2012 was a good year for real estate in Elmhurst. Single family home sales volume was up by from $154mm to just over $158mm in 2012. While the average sales price decreased marginally from $404k to $402k the number of units sold increased over 15% from 382 units in 2011 to 446 in 2012.

In both 2011 and 2012 there were 68 homes sold under distressed conditions (short sale, foreclosure or court ordered) but because of the increase in units sold in 2012 the percentage of distressed sales decreased from 18% in 2011 to 15% in 2012.

Single Family Home Inventory in 2012 was at the lowest levels in the last several years with just around a 4 months supply of single family homes in Elmhurst on the market at the close of the year.

The condo and townhome market also showed improvement with volume going from just over $11mm to $13.5mm with the average price increasing from $225k to $228k. There were 50 units sold in 2011 and 58 in 2012. During both years, distressed sales comprised about 14% of the total sales.

2013 promises to be a busy market for both buyers and sellers. Buyers of well priced/condition properties should expect competition and be ready to pay near or at list price. This doesn’t mean that deals don’t exist however, but buyers will need to be well informed and decisive. There are currently 58 condos and townhomes on the market and 160 single family homes for sale in Elmhurst.

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.

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.

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Equalized assessed value: $165,000  –  This is the adjusted fair market value of your property used for property tax calculation purposes.
4. Property tax rate: 5% **Rates vary by city as indicated in the table below – 5% used as a simplification for example.
5. Property tax calculation:  $165,000 x .05  -  Equalized assessed value multiplied by a property tax rate of 5% .
6. Total property tax :  $8,250

Du Page County Real Estate Property Tax Table

In communities where there are more than one township, the higher of the tax rates is shown in the table above.

Looking to live in Utopia?  Then you might want to check out the Hamptons of Hinsdale.  Located near the intersection of 59th and Washington Streets in Hinsdale, the Hamptons plans to offer over 100 luxury units, both townhomes and condos set in a serene park like location with ponds and open space.  The infrastructure and site improvement work is virtually complete. The first four-unit town home building is complete (pictured below) and a 23-unit condominium building is also under construction. Foundation work and underground garages have been completed for two additional condominium buildings.

Background

In 2002, Wextrust Development purchased the property for $18 million. Wextrust planned to construct 12 buildings on the Hinsdale site.  In the original plan, seven buildings would contain 23 luxury townhomes and five larger structures would house 93 condominium apartments. Prices were to range from $339,000 to $697,900 for the condos and $695,000 to $940,000 for the townhouses. But work on the project halted that year when Wextrust CEO and COO were indicted by a federal grand jury for involvement in a $255 million Ponzi scheme.

After sitting on the market for sometime, The Hamptons was purchased by a subsidiary of Oak Brook-based Inland Opportunity earlier this year from Citizen’s Financial Bank.  According to The Hamptons website, The Hamptons is “Well-funded, carefully planned and on schedule for completion in the near future.” Next Generation Development out of Wheaton will handle construction, sales and marketing.” The Hamptons sales trailer is now on-site along Grant  Street, well as the rear entry near Washington & Kennedy.

Located on a 12.5 acre parcel of land, The Hamptons offers 26 Villa Townhomes and 93 Condominiums set among landscaped grounds, featuring shingle-style architecture, open space with gazebos and a tranquil pond. The Hamptons is situated in the highly desirable Elementary school district 181 and in Hinsdale Central High School District.

Marketed as “affordable, intelligent living”, there are four town home designs that span 2,473 to 2,817 square feet and 9 condo floor plans are available, ranging from 1,262 to2,239 square feet.  In a small change from the original plan there will be four condo buildings and six villa buildings.  Below is a table showing the units being offered with links to more information for the units available now.

The grand opening took place the weekend of September 9^th.  There are two units listed for sale in the MLS as available now, the Broadmoor and the Cotswold.  Both are listed substanially higher than the starting prices listed on the table above -with the Broadmoor being listed at $689,900, and the Cotswold for $697,000.  Also, not in the MLS but listed as available on the Hamptons site is the Prescott for $722,000. As of October 20, 2011, one unit has sold, and that was for a Prescott unit back in 2008 for $1,036,058.  Bet that guy is anxious for some neighbors who are going to pay about 30% less than he did.  Ouch.

Hinsdale Condo Market Conditions

Currently, there are a total of 68 units on the market in all of Hinsdale priced from $60k to $1mm.  In the last 12 months,  in the Hinsdale Market, 16 condo/townhome units have sold ranging in price from $142,500 – $950,000.  Simple math indicates that there is already a 4 1/4 years supply of inventory.  With The Hamptons adding an additional 112 units, the time triples.  It will be very interesting to see what sort of demand the Hamptons is able to create.