Ken Tracy Realtor Naperville Illinois Real Estate

I was showing one of my listings this afternoon. It is a two bedroom condo in Naperville.

I had shown the home to a gentleman a few weeks ago while his wife was out of town. They were hoping to downsize from a bigger home in Naperville they no longer needed...

He loved the condo. He said his wife would need to see it when she gets back. She would be back the 31st.

Today was the 31st.

It was a perfect "real estate" day today. Sunny. 70 degrees. No humidity. Perfect...

I met the wife and daughter promptly at 3:00...

We exchanged pleasantries in front of the building.

"What do you think of the neighborhood?" I asked. The condo is centrally located, close to downtown Naperville and the train, on a fairly residential street for a higher end condo.

"We love it."

So far so good.

We entered the building and took the elevator up to the second floor. I could feel their excitement.

It was getting fun...

I opened the door, flipped off my Danskos, and entered the large corner unit, quickly turning on the lights.

The mother and daughter took turns saying "Ooooh", "Aaaah" and "Did you see this?" for a few minutes as they looked at the kitchen and main living area.

I like to give my buyers space so I continued room to room and turning on the lights. I ran into the mother in the spare bedroom...

"Wow! That's all I can say," said Mom.

Alas, she hadn't even seen the master bedroom and bath. She would have more to say...

I sat quietly in the living room, waiting for her to finish the tour. She enjoyed it so much, she took it twice.

"It's perfect," she said upon returning. "I even love the color."

"I wish all my showings went this well," I laughed.

After a half hour, it was time to go.

"I can't sign today," Mom said with a hint of sadness.

"Then I won't ask you to," I answered.

We checked out the garage and storage area as we headed out the door.

"It's perfect," they said again. "Thanks so much."

"I'll talk to you soon," I said as we parted.

I hope they don't wait to long...

Anyone want to buy a condo???

Ken

To buy or sell a home in Naperville, go to my website anytime.

I was golfing with a friend of mine a couple weeks ago. We were playing in an outing at a beautiful country club named Royal Fox in St. Charles Illinois...

The course is fairly new, and like many newer golf courses is built in the middle of a large subdivision. The subdivision around the Royal Fox is one of beautiful homes...

-a typical home along Royal Fox Country Club

While we were golfing, one of our playing partners noticed a home for sale along the golf course and grabbed a listing sheet. Asking price? $1,300,000.

It didn't really surprise me. The house was big and beautiful, on a wooded lot, and it backed to a nice golf course. But it did get me thinking...

When I returned home that night, I did a little research on our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). It turned out that there are 77 homes on the market in St. Charles priced at least $1,000,000.

Seemed like a big number to me...

Digging a little further, it turns out that of those 77 homes, none are under contract for sale. And if none are under contract...

Isn't it fair to assume they are overpriced?

And if they are overpriced, won't they need to reduce their prices to sell?

And if/when they are reduced, won't this put downward pressure on the prices of all the homes in St. Charles?

Or will the lower priced homes be somehow insulated from any further price declines?

I am only a student of this game, but it sure has me wondering...

Where are home prices going?

Ken

A Realtor you can trust.

River Bend townhomes, Lisle, Illinois. One of my favorite subdivisions...

My wife and I spent our first 5 years of marriage there. B.K. Before kids...

-our first home. 6170 River Bend Drive

We had a great time in River Bend. New home. New neighbors. Many just like us. Young couples in their first homes, starting their lives together...

A quiet neighborhood, but filled with friendly people...

The models offer a variety of options:

The Bayhill is the smallest model with a kitchen up front...

The Cypress has an open floor plan with two good sized "master" bedrooms upstairs...

The Doral also has an open floor plan, and a nice sized front room. A popular style that comes in two or three bedrooms...

The Augusta. The largest model. So large there are actually three types of Augusta, the I, II, and III. All great options if you are looking for the biggest and best model...

The upgrades vary as well. Some units have granite, stainless, and hardwood throughout. Others offer more basic options...

Whether you buy the lowest priced Bayhill or the largest Augusta model, Riverbend has so much to offer, all in the heart of the western suburbs...

Prices range from the mid to high 200s, so be sure to find the right model for you.

For more information on the River Bend subdivision in Lisle, please call me anytime at 630-697-0536.

Ken

A Realtor you can trust.

An upgraded kitchen in the Augusta II and III model...

A picture of Lake River Bend at dusk...

A snowy day in Riverbend...

At the risk of sounding like Debbie Downer,
I believe homes are still overpriced.

But isn't all real estate local?

Well, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) does say all real estate is local, and I don't want to get in trouble with them...

So let me just say that the homes in Naperville are still overpriced...

What? But the real estate market has corrected 30%. How can it still be overpriced?

Pretty simple. More sellers than buyers.

Case in point, one of my favorite subdivision here in Naperville is Cress Creek. It is beautiful. Great location. Great schools. Big trees. Set around a golf course...

There are currently 41 homes for sale in Cress Creek. Of the 41, only 2 are under contract. Two out of forty-one is an incredibly low ratio...

Fall is just around the corner. Winter will follow. If some of these homes don't sell soon, they will be cluttering up the market next year, further pressuring prices...

Admittedly, this is a very small case study. Some subdivisions are doing better, but not many.

For every seller, there are two more who want to sell if "the market would just improve". There are simply too many homes for too few qualified buyers...

So yes, I believe homes are still overpriced.

Or maybe I am just Debbie Downer...

Ken

To buy or sell a home in Naperville or elsewhere in Chicago, go to my website anytime.

I just ordered my 2009 Chicago Bears football schedule magnets.

I think they are pretty cool.

I read various opinions on the value of such marketing. Calendars, magnets, recipe cards, etc...

My attitude about marketing? I can't get enough...

I order from MagnetStreet.com.

500 magnets cost about $200. I will be on refrigerators for at least 6 months. Seems like a great investment.

I am delivering 300 to my primary farm areas, River Bend and Carrolwood. 100 will be sent to friends and family.

100 are unspoken for...

Would you like one?

Ken

A Realtor you can trust.