Winnetka, IL Real Estate News

 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWABOUT EARNEST MONEYYou’ve just bought a new house - congratulations! So many things to think about, one of them being your earnest money. What is Earnest Money? Basically, your earnest money is delivered on or around the time you submit a contract to purchase your new home. It’s the way you say that you are serious about this house. Without a financial commitment, how does the seller know that you’re really interested in their home and not five others? How Much Earnest Money Do You Need to Put Down? This question will vary from state to state and even region to region. When I first started in the business in 1998, the earnest money was 10% of the contract price. With the huge increase in prices we saw running up to the recession, the number now hovers at around 3-5... 04/26/2021

HUBBARD WOODS March 2021The Hubbard Woods area is down to inventory that would only last 1.9 months if no new inventory came on the market. That’s called an extreme seller’s market. If you have any thoughts of selling - why wait? However, if you sell, you’ll become a buyer . . .  7 NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS in March 20211117 Merrill - $699,999 (under contract)     1299 Hackberry - $1,399,000      1140 Oakley - $1,649,900     986 Asbury Ct. - $1,699,900     1159 Chatfield - $1,799,000    1347 Scott - $1,949,000    1040 Hubbard - $2,599,000          New PRIVATE LISTING1340 Asbury - $1,939,000   4 CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS HOME SALES IN December 2020  979 VineList price: $479,000Sold price: $341,000 (short sale)Days on market: 986      1152 AsburyList price: $849,000Sold price: $901,000% of li... 04/07/2021

What Sold in Your Village in March 2021?See the number of under-contract homes in the data below - it is much higher than available inventory. All North Shore villages are experiencing low inventory and a seller’s market. Wilmette, Winnetka, and Glencoe have the tightest markets. The spring market has been exploding but we need more inventory!Here’s what closed in the North Shore in March 2021.WINNETKA  Current Winnetka Real Estate Market:Sold homes in March: 23 Homes for sale: 45Price range: $560,000 to $6,250,000 Under contract/pending: 61Current months supply of inventory: 3.6Winnetka Homes for SaleWILMETTE  Current Wilmette Real Estate Market:Sold homes in March: 40Homes for sale: 45 Price range: $389,000 to $2,350,000Under contract/pending: 78Current months supply of inventory: 3.5... 04/05/2021

Real estate watcher and market predictor Keeping Current Matters has published some valuable graphs that will allay some fears that consumers have. Fears that the super hot Chicago North Shore market will create another bubble - like the pre-recession period leading up to 2007-8.Covid is one factor which stimulated the rush to buy, but there were key characteristics of that period that are simply not present this time.   MORTGAGESMortgages were extremely easy to get back then and lenders were willing to take on high levels of risk. Not so now where qualifying for a loan is much harder.   HOUSING PRICES  Homes in Chicago's North Shore communities of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield are selling very quickly. But the pace of inflation is much lower. This graph shows ... 03/10/2021

In the olden days (maybe just a few years ago) homes for sale in the Chicago North Shore suburbs were plentiful and took a long time to sell. "Long time"meaning it was a buyer's market with homes generally taking longer than six months to sell. We are now experiencing a seller's market with the median sell time around three months. But most homes are selling more quickly.In a corona virus world where everything has gone tipsy-turvy the real estate market rebounded spectacularly. Currently (March 2021) inventory is low throughout Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield. Homes are selling within days of hitting the market, and in some cases, well before they become available on the Multiple Listing Service. Hot homes see frequent multiple offers.The real estate market expl... 03/09/2021

What Sold in Your Village in February 2021? Big storms and extreme chills kept buyers home - but just for a while. Now that March is here and we’re feeling the warmth, they are out pursuing their dreams of buying a home in the North Shore. Look at the current months-of-inventory shown below for each village. Winnetka, Wilmette, and Glencoe are under 4 months showing a strong seller’s market. Northfield is a seller’s market, and Kenilworth is not as strong but the number is more than half of what it was a few years ago.Here’s what closed in the North Shore in February 2021.WINNETKA  Current Winnetka Real Estate Market:Sold homes in February: 13 Homes for sale: 55Price range: $575,000 to $6,399,000 Median price ytd: $975,000Under contract/pending: 52Current months supply of inventory: 3.9... 03/08/2021

HUBBARD WOODS News February 2021 Inventory has been low - until February with the addition of 12 new homes for sale in Hubbard Woods. Good news: four are already under contract. And strangely, for those of us with devious minds, five of the homes are on Asbury. 12 (!) NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN February 2021  250 Woodlawn - $575,000          1124 Gage - $849,000         1371 Asbury - $849,000          1152 Asbury- $849,000 (under contract)        1255 Asbury - $949,000         1256 Asbury - $949,000 (under contract)        1409 Asbury - $989,000         1570 Tower - $1,150,000 (under contract)         792 Walden - $1,399,000        1015 Starr - $1,650,000 (purchased in September 2020 for $1,350,000 with the intension of tearing it down. The house is of some historic significance and ... 03/01/2021

The Hubbard Woods real estate market got off to a good start this January. Lots of activity (not just here but the entire North Shore housing market.) Buyers are coming out earlier despite cold and snow and the current low inventory is spurring quick sales and higher prices. 3 NEW LISTINGS HUBBARD WOODS January 2021 1270 Forest Glen - $1,299,000         877 Boal Pkwy - $1,599,999        1035 Starr - $3,299,900 (closed in June 2019 for $3,040,000)         COMING SOON LISTINGS (In private section of MLS) 1371 Asbury - $849,000          1256 Asbury - $949,000         985 Vine - $1,250,000           1380 Scott - $1,839,000         7 SOLD HOMES JANUARY 2021 1555 TowerList price: $874,000Sold price: $762,500Days on market: 296      1270 ScottList price: $899,000Sold price: $811,000Days on mar... 02/02/2021

 I've written several posts about the Covid-19 effect on North Shore housing in regarding to single family residences. But what about condo market sales in 2020 vs. 2019?Condo sales were not explosive in the same way that single family homes started selling in June of 2020 (after the lockdown was lifted.) In 2021 the North Shore Villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston had a total of 1,020 condo sales. of that 1,020 - slightly more than half were in Evanston (533) Evanston had the lowest price condo sell for $63,000 Evanston had the highest price condo sell for $1,675,000  Here is a breakdown for each village's stats in 2020:  Glenview and Evanston have the lion's share of sales but those villages are larger, have more diverse zoning rules, and are des... 01/21/2021

2020 North Shore Housing Review We all know what made 2020 a wonky year - so I won’t belabor that point. The result, however, was a roller coaster ride for the North Shore housing market.  The year started out as most do - cold and slow. Just when the spring market started to awaken, along came a virus that put it back to bed. And so it went until the end of May when the economy was partially reopened and the floodgates opened. From a serious oversupply of homes we now have too few homes for sale. From sagging prices we have seen prices rise and it’s not uncommon now to have multiple offers on some properties. So it went until the holiday season and now we’re back in a Covid Tier 3 situation. The lack of inventory will continue as some buyers and sellers are not comfortable with the hom... 01/06/2021

Should You Ever Skip Doing a Home Inspection? Skip the inspection? Why would anyone consider doing that? There are actually a few valid reasons where home buyers might pass on adding that contingency to their contract. I’ll discuss that later. But 99.9% of the time I would strongly recommend and urge buyers to perform an inspection on their newly purchased home. Why gamble with such a big purchase? The reasons for performing the inspection are key to owning a home: To discover latent issues that the home sellers weren’t aware of and thus could not disclose. A structural fault is an example that could be incredibly expensive to repair. The home sellers might not have noticed any water issues, but a thorough inspection of the roof might show that water has indeed been coming in.  To give ... 01/05/2021

What Sold in Your Village in December? Here’s what closed in the Winnetka North Shore villages in December 2020.WINNETKA  Current Winnetka Real Estate Market:Sold homes December: 24Homes for sale: 49Price range: $350,000 to $6,399,0002020 Median price : $1,100,000Under contract/pending: 29Condos for sale: 6Price range: $235,000 to $800,000WILMETTE   Current Wilmette Real Estate Market:Sold homes December: 39Homes for sale: 54 (down from 72 in November)Price range: $319,000 to $4,175,0002020 Median price : $785,000Under contract/pending: 3Condos for sale:  32 (down from 45 in November)Price range: $95,000 to $1,395,000KENILWORTH Current Kenilworth Real Estate Market: Sold homes December: 3Homes for sale: 9 (down from 20 in November) Price range: $1,650,000 to $9,975,0002020 Median price:... 01/04/2021

HUBBARD WOODS December  2020 The Hubbard Woods real estate continued to be quiet during the holiday season - which is completely normal.1  NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTING IN December  2020 1518 Edgewood - $1,899,000 (new construction)      3 New PRIVATE NETWORK LISTINGS 1347 Scott - no price stated             921 Fisher - no price stated          1095 Fisher - $3,600,000             2 CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS HOME SALES IN December 2020 1441 TowerList price: $939,000Sold price: $770,000Days on market: 445       1503 AsburyList price: $1,325,000Sold price: $1,100,000Days on market: 7          CURRENT HUBBARD WOODS REAL ESTATE MARKET:Homes for sale:  18Price range: $375,000 to $6,649,899Median 2020 sale price price: $1,085,000Under contract: 10 Condos for sale: 1Price range: $338,000 While you’re ... 01/03/2021

Absorption Rate on the North Shore - Now and Then The real estate floodgates opened back in June 2020 when the stay-at-home order was lifted. Weary buyers - many of whom had been staying home with their families - poured out from the city into the suburbs. And very suddenly we had a different housing market.2017 and 2018 were years where there was ample inventory and homes took a very long time to sell. Multiple price reductions were common.This most unusual year of 2020, despite a debilitating virus, or rather because of it, we’ve seen the best real estate market in years. Homes have continued to sell quickly and for close to full price, sometimes over asking, since June. We’re now in the holiday season when it generally slows down. Future sellers are waiting to list their homes in the... 12/17/2020

 HUBBARD WOODS November  2020 The Hubbard Woods real estate market has been quiet in November. Between the holidays and more covid restrictions, buyers have been staying put. It’s possible that we’ll have a more normal spring market in 2021 as restrictions lift and the vaccine becomes more readily available. Inventory is down substantially in Hubbard Woods (18 homes for sale right now) vs. 34 last year at this time, and 45 for sale last year October. The scarcity is clearly a result of home sellers delaying putting their homes up for sale until Covid is more under control.1  NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN November 2020 977 Sheridan$3,495,000   No New PRIVATE NETWORK LISTINGS 3 CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS HOME SALES IN October 2020 1162 AsburyList price: $1,099,000Sold price: $1,101,000 (over as... 12/02/2020

What Sold in Your Village in November? Sales in November slowed down considerably from previous months. Between Covid and the holidays, I expect this won’t change but I do predict a normal (busy) spring market if the vaccine arrives and life begins to return to normal.The year-to-date median price has stayed relatively stable so prices are holding.The biggest change in the North Shore housing market is that inventory is low. I remember Winnetka having over 200 homes for sale during the recession and we’re down to 53 currently.Here’s what closed in the North Shore in November 2020. WINNETKA  Current Winnetka Real Estate Market:Sold homes November: 29 Homes for sale: 53 Price range: $375,000 to $6,750,000Median price ytd: $1,100,000Under contract/pending: 36Condos for sale: 10Price range:... 12/02/2020

  Find Your Next 6+ Bedroom Home in Winnetka and the North ShoreSometimes you just need a big house with lots of bedrooms. The local Multiple Listing Service (MRED) is sketchy with square footage numbers for homes. For many years, those numbers were not even allowed in the MLS. Some listings state the square footage, many don’t, so to do a proper search I am offering you homes with 6+ bedrooms that will almost certainly have over 5,000 sq. ft. These homes are located in the North Shore suburbs of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northfield. Some are new construction, some have been renovated to feel like new, and some will need work. Hence the large spread in pricing.     Image by sathyatripodi from Pixabay Many Winnetka and North Shore homes that have as many as 6-bedrooms ... 11/12/2020

   HUBBARD WOODS October  2020 The Hubbard Woods real estate market was fairly steady from September to October. There were  2 new listings and 14 closes (up from 13 in September.)2  NEW HUBBARD WOODS LISTINGS IN October 2020 1162 AsburyList price: $1,099,000 (under contract)          1509 EdgewoodList price: $1,195,000          PRIVATE NETWORK LISTINGS  877 Boal Pkwy.List price: not listed        1490 AsburyList price: $899,000              1422 EdgewoodList price: $905,000    14 CLOSED HUBBARD WOODS HOME SALES IN October 2020 1505 TowerList price: $850,000Sold price: $720,000Days on market: 362     1373 WestmoorList price: $735,000Sold price: $720,000Days on market: 10      956 VernonList price $749,000Sold price: $725,000Days on market: 8     1229 Forest GlenList price: $819,000Sold ... 11/05/2020

Foreclosure and Short Sale Homes for SaleNorth Shore Winnetka/North Shore The foreclosure/short sale market is not very broad right now - and I hope it stays that way. There has been talk of Covid-19 taking its toll on homeowners who have lost some of their income but so far that has not occured in the North Shore. The 10 towns that I’m including in this search are:  Winnetka Wilmette Kenilworth Glencoe Northfield Glenview Northbrook Deerfield Evanston Highland Park  The search also includes single family homes, condos, and townhouses.  Search for all foreclosure and short sale homes   Sign up to get monthly North Shore real estate news delivered to your inbox.It's free, we'll never sell your info, and you can opt-out at any time.Enter your email address at: North Shore Newsletter Marga... 10/29/2020

New Construction Homes for Sale in Winnetka and the North Shore Draft-free windows!Unscratched floors!Spotless countertops!Pristine everything! The lure of new construction is undeniable. Some prefer them this way while others fall in love with the charm (and sometimes updating) of our beautiful older homes.  In the past 12 months (ending October 22, 2020) there were 39 new construction homes that sold in the North Shore villages of Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and Northbrook. They sold for between $975,000 in Wilmette up to $3,725,000 in Glencoe. The median price was $1,700,000. However, it’s rare to find a new home here for under $1 million. There aren’t as many new construction homes in the North Shore as there were a few years ago. The current dearth of newly built (spec... 10/22/2020