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Getting Real has moved to
ChicagoNow
but occasionally you will be able to find additional posts here.
October 3rd, 2011 by Levy Sari
Comparing the one year period of time ending on September 24, 2011 and the same period of time the prior year, the volume of sales has been pretty consistent, with 52 sales of condos/townhomes in Elmhurst this year and 54 at the same time last year. Sales of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) have increased from 15% of all units sold to 21% of units sold.
Prices for condos and townhomes that sold this year range from $15,000 – $609,000 and last year at this time, the range was similar, but note the floor decreased dramatically from last years $55,000 – $ 615,000. There were three properties that sold under $55k this year.
The average price per square foot has decreased from $176 to $158, even though the mix of properties sold were built in 2000 or later went from 30% of the units sold to 46% of the units sold.
So what can you get for under $225k in the Elmhurst condo market? Located at 136 N Haven is a vintage one bedroom, one bath 828 square foot condo located a short walk from the train listed at $219k. For $215,000 you can get a 1,486 square foot new construction 2 bed, 2 bath condo and it comes with heated garage space located in the Essex Place condos which are located just a stones’ throw from the new Elmhurst Hospital campus at 175 Brush Hill.
For the big spenders who like the biggest and brightest of everything, there are six new construction townhomes located on First Avenue in Elmhurst within walking distance to downtown and the train. Several models with three bedrooms and 3 ½ baths are for sale priced between $565k and $625k. Check out 359 W First to see the most expensive townhome option available in Elmhurst.
Overall Elmhurst Market Conditions
As of September 1, there was about an 18 month supply of condo inventory on the market, which is the lowest it’s been in the last 2 years at this time. The time a condo/townhome stays on the market has remained consistent at about 200 days, though we’re moving into the slow selling season, which should present some buying opportunities as sellers compete for fewer buyers.
Tags: elmhurst real estate market
Posted in Condos/Townhomes, Market Insights | No Comments »
September 26th, 2011 by Levy Sari
2011 has been a tumultuous year for home sellers, and here in Addison, there’s no exception; 57% of the properties sold were distressed sales -that almost a 10% increase over last year at this time. With nearly 60 % of sellers in trouble or already gone, prices are on the decline.
Between 1/1/11 and late August, 106 single family homes and 48 condo/town-homes have sold. At the same time in 2010, there were 127 single family and 38 condo sales. On homes where square footage data is included the average price per square foot on single family homes is $110, and around $80 on condos. That’s about a 10% decrease in single family and a whopping 50% decrease in last years condos over last year’s average square foot price of around $120 (condos and single family homes)!
The highest priced home to sell this year was $530k. The home was built in 2004, w/over 5900 Sq ft., 5 BR& 3 ½ baths. It was the only home in Addison to sell for over $500k in 2011, but it represents a tremendous value with its location, square footage, and amenities. There were 2 sales in 2010 of homes over $500k. Of the 175 single family homes for sale in Addison, 13 are priced above $500k.With only 3 buyers in this price range in the last year, you can see why it’s tough to sell homes at this price point.
On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest priced unit was a 1 bed/1 bath condo selling at $23,500 when a similar unit sold last year for $49,900. There are a ton of opportunities to own condos at prices far below $100k. In fact, there are decent single family homes available for around $150k. There are great new construction options as well at Armitage Pointe where you can have a home built on one of several available lots, or buy one of the builders models.
Tags: Addison, IL
Posted in Market Insights | No Comments »
March 21st, 2011 by Levy Sari
Ahh, spring is in the air here in Chicago land. For me, spring always brings a sense of optimism and hope.
For those of you who wish to live in Hinsdale, there are some great opportunities. For example, you can get this two bedroom condo at 300 Claymoor #3E. The Claymoor complex is actually very nice and is nestled quietly amongst single family homes valuing from $700k up to several million There are four buildings with 20 units each and 1 garage spot for each unit. There is plenty of exterior parking for residents and guests as well. The association is very well managed (financially) and the grounds are beautiful with an abundance of flowers and mature trees throughout the property.
If you have just about double that to spend, you might want check out this townhome in Chanteclier. At $319,900, this townhome has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and is completely remodeled from the bathrooms to floors and kitchen. At both complexes the assessments are reasonable and under $250 per month.
For just another MILLION dollars, you can buy a “Dazzling Creekside Graue Mill Villa” . The listing agent Joan McInerney of Adams and Meyers decribes the home as:
3 Levels & 6000 Sq Ft of Magnificent Living Right out of Architectural Digest. Two Master Suites, Newer Chef’s Kitchen, Incredible Newly Completed Master Bath, Dramatic Loft Library/Office. Add Vaulted Ceilings, Skylights, Hardwood Floors, Crown Molding & 3 car garage. Lower Level Great Room overlooking creek & private deck access. This is one Incredible home!
There are several condo and townhome communites located in Hinsdale. The map below gives you a rough idea of where each complex is located. The details can be found on on our Hinsdale Market page where you can find other relevant information on the Hinsdale real estate market.
Posted in Hinsdale, Home Buying, Market Insights | No Comments »
December 6th, 2010 by Randy Whiting
There are a few common ways that I have seen an FHA 203k loan used. Predominantly the clients I’ve worked with use this type of loan to purchase a property that either needs some general rehabbing throughout or to finish a job that was left incomplete for one reason or the other. As rehab loans of any other type have virtually disappeared the FHA 203k loan has been on the tip of many buyer’s tongues lately. The only challenge is that the type of property that would motivate a buyer to seek this type of loan typically ends up in a multi-offer situation; speaking in terms of my local market. If you had a chance to read my short article on TheChicago77.com entitled, “Short Sale and Foreclosure Multi-Offer Strategy“ or you have had any experience as a buyer or buyer’s agent attempting to purchase distressed properties then you already know that in a multi-offer situation an FHA 203k loan gets the lowest priority of any offer on the table. For an in-depth explanation of why please visit the article mentioned above. The long and short of it is that the FHA 203k loan has a huge amount of contingencies, outs, or reasons to fail before close, and that is very unattractive to a bank. As banks are the ultimate decision makers in many distressed property sales it is their opinion that counts, and they want nothing more than the quickest close possible.
Clearing The Air
I’m sure there will be some of you reading this who have used an FHA 203k loan to buy a distressed property, and I do not mean to say it is impossible. Local market conditions significantly impact the possibility that this loan will be accepted for the purchase of a distressed property. For example, with most suburbs of Chicago and a few of the fringe neighborhoods of the city proper the competition is virtually nonexistent. A bank attempting to sell a property in areas with low demand are often so desperate for any type of offer that on the slight chance that one comes it matters not what type of loan it is; they’ll pounce on it like a starving cat.
Back To Business
The purpose of this article is to illustrate an example that worked out very well for a buyer that I have been working with for quite some time. As with many savvy investors my client was very particular about what he wanted in a property. His goal was to find a distressed building, preferably a multi-unit, and convert it into a beautiful modern single family home for himself. As such it took us quite some time to locate the perfect property. When we finally did it was a gutted two unit that had little more than the bricks, the studs and a pile of rubble lining the floors. With an asking price of around 180K it was ripe for the plucking. When he asked me to put an offer in on the place, protocol demanded a pre-approval or proof of funds and I asked him for such. A few moments later he forwarded me a pre-approval letter from his lender for an FHA 203k loan. Knowing what I know about this type of loan and also about the desirability of this type of property to other investors I correctly surmised that a multi-offer situation was at hand. Given a very small number of days on the market, there was little chance the seller of this property would jump on a 203K loan. Instead, they would graciously acknowledge our offer and hold out for something more attractive; cash or a conventional loan offer with a low number of contingencies. Given this, I called a couple lenders who I know that have their fingers on the pulse of the lending market and we came up with a solution.
The Challenge
Our challenge was how to make our offer stand out on top versus the others that were sure to come. Knowing my client had enough cash to buy this property with some to spare, I asked him why he chose an FHA 203K loan. He gave me the answer I was expecting, “I want to save my cash for the rehab.” Knowing what we now know about the low desirability of this type of loan it was only natural that I council him on the unlikeliness that his offer would be considered. As the ball was in my court to find a superior alternative I shared my discovery with him.
FHA 203K Refinance
Let me cut to the chase. If you buy a property with cash there is no title seasoning requirements to re-finance the property with a 203K loan. As such the refinance can happen immediately after purchase. Combine that with the huge desirability of cash in the eyes of the seller and this significantly increases the likelihood of a win-win situation.
What If I Don’t Have Cash?
Here’s the good news for investors out there who want to take advantage of this scenario but don’t have enough capital to purchase with cash. The FHA 203k refinance has the same title seasoning requirement (zero days) if you purchase with a conventional mortgage. In other words, if you buy a property with a conventional loan, right after you close you can turn around and re-finance it with a FHA 203k loan allowing you to obtain extra money to do some rehabbing on the property. So why not make the initial offer with an FHA 203k loan and why did I not recommend a conventional loan to my client and encourage him to save the cash for the rehab? To get that answer I suggest you read my article on Multi-Offer Strategy.
Ciao for now!
Posted in Financial Considerations, Government Programs, Home Buying, Investment Property, Mortgages | 5 Comments »
November 22nd, 2010 by Levy Sari
The answer to that question isn’t exactly pretty. Like many other communities the Addison Real Estate Market has been brutal for sellers in 2010 and the picture isn’t getting brighter any time soon. Of course, the picture is pretty bright for those folks who are looking for a bargain. But for sellers or responsible mortgage payers who would like to refinance and take advantage of the incredibly low interest rates, the future remains pretty bleak. That’s because the volume of distressed sales doesn’t appear to be dwindling.
According to the recent stats published by the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors, Addison has seen a 7% decline in average price in the year over year between October 2009 and October 2010 and another 11% decline in average price in the year prior. Of course, we know those figures don’t mean a whole lot since it’s simply an average which is meaningless because the components that make up the average aren’t defined narrowly enough- e.g. older homes, large homes, small homes, ugly homes and new construction homes all get lumped into the same bucket. On another post, I’ll look at which segment of the market in Addison is hardest hit.
Since I’m a resident of Addison, the reality of the recession and abysmal market hits home. As someone who has been a responsible homeowner for thirteen years, never once being late on my mortgage, and never extending my LTV above 80%, I’m having trouble refinancing because of the value of my home, which has depreciated by AT LEAST 24% since I last refinanced in February 2009. That’s factual. There is a small part of me wishing I hadn’t been so responsible. Anyways, back to the market stuff.
There have been 162 single family home sales ranging in price from $50k to $595k. 68 of those sales or 42% of those sales were short sales or foreclosures. Talk about being hard hit. The short sales and foreclosures sales are typically for homes under $200k in Addison although the highest price home sale was no exception. The seller sold the home for $595k. The home would have easily fetched upwards of $800k had it been located in Elmhurst. Interestingly enough the new owners paid $595k for the home but have taken two separate mortgages in total amount of $646k. Does that mean the buyer bought himself an extra 10% equity on the place to start with? Not bad.
If you are lucky enough to be a buyer who desires to live in Addison the news is good. There are plenty of deals on homes here. In fact, with all the distressed sales, there are pre-2000 prices on re sale homes. There are also some pretty cool opportunities in Addison new construction with prices under $500k.
Posted in Home Selling, Market Insights, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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