Luxury Lake Forest Homes Sold in July 2011

You earned it. You bought it. You loved it. Now you want to sell your Lake Forest executive home.

Nothing can stop you if selling your house is a must-do goal

You cannot test the market. Or dip your toes in the water.

You have to go full throttle and pull out all stops to make your dream become a reality. Otherwise, you’ll just be spinning your wheels.

Listing your house for sale isn’t the same as selling your house

If you own a house in Lake Forest, consider yourself fortunate to live in such a vibrant and popular community. It may be ‘cooler by the lake’, but it’s still a hot real estate market. Lake Forest won’t ever go out of style.

During the last 30 days, these executive Lake Forest houses were sold to the highest bidder.<!--more-->

#	Street	Original List Price	Sold Price	Ratio Sold to List	Market Time
1319	Burr Oak	$579,000	$522,000	90%	28
1150	Oak Knoll	$599,000	$537,100	90%	11
238	WILSHIRE	$675,000	$623,000	92%	21
451	Michigamme	$899,000	$630,000	70%	238
145	Basswood	$829,000	$820,000	99%	18
285	South Shore	$899,000	$825,000	92%	420
1241	Cascade	$899,000	$840,000	93%	82
200	Washington	$965,000	$840,000	87%	82
1710	Lowell	$1,195,000	$868,000	73%	304
431	SPRUCE	$1,179,000	$950,000	81%	230
448	Douglas	$1,349,000	$1,080,000	80%	153
1170	Polo	$1,274,000	$1,130,000	89%	42
20	Quail	$1,249,000	$1,150,000	92%	6
935	James	$2,100,000	$1,180,000	56%	318
1089	Evergreen	$1,350,000	$1,180,000	87%	148
1385	Kurtis	$1,550,000	$1,250,000	81%	118
850	Hunter	$1,595,000	$1,400,000	88%	382
601	Rosemary	$1,495,000	$1,400,000	94%	36
1855	James	$1,599,000	$1,415,000	88%	62
734	GREENBRIAR	$1,979,000	$1,508,000	76%	80
295	OLD MILL	$2,795,000	$2,215,000	79%	220
520	ROSEMARY	$2,595,000	$2,500,000	96%	62
1070	ANNA	$2,995,000	$2,550,000	85%	746
1145	Green Bay	$6,495,000	$5,625,000	87%	1179

Data provided by the Midwest Real Estate LLC (MRED) multiple listing service and includes properties listed and sold by various participants in the MLS. Data supplied does not reflect all market activity in the area.

Full speed ahead

Each and every homeowner who intended to sell quickly did. How can you tell? They sold in less than 2 months. In addition, these properties usually sold at a price within a few percentage points of their original list price.

These homeowners weren’t about to fool around. To a one, they prepared to sell … not just list … BEFORE they put their homes on the market.

Once the prep work was done, they didn’t sit back, sipping mint juleps on the porch. They put their best foot forward for every showing. For them, Open House happened every day of the week.

When offers came in, they negotiated in good faith. No offer was too low because every offer was a jumping-off point.

Ultimately, their goal was to move out and move on. They did just that. Some in days. Some in weeks. Others in a few short months.

Up to speed

Not all suburban communities are so lucky. In fact, not all Lake Forest homeowners have been as lucky. Many are still waiting their turn to sit at the closing table.

Currently, 315 executive homes in Lake Forest remain unsold. Some houses have been on the market for years. Yes, years!

The numbers reveal a 13-month supply. Thirteen months is too long to wait to get on with your life.

The ‘wow’ factor

Selling your Lake Forest home always requires extra hurdles to jump over.

Buyers are looking for that certain je ne sais quoi. They’re expecting ‘whiz-bang’ for their buck. They don’t want to compromise.

Price must always be justified by quality. If they’re going to mortgage their future, they want their investment to be a sound one.

Don’t be left behind

If you haven’t sold your house yet, but want to sooner rather than much later, don’t get stuck with one of those ‘unsold’ homes languishing on the market. Instead, make sure you understand everything before going into the selling process. Don’t try to hedge your bet. And understand that the homes that sell the fastest are the homes that meet buyer expectations.

To meet … and exceed … buyer expectations, homesellers should concentrate on these 3 selling points to create demand for their house.

Condition – A house worth a million bucks must be worth a million bucks. Leave no stone unturned or detail overlooked.

Presentation – Turn your home into a castle. A showcase. A property worthy of being featured in Architectural Digest.

Value – When your house stands out from the crowd, homebuyers know it, want to see it, and will put it at the top of their list.

To sum up, use this formula when you’re making plans to sell your house —

Condition + Presentation + Value = Sales Success

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams

In a real estate market where the number of anxious sellers far surpasses the number of serious buyers, homeowners can’t afford to kick back and rely on luck. They have to make sure their house tells a unique story to homebuyers that they, too, can live in the laps of Lake Forest.