Lake Barrington Shores, IL

Lake Barrington Shores - Winning The Popularity Contest in 2012

This might seem like a funny title for a year end market report, but's it meant to help sellers understand that they have competition in Lake Barrington Shores in today's buyers market. At the end we'll look at some suggestions to help you win that popularity contest and sell 2012.

My opinion is that 2011 was not really much better a year than 2010. In conversations with both consumers and fellow agents it seems a lot of folks are still waiting for a rubber ball bounce back. It isn't going to happen! Gains will be slow, very slow, and I am not sure when we are going to see the start.

Let's get back to Lake Barrington Shores.

I did a little research over the weekend into which brokerages were selling the most units in Lake Barrington Shores. It was not at all what I expected. No clear winner. I am happy to say I manage a couple every year, but honestly would like a few more. I get so many visitors to my web site looking for Lake Barrington Shores, I scratch my head and ponder why they don't buy. So what did sell in 2011?

Total units sold were 30. That's 2.5 a month. How many current listings? 57. How do the sales compare to previous years?

The good news from this chart is that marketing times appear to have peaked and are now leveling off. The bad news for sellers last year, well I guess the graph speaks volumes. Frankly last year was pretty awful. Only 30 sales compared to all previous years in a down market where sales were always more than 40 a year. So what happened?

Now back to that popularity contest. What can you do to jump start your sale this year?

• Whether listing new or currently listed. Is your price competitive. Get a new analysis of your price!
• Beat your competition. Undercut them. Become the best buy in LBS.
• Upgrades. From the mouths of my buyers. They don't want old kitchens or bathrooms!
• De-Clutter. Too much furniture in too little space makes your home seem small.
• Paint. Purple, pink, aqua, get it gone, neutralize.
• Vacant? Consider staging, well staged homes enable buyers to visualize themselves living there.

It's high time I published the third quarterly report for Lake Barrington Shores. We are more than half way through October and if I don't get it done today I might miss it completely. So here goes.

Let's first take a look at rentals. If you recall last quarter I mentioned that rentals in Lake Barrington Shores were hot properties. At the time of writing last quarters end there were only 2 available. As of today there are now 10 available. That's still under average but at least there is a little more choice.

Now for sales. It's exciting to see more sales in this past quarter than both the first or second. The graph below is showing sales and market times for this year. Sales up, market times coming down, all is good? Maybe, maybe not.

We still have a lot of inventory to move in Lake Barrington Shores. There are 74 units available for sale, with another 6 under contract. Those that are available have a current average market time of 253 days. That's the average, so many have market times higher than that.

So what can we say for sure? Well as usual it's price and condition that are ruling our sales. Location is a given as they are all in the same complex. Waterfront units maybe more appealing but then again some buyers want the golf course, so I think it evens itself out. The lower priced units are selling faster than the higher priced units. If you are listing for sale consider this when you are pricing. Look at your direct competition and undercut them where possible.

I'll be back in January to update the graph but I expect sales may drop a little, although with 6 already under contract maybe they wont. See you in January!

It's been busy at the beginning of July and I am a little behind with my market reports, so let's get to Lake Barrington Shores Properties and see how we are doing.

First let's look at rentals. Not something I do a lot of - out of choice - but I do have a unit available for rent from the first week in August once my buyer has closed the purchase. Lake Barrington Shores Properties has several condo associations and they all have different rules regarding renting units, most often you have to own and live in a unit for 1 to 2 years before a lease is permitted. Some allow pets, others not. Anyway suffice to say the rental market in Lake Barrington Shores right now is scorching hot. Currently there are 2 units available, yes 2.

It was not uncommon to see 10 to 15 up for rent, so 2 gives you an idea of how hot it is. The unit I will have already has one tenant lined up, and we have not even closed the purchase yet. Nothing is set yet, so if $1700 is your budget, a 2 bed, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, totally updated end unit looking over the golf course is just what you need, call or contact me today! 847-363-3686 (No pets).

Now to Lake Barrington Shores Property Sales.

This graph shows positive things. More sales and shorter marketing times. However the warmer months always bring more sales, so let's wait for next quarter to see how sales go, more or less. One good thing - once you price your home right it will sell at about 95% of asking. But the trick is that price and here is a scary number. The average final sales price was only 64% of the starting price, over the last 6 months. So the sellers of the 10 homes that sold made some serious price reductions before they were at market value.

Another horrible number, of all the homes listed during these last 6 months, only 9% of them sold. 87% of them did not sell, the listings were either cancelled or expired, the remaining 4% stayed on the market for sale.

It's likely the cancelled listings were renewed and back on the market before long.

However this tells me that there is still a huge disconnect between emotion and reality. So here is what I say. Get the price right, or if you don't have to sell, then don't.

For buyers too it's important to get the price right, there is no need to overpay, likewise low balling well priced homes is also a waste of time. If you would like to buy in Lake Barrington Shores, start your search for properties today.

Corinne Guest
Real Estate in Barrington
Royal Advocate Realty
Info@CorinneGuest.com
(847) 363-3686

Copyright Corinne Guest *Lake Barrington Shores Properties - Quarterly Real Estate Report Q2 2011*

Lake Barrington Shores 2010 Year End Real Estate Market Report-Comparing Sales to 2009

Lake Barrington Shores is still very much a popular gated community in which to live, as it offers residents that lifestyle way of living. With the security, club house, organized outings, golf course and stunning views every day of the year, residents love it here.

So how did real estate fair in 2010 compared to 2009 in Lake Barrington Shores.

Let's look at 2009 first.

There were a total of 36 sales with closed prices from $135,000 to $480,000

The median price sold was $240,000

The average sales price was $255,124

The average marketing time was 253 days

The list to sales price ratio of all the homes sold was an average of 93% of final list price.

The list to sales price ratio of all the homes sold was an average of 88% of the original list price.

If you are in the market to buy view all the current listings for Lake Barrington Shores Homes in one place.

Now let's see how Lake Barrington real estate sales compared in 2010, it might give us a little insight into what to expect this year, 2011.

There were a total of 41 sales with closed prices from $150,000 to $450,000

The median price sold was $246,000

The average sales price was $254,920

The average marketing time was 195 days

The list to sales price ratio of all the homes sold was an average of 93% of final list price.

The list to sales price ratio of all the homes sold was an average of 85% of the original list price.

What are the changes in the Lake Barrington Shores real estate market from 2009 to 2010?

Sales are up by 2% - Not a noteable change.

Market times were down by 23% - This shows more confidence in our market.

Prices are holding steady, no real difference year over year.- Continue to price right and you'll get that sale.

If you are in the market to sell your Lake Barrington Shores home, contact the market expert and let me show you how I have the freedom to market your home to hundreds of Barrington buyers with no corporate advertising restrictions.