes for sale: 2Under contract or pending: 8Current months supply of inventory: 3.1See all Kenilworth Homes for Sa...
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By Scott Seaton Jr. Bourbonnais Kankakee IL Home Inspector, The Home Inspector With a Heart!
(SLS Home Inspections-Bradley Bourbonnais Kankakee Manteno)
Things I wish I knew- As I have gotten older, I realize there are so many things I just don't know anything about. I wish I did, but either I never took the time or didn't realize I really wanted to know about that skill or idea or information to learn about it. For instance, I have always wanted to play guitar, I even own an acoustic giutar, but have never picked it up to play one note. I would like to know how to play golf, but learning to play is just a reason to be able to hang out with my kids or brothers more often. I am a decent athlete, so I'm sure if I played enough, I would be pretty good. Some players are just so serious and I just want to learn to be able to relax and enjoy a good day outside. No pressure.     So when the pandemic became a real crisis and Zoom calls became t...
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By Terri Buseman, Downtown Chicago
(RE/MAX Premier Properties)
Chicago is a world-class city with plenty to offer prospective home buyers – a vast, beautiful lakefront, the stunning architecture of downtown, museums, theaters, restaurants, sports venues, and an eclectic array of historic neighborhoods. With so many choices, buying a home in Chicago can seem like a daunting undertaking, which is why you will want to be equipped with good information upfront. Let’s review three critical considerations when buying a home in Chicago: How much you can afford, the type of home you’re looking for, and the neighborhood in which you want to live.How Much Home Can You Afford?When buying a new home, you will need to determine how much can you afford to pay, both initial down payment and monthly mortgage payment. Be sure to also budget for things like homeowne...
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By Terri Buseman, Downtown Chicago
(RE/MAX Premier Properties)
Parts of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are experiencing record sales since the start of the pandemic. The overall real estate market in Chicagoland is strong. When putting your home on the market, you’ll want to do everything possible to make it attractive to buyers so you can get a good price and sell quickly. This will require a combination of making needed repairs, pricing it correctly, decluttering, and staging so it looks terrific for showings.Getting a home in ‘ready to sell’ condition is one of the most important steps to selling your home. No matter what market, there are key elements that should be addressed to position your home for success. These include: Price Condition Staging How Should you Price your Chicago Home?The first step in the selling process is figuring out...
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By Teresa Ryan - Naperville Real Estate, Naperville IL & Western Suburbs Real Estate Broker
(Ryan Hill Group)
Make this gorgeous well-maintained Bolingbrook IL single-family home yours. Own a beautifully-kept 2-story home in a great location, with all the amenities you are looking for in a single-family home. It features a total of 4 bedrooms, a loft, 2.1 bathrooms, 2,664 square feet of living space, and a 2-car attached garage The home is situated on a large lot in the single family home subdivision of River Hills located on the far southwest side of the Village of Bolingbrook. Enjoy a pristine and bright interior with an open floor plan. Canned lights, neutral colors, hardwood floors and large windows on the main level give it a welcoming and peaceful ambiance.    The main level of this home is open and bright with plenty of room for entertaining The living and family rooms feature new carpet...
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
With a population of over 44K people and a thriving downtown, Plainfield is a favorite among  buyers that want the convenience of living near major highways such as I-88/I-80/I-355/I-55 and an hours drive to Chicago's Midway Airport and Chicago itself.  No longer a sleepy farm town but best known for F-5 tornado's that struck in 1990 it has Rt. 59 running right through it.   With neighboring towns such as Oswego, Naperville, Romeoville & Joliet it is a favorite place to visit for a change of pace.August home sales were at 188 closed sales with over 87% being sold at list or over list price! Compared to the 150 homes that sold in July 2021 it was a definite improvement.   Still not as  many as the 194 closed sales in 2020.  Current inventory has 124 active single family detached homes.  ...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
The median price of North Shore homes in the villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Northfield, and Glencoe dipped to $990,000 at the end of August. That was a 18% decrease from the previous month's median price of $1,210,000. The previous low median was $850,000 from April 2021.It's natural for home sales to dip at this time of year. Fewer buyers are looking now and many have decided to wait until the spring market of 2022. Inventory is still low frustrating everyone. Learn more about the North Shore real estate market: Median sales price:  Market time for home sales averages 40 days:  Under contract homes are decreasing - normal at this time of year:  New listings are also slowing as we head into fall: 168 homes for sale in Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield:  
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
 Home Prices in Naperville IL for August 2021Real estate market data for Naperville, IL provided by Evelyn Santiago of Heart Realty Group, Inc. Naperville, IL Home Prices In August 2021, there were 254 closed transactions with an average price of  $610,633 and a median price of $550,000.  The average days on market was 13 days!  There are currently 188 active listings in the detached single family home category, 32 New listings, 4 reactivated and 20 price changes.  Total available listings are 244.  Their are 197 homes under contract with another 17 in pending status.  With these numbers September is on its way to be another strong sales month! If you are interested in additional information on Naperville home sales, reach out and give me a call or text at 630-251-0059.          
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
Will September's  real estate market  take a slower pace from the crazy multi-offer, over list price frenzy that happened in early spring to late summer?   Illinois' 2nd city, Aurora, is still having inventory shortages with only 121 single family homes  available as of 9/10/21!  Of those 121, there are 25 in the New category, six in reactivated and 13 with Price Changes which leaves 77 as regular active listings.Currently there are 230 homes under contract and 23 in pending status.  Aurora's market is still going strong as homes are going on the market as fast as they are listed. There were 214 closed  sales in August with an average market time of 15 days!  Of those 214 sales, 163 or 76.17% sold for list or over list price!  August still kept the off the chart sales that distinguished...
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
Here are the stats for August 2021 single family home sales in Oswego, IL.   We currently have 61 active listings that are broken down as follows:Active - 50New  -  7Reactivated  1Price Change  3Under Contract/contingent - 79  Pending - 7August Closed Listings - 2021 Market Recap:List Price - High     Low        Average       Median$689,900                 $210K    $352,306        $338,060Sold Price High      Low       Average        Median$640,000                 $211K     $356,263        $345,000Market Time           High        Low         Average     Median                                    54             2                    10                 6Thinking of Selling your current home?  Give Evelyn Santiago from Heart Realty a call!     
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
There were 128 total single family home sales in August in Kenilworth, Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, and Northfield (down from 142 in July.) The median price was $1,000,000 ($1,223,000 in July.)Sales are tapering off - a function of both the end of summer and continued low inventory. WINNETKASee all Winnetka property sales in AugustHomesCondosCURRENT WINNETKA REAL ESTATE MARKETYear-to-date sales: 246Homes currently for sale: 49Price range: $599,000 to $7,500,000Private network homes for sale: 21Condos for sale: 5Under contract or pending: 37Current months supply of inventory: 2.5See all Winnetka homes for saleSee all Winnetka condos for sale WILMETTEClick to see all Wilmette properties sold in AugustHomesCondosCURRENT WILMETTE REAL ESTATE MARKETYear-to-date sales: 353Homes currently for ...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
You'll see that activity slowed way down in August - particularly with only one new home being listed. The good news is that there are four homes in the Private MLS which will eventually hit the market (unless they sell before that.)Two of the three closed homes sold for over the list price - we still don't have enough inventory to fulfill buyers' needs. I think many buyers have decided to wait until next year in the hope that they'll be a wider variety of homes come to the market.  3 CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS AUGUST 2021  1509 EdgewoodList price: $1,195,000Sold price: $1,165,000Days on market: 205 1468 ScottList price: $1,249,000Sold price: $1,326,000Days on market: 7 660 RosewoodList price: $4,100,000Sold price: $4,155,520Days on market: 78   1 NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS AUGUST 20...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
If you haven't heard yet, live music is returning to the North Shore!  Winnetka's Music Festival is back this year and being billed as "Emerge Winnetka." Emerging, as in the hope that life returns to some normalcy with and after Covid.The original two years of 2018 and 2019 (skipped in 2020) were held over two days in various spots throughout downtown Winnetka (as shown in featured photo, above.)  This year, the fest will be just one day and located at the Skokie Playfields in Winnetka (part of the Winnetka Park District.)The music fest will be held from 2pm to 11pm.This year's line-up includes  This year's venue offers approximately five acres of space - plenty for safe social distancing. There will be a food court with food trucks offering an array of foods plus wine and beer.Please n...
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
Naperville, IL - One of IL's premier towns with the reputation of being on the "Top 10" spots to work, raise a family or move to - continues to have a strong showing in the single family detached category.In July 2021 there were 241 homes sold.  Despite a 7.3% drop from June 2021's 316 sold homes it still is  a strong showing in this year's extraordinary housing market.  With 43.33% of homes selling for over list price - it was definitely a seller's market in Naperville.  There was a 16.4% increase in the median home price from 2020's $495,500 to 2021's $535K!  The drop in days on market went from 87 days in 2020 to 23 days!  A whopping 73.6% drop!!  Yes, it was not your imagination when they home you thought you should go see was already under contract hours after being listed!   I had...
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
Updated 8/25/21  Illinois' 2nd city had 196 closed sales in the detached single family home category in July, compared to 217 in June of 2021.  There were only 173 homes sold in July of 2020 which was a 13.3% increase.  Very small drop compared June-to-July, 2021.   The Days on Market dropped to 15 days from 2020's 53 days.  This is a 71.7% drop!  The median sales price went up to $300K from 2020's $230K in July 2020!  This is a whopping 30.4% increase in home prices from July 2020 to July 2021! With Aurora, IL being one of the more affordable cities in the Fox Valley area, 1st time home buyers still have a chance of finding their first home at a reasonable price.  With a diversity of housing stock - turn of the century Victorians (20th) to 21st century production homes, condos, townhom...
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By Evelyn Santiago, Managing Broker Heart Realty Group, Inc., Passionate About Real Estate & Our Clients!
(Heart Realty Group, Inc..)
There was a definite market cool down in July compared to the June 2021 sales.  With only 62 sales in July we still had 69.35% sell over list or asking price!!  Although we  had less sales than June's 80 closed transactions and even fewer sales than July 2020 which were 97, the fact that over 50% sold over list may indicate a slowing down of buyers but not the price they are willing to pay  for them.As of 8/11/21,  2:30 p.m. we have 51 Active, 4 Price  Changes, 6 - New, 8 Pending, and 96 under contract/contingent.   Total available are 61 listings.  We will have to wait to see  if August will bring in more sales and what the list to sale price percentages will be.  Are buyer's realizing that paying over list may put  them in an undesireable position if and when the market corrects?  Tim...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
In July, the North Shore villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield had 142 total home sales, just shy of June's 151 homes. The median sold price was $1,223,000. There were 123 total sales last July (actually a high number) but the median price was $1,000,000.Of the 142 homes sold in June, the average list to price ratio was 98% and the average days on market was 33. Still a strong seller's market without the frenzy of the spring market. You can also see that the current month's worth of inventory hovers between 2 to 3 1/2 months. Anything under 5 is a seller's market and and 2-3 is an extreme seller's market.  WinnetkaClick to see Winnetka sold homes in JulyCurrent Winnetka Real Estate MarketSold homes in July:49Year-to-date home sales: 232Homes currently for s...
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
Have you wondered if the condo market has been as hot as the single-family home market during the past year? Well, it's been very good but not quite as fast as single-family homes have been selling. Every North Shore village except Glencoe saw higher prices, faster sell times, and better list-to-price ratios than the previous year. Although . . .  first six months of 2020 were a bad time for any type of sales. Nevertheless, let's take a look at each village: WINNETKASee all Winnetka Condos for Sale  WILMETTESee all Wilmette Condos for Sale  GLENCOESee all Glencoe Condos for Sale  NORTHFIELDSee all Northfield Condos for Sale  GLENVIEWSee all Glenview Condos for Sale  EVANSTONSee all Evanston Condos for Sale CONDO PRICES IN PAST 12 MONTHSUp 8.5% MONTHS SUPPLY - at 3.3 months, down from 5....
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By Margaret Goss, Chicago's North Shore & Winnetka Real Estate
(Baird & Warner Real Estate)
Fifteen homes closed this July compared to 19 in June. As you'll see below, 3 of the 6 new listings are already under contract, and 6 of the 15 closed listings went over the list price. So it's still a very good seller's market but the frenzy from the earlier part of the year has definitely dissipated. 6 NEW HUBBARD WOODS HOMES LISTED in JULY  1381 Asbury: $549,000 (under contract) 1507 Tower: $899,900 795 Locust: $1,345,000 (under contract) 700 Locust: $2,095,000 (under contract) 1304 Trapp:  $3,250,000     952 Pine Tree:  $4,195,000                2 NEW PRIVATE LISTINGS in HUBBARD WOODS  135 N. Sheridan: $1,549,000 720 Ardsley: $6,999,999    15 SOLD HUBBARD WOODS HOMES in JULY   1257 ScottList price: $799,000Sold price: 775,000Days on market: 8 1317 ScottList price: $850,000Sold price...
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