Realty Speak!

Seasons of Change

Here in the midwest, we're quite accustomed to the changing seasons. As temperatures rise and fall throughout the years, as foliage blooms then falls away, and as we mortals adorn ourselves with all sorts of sundry attire, some more fashionable than others, in a sometimes futile attempt to stay comfortable through it all, we adapt. If you've ever experienced a -40 windchill, or driven across a bridge layered with black ice trying to maintain some semblance of control over what is in reality an uncontrollable situation, you understand that sometimes adapting brings with it a certain amount of pain!

Regardless of where you live, if you've bought or sold a home at any time in the past 10 years or so, and are now observing the real estate market, no doubt you'll agree...things HAVE changed. The Chicagoland market (where I live and work) experienced several years of relatively limited inventory and home buyers, tantalized by historically low interest rates and more relaxed lender requirements, were literally standing in line to get their taste of the American Dream.  Today, it's quite a different market.

A Lesson in Value -

My daughter Shannon is a very independent, self sufficient young lady.  She has a job that she loves, writing and editing for her local online newspaper.  Last year, as one of her work assignments, she trained for and participated in a local marathon race.  Right from the start, she knew she had to replace her running shoes…they were old, and worn, and simply not up to the task ahead.  Now, I will say that was not an easy decision for her.  She’s frugal.  She watches her budget.  And she doesn’t replace things just willy nilly.  So when she said she needed new running shoes, I knew for a fact she NEEDED new running shoes.

Now, she’s also young, adaptable, and very resilient, and, as you can tell, has a wicked sense of humor!  Shoes in general were not a big issue to her.  For the most part, as long as they stayed on her feet and were reasonably comfortable, she was a happy camper.  So, she set about to finding a reasonable replacement for her shoes.  After a bit of shopping, she found a pair that were just her size, and she was able to get a great deal on them, too.  All in all, she was pretty proud of herself.

Training began, and fulfilling her role for her job, she began writing and recording the various phases of her training.  There were workout sessions to build stamina; there was nutrition counseling to make sure the participants knew the best ways to nourish and hydrate themselves for the challenge ahead; and, yes, there were practice running events.

Gotta Love that Reality TV

I don't know about you, but I've gotten hooked on HGTV and similar programming.  I love all the design shows with the transformations that they're able to perform (though I must admit, the first time I saw "Design on a Dime", it was pretty obvious that "on a dime" meant something totally different to me than it did to them).  There are quite a number of those shows specific to Real Estate, too, that definitely peaked my curiosity.  I've long been a great believer in "staging" a home, and "how you LIVE IN a house and how you SELL a house are two totally different animals".  I've been a bit surprised by some of the "staging" that gets done where the "experts" convert the walls to bold greens and oranges and yellow and present a home for an "Open House" to all the ooooohs and ahhhhhs of their Open House Guests.  Though I've thought some of those redos looked great with the current owner's furnishings, and of course made for great "TV", but I've not found that most buyers find it easy to picture THEIR OWN furniture in a home with an assortment of extreme color.  And after all, isn't that the point of staging...to help a buyer "see themselves" in the house?

Carol Stream Market Activity - February, 2008

Single Family Homes                                    Townhomes, Duplexes, Condos, etc.
145 Listings                                                  159 Listings
29 Listed 2/1 - 2/29/08                                 43 Listed 2/1 - 2/29/08
12 Went "Under Contract"                              15 Went "Under Contract"
Avg. Market Time = 154 Days                         Average Market Time = 149 Days
11 Closed Sales 2/1 - 2/29                             10 Closed Sales 2/1 - 2/29
Average List/Sale Ratio = 96.31%                   Average List/Sale Ratio = 97.96%

Average Sale Price = $310,676                        Average Sale Price = $184,796

Buyer Sues their Agent - What do You Think?

About a week ago, the New York Times published an article about a California buyer who is suing the real estate agent who helped her in the purchase of her $1.2Mil home.   Several days following, NBC's Today Show did a follow up interview that raises the question "who's responsibility is it, anyway".

In reading the article, and in watching the interview, I felt a barage of thoughts bouncing back and forth in my mind.  Was the agent negligent?  Was the buyer just looking for a scapegoat?  Was there colusion invoved?  How "comparable" were those comparables the buyer talks about?  What were the buyer's responsibilities for her own due-diligence?  What about the appraisal?  And when this agent was working with this buyer, exactly what were the rules of engagement, anyway!