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Getting Real has moved to
ChicagoNow
but occasionally you will be able to find additional posts here.
April 2nd, 2012 by Gary Lucido
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 02, 2012
Today Lucid Realty announced the launch of their 100% real estate commission rebate program for home buyers in the Chicago real estate market. Designed to offer unprecedented choices for consumers to maximize their savings in purchasing a home, this new program allows home buyers to optionally pay an hourly rate to Lucid Realty for assisting in the purchase of a home in exchange for a 100% commission rebate at closing. The full commission, which is paid by the home seller, is given to the home buyer in the form of a closing credit or a check.
The 100% commission rebate plan is the logical extension of Lucid Realty’s normal real estate commission rebate, which is paid on a sliding scale – a higher percentage for more expensive homes. The new plan will be more attractive for consumers who are buying more expensive homes or who feel that they don’t need as much attention.
“This 100% rebate plan solves two long standing problems in real estate,” said Gary Lucido, President of Lucid Realty. “First, clients who require little assistance in buying a home are basically paying for clients who require more assistance. Second, real estate agents can spend a considerable amount of time engaged in low value activities, earning very little on an hourly basis. Home buyers who opt into this new plan will have an incentive to use their agent more effectively. It should be a win-win situation.”
Gary also pointed out that Lucid Realty did not really invent this new structure. Their clients have been asking for an alternative like this. In fact, Lucid Realty is currently piloting this program with several clients.
Gary went on to contrast the 100% rebate program with Koenig & Strey’s recent announcement that effective today they will begin charging home buyers a fee to work with one of their agents: “We understand why Koenig & Strey introduced this fee. They are trying to solve the same problem that we are trying to solve. The main difference is that the Koenig & Strey solution ends up costing home buyers more while our solution should cost them less.”
Initially, Lucid Realty is offering an introductory rate of $75 per hour under the 100% rebate program in order to generate more interest. As Gary explains: “Compare that to mechanics, plumbers, and interior designers who all charge $100 per hour. This is a bargain.”
About Lucid Realty, Inc.
Lucid Realty, Inc. is the Chicago area’s full service, discount, real estate brokerage. Lucid Realty distances itself from traditional brokerages and provides a better value to the consumer. It is a full service broker, offering substantial savings to both buyers and sellers, providing services by employees not independent contractors, working as a team instead of competing against one another, with professionalism and high standards of customer service.
Tags: Industry Issues, News
Posted in Industry Issues, News | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2012 by Levy Sari
Because I live and work in Addison, Illinois and am active in the Addison Chamber of Commerce, I frequently look at data relating to the Addison Housing Market. Today, I reviewed all single family home sales in Addison over the last four months (October 2011 through February 1, 2012. 55 single family homes sold ranging in price from $49,000 to $416,000 with 78% of the home selling for under $200k. The three bedroom ranch home located at 104 Iowa was pretty decent on the first floor, but the basement was definitely built for Mayans – the ceilings are lower than 5 feet high, and the basement was full of mold and it sold for $50k. On the other end of the spectrum, the buyers who paid above $400k (two of them ) got beautiful new construction homes at bargain prices!
On average, the homes were for sale in the Addison, IL real estate market for 180 days – the majority of the homes were 3 bedrooms with 6 or 7 rooms with a few having more or less rooms. Still staggering is the number of distressed sales, which is 48%. While its down from the 2011 rate of 51%, it still is a huge factor in the home values in Addison, Illinois. For comparsion sake, the rate of distressed sales in Elmhurst for 2011 was 15% and in Lombard, distressed sales account for 32% of the single family homes sales.
Posted in Home Buying, Market Insights | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012 by Levy Sari
Midwest Club, Oakbrook
This month another luxury home sold in the Midwest Club in Oak Brook. 302 Midwest Club sold for $905,000 on January 13th. Listed at $800k, 302 Midwest Club Parkway is a bank owned home built in 1986 with 5200 square feet of living space, 5 bedrooms and six bathrooms. The home was once listed with a sales price of $2,999,850 and in 2007 had a mortgage against the property of over $2mm dollars.
The listing agent described the home as:
Wow! 2 story grand foyer, 1st flr master, hdwd flrs, & tray ceilings. 2nd flr w/ 4bdrms incl a master. Screened porch. 24 hr gate guard. Clubhouse w/ pool & tennis courts. OB/Hinsdale Schools! Come live the lavish life in MidWest Club! The most desirable gated community in Oakbrook!!! HOME IN MID REHAB COME TAKE A LOOK WITH ALL YOUR PERSONAL IDEAS!
Between the first time the home was listed and this last time someone started a major rehab project and then abandoned it. At the time of this sale the house had no flooring, the basement was gutted, and all the appliances, cabinets, and fixtures had been removed. The home was a shell of its former self.
Interestingly enough, the listing agent represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction. The Midwest Club home was listed on the MLS December 14th with a demand for all offers by December 18th. Four days. Is that the best way to find the buyer willing to pay the highest price? Probably not, who knows what drives decisions on bank owned properties. Definitely notable is that the listing agent was also the buyers’ agent. One might wonder about the possible conflict of interest with dual agency in a case like this since the listing agent knew all the bids.
While this home was bank owned, most of the sales in Midwest Club over the last year have sold at significant discounts whether they were bank owned or not. If you are already searching the Oak Brook Market for a home, then it would be a good idea to set your upper price threshold around 25% higher than what you are willing to spend, especially if you are looking in the Midwest Club subdivision. My partner wrote about the huge discounts on Oak Brook homes.
There are two additional homes under contract in Midwest Club. My guess is both will close at significant discounts off the current list price. Will sellers get the picture and adjust their prices downward toward what the current market bears? The smart ones will.
Recent Home Sales in Midwest Club, Oakbrook
| # |
Street |
Beds |
Sq Feet |
Closed Date |
Sold Pr |
List Price |
Discount |
| 302 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
5 |
5200 |
1/13/2012 |
$ 905,000 |
$ 800,000 |
-13% |
| 306 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
5 |
4700 |
8/24/2011 |
$1,100,000 |
$1,199,900 |
8% |
| 508 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
5 |
5010 |
4/15/2011 |
$1,100,000 |
$1,350,000 |
19% |
| 1001 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
6 |
11290 |
8/9/2011 |
$3,100,000 |
$2,999,000 |
-3% |
| 1614 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
4 |
0 |
10/13/2011 |
$1,300,000 |
$1,680,000 |
23% |
| 1902 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
5 |
0 |
8/29/2011 |
$2,800,000 |
$3,999,000 |
30% |
| 2017 |
Midwest Club Pkwy |
7 |
14000 |
11/15/2011 |
$1,800,000 |
$3,199,000 |
44% |
Tags: Midwest Club, Oak Brook
Posted in Du Page, Market Insights | 5 Comments »
January 9th, 2012 by Levy Sari
2011 Elmhurst Real Estate Market
Elmhurst Condominium Market
In 2011, Elmhurst Condo sales were down drastically over 2010 with nearly $25mm dollar in volume sold in 2010 reduced to just over $11mm in condo sales in 2011. In 2011, just 50 condo and townhome units sold in Elmhurst, compared to 108 in 2010. In 2010, distressed condo sales (short sales or foreclosures) accounted for about 20% of the sales in Elmhurst which were at 15% in 2011.
On average a condo stays on the market for 240 days and as of January 1, 2012 there are about 18 months of inventory on the Elmhurst condo market.
Elmhurst Single Family Homes
The Elmhurst single family home market faired much better in Elmhurst in 2011 than the condo market did. In 2011 there was $155mm of home sales up over the 2010 volume of $142 mm. A total of 383 homes were sold in 2011, with fewer than 15% of the sales being distressed, in 2010 there were 343 homes sold in Elmhurst with 20% of the sales being distressed, so an increase in homes sold and a decrease in distressed sales, which is quite a bit different than Chicago as a whole.
2012
My expectation for the 2012 real estate market in Elmhurst is that there will be an increase in the sale of distressed properties along with an increase in total number of homes sold. Already the phone is ringing with showing requests and buyers ready to get out and start looking. March is historically the month where the most home inventory hits the market in Elmhurst.
Posted in Home Buying, Home Selling, Market Insights | No Comments »
November 3rd, 2011 by Levy Sari
When you are purchasing a home, it is important to understand the economics of the home and property taxes are a huge factor in the equation. So, just how do you figure out what your taxes will be?
It is not a good idea to simply look at what the current owner is paying because there are many variables. In Chicago, we typically tell our clients to expect a tax bill at about 1.5% of the purchase price. In Du Page County, the range is from about 1% in Oak Brook all the way up to nearly 3% in Glendale Heights. Oak Brook is home to many large corporations and of course Oak Brook mall which helps keep property taxes low.
So, how did we come up with the 1-3% range? Below is the formula used in Du Page County to calculate property tax.
Du Page County Tax Calculation
- A home’s fair market value: $5000,000 – Fair Market Value is defined as the amount a buyer would be willing to pay for the property.
- Tax assessor’s adjustment: $500,000 x 33% = Equalized Asessed Value – In Du Page county, the assessor uses of 1/3 of a homes fair market value in determining DuPage County property taxes.
- Equalized assessed value: $165,000 – This is the adjusted fair market value of your property used for property tax calculation purposes.
- Property tax rate: 5% **Rates vary by city as indicated in the table below – 5% used as a simplification for example.
- Property tax calculation: $165,000 x .05 - Equalized assessed value multiplied by a property tax rate of 5% .
- Total property tax : $8,250
Du Page County Real Estate Property Tax Table
| Rank |
City |
Rate |
As % of purchase price |
| 16 |
Addison |
6.3238 |
2.11 |
| 4 |
Aurora |
7.9642 |
2.65 |
| 7 |
Bartlett |
7.6127 |
2.54 |
| 9 |
Bensenville |
7.2293 |
2.41 |
| 18 |
Bloomingdale |
6.1882 |
2.06 |
| 8 |
Bolingbrook |
7.4761 |
2.49 |
| 32 |
Burr Ridge |
4.1498 |
1.38 |
| 5 |
Carol Stream |
7.7741 |
2.59 |
| 29 |
Clarendon Hills |
4.9827 |
1.66 |
| 26 |
Darien |
5.5233 |
1.84 |
| 28 |
Downers Grove |
5.0111 |
1.67 |
| 10 |
Elk Grove Village |
7.0656 |
2.36 |
| 27 |
Elmhurst |
5.4604 |
1.82 |
| 15 |
Glen Ellyn |
6.4316 |
2.14 |
| 1 |
Glendale Heights |
8.7689 |
2.92 |
| 2 |
Hanover Park |
8.1067 |
2.70 |
| 31 |
Hinsdale |
4.4090 |
1.47 |
| 22 |
Itasca |
5.9902 |
2.00 |
| 13 |
Lisle |
6.5662 |
2.19 |
| 12 |
Lombard |
6.6908 |
2.23 |
| 24 |
Naperville |
5.8959 |
1.97 |
| 34 |
Oak Brook |
2.9139 |
0.97 |
| 30 |
Oak Brook Terrace |
4.6839 |
1.56 |
| 21 |
Roselle |
5.4484 |
1.82 |
| 20 |
Villa Park |
6.1923 |
2.06 |
| 19 |
Warrenville |
6.1354 |
2.05 |
| 14 |
Wayne |
6.5144 |
2.17 |
| 3 |
West Chicago |
8.0839 |
2.69 |
| 25 |
Westmont |
5.5351 |
1.85 |
| 17 |
Wheaton |
6.1888 |
2.06 |
| 33 |
Willowbrook |
4.0133 |
1.34 |
| 10 |
Winfield |
6.8270 |
2.28 |
| 23 |
Wood Dale |
5.9244 |
1.97 |
| 6 |
Woodridge |
7.6455 |
2.55 |
In communities where there are more than one township, the higher of the tax rates is shown in the table above.
Posted in Home Buying, Home Ownership Costs, Tax | No Comments »
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