Nancy Milton REALTOR/GRI GoshenRealtyGroup.com

How's the market, Nancy? Like all Realtors, I get that question everywhere I go.

Our region, primarily in Madison and St. Clair counties in Southwestern Illinois, didn't experience the extreme rise in home prices that affected so many places across the country.

That means the market drop in our part of the nation has not been as precipitous. Remember that all real estate is local. If you're listening to CNN's anchors talk about Florida or California, it has no bearing on Edwardsville, Glen Carbon or Maryville, Illinois. So don't let them scare you.

From January 1 through the end of March 2009, 1,107 resale homes have closed in our area, down 16 percent from the number sold during the same three month period in 2008.

About 29 percent of those sales have been priced at $49,999 and under and more than 53 percent of the homes sold in January, February and March were priced at less than $100,000.

New construction is a different story. Year to date through the end of March 2009, 94 new construction homes have sold, down 44 percent from 2008.

Three-bedroom homes were still king (or queen) in our region, outpacing the sale of both smaller and larger homes by more than two to one in the first quarter of 2009.

Forty-six percent of homebuyers here in Southwestern Illinois are closing with conventional loans. FHA loans account for 24.4 percent of home loans and cash sales accounted for 18 percent of home sales in January, February and March.

What does this research tell our customers who need to buy or sell in Madison and St. Clair counties?

Homes are selling. They may not sell as quickly as they did in boom years, but they are selling. More telling will be sales figures for the traditionally busier time of year from May through August. I will continue to update the figures on this blog.

Investors appear to have come back into the market, picking off homes priced at less than $50,000. Anecdotally, I have noticed that my investor clients who don't act quickly on the properties they identify are losing them to other buyers.

For sellers, correct pricing the day your home comes on the market is critical. Your property needs to be the best value in its price category or you need to drop the price into a range where it is the best value. Know your competition and take a hard look at what your home offers in a head-to-head comparison. Check the net sheet your Realtor has provided you and think about your bottom line. If you didn't get a net sheet calculating your expected proceeds from the sale, ask for one right now.

Buyers, the market is screaming at you. It's yelling, "What are you waiting for?" I've covered this in more detail in other posts, but the combo of low mortgage interest rates, choice of available homes, and lower prices should be all the incentive you need. And, if you're a first-time homebuyer, don't forget the $8000 federal tax credit. Call a Realtor, talk to her about your home ownership goals, get your loan pre-approval and then pick out your new place. It really is almost that easy if you have a good real estate consultant by your side.

If you're thinking about relocating your family to St. Louis' Illinois suburbs in Madison County, you may be interested in learning more about the area's public school districts.

This is the first in a series of posts that will link you to the Illinois school report cards for the county's districts. Today's topic: Edwardsville District 7.

The Edwardsville school district is large at approximately 185 square miles, encompassing the city of Edwardsville, the village of Glen Carbon, and more rural areas including Prairietown, Dorsey, Hamel, Worden, the Holiday Shores lakeside community and Midway.

In addition to Edwardsville High School and two middle schools -- Lincoln and Liberty -- the district includes 10 elementary schools, three of which were opened in fall 2008. The elementary schools are divided into Pre-K/K through 2nd grade and 3rd grade through 5th grade. Grades 6, 7 and 8 attend Middle School.

An impressive sports complex offers fields for football, baseball, softball, track and more, plus tennis courts and a soon-to-open wrestling center. A swimming and diving facility is on the books for future development.

The district's theater, music and fine arts programs also are highly regarded with band, orchestra, AP art studio and portfolio courses and a publicly acclaimed series of student plays and musicals performed in the high school's theater.

According to District 7, their schools consistently score well above the state average in all subject areas. Click here to link to the Edwardsville School District's profile.

Click here to see the Illinois State School Report Card for the Edwardsville District 7 schools.

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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com.

Pssst, hey Buddy, want to dump an old computer? No, the streets of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon aren't suddenly filled with shady characters offering to take your out-of-date electronics. It's actually Madison County's recycling program kicking into high gear just in time for spring cleaning.

You can recycle your old computers, TVs, cell phones and small electric household appliances this coming Saturday, April 18, in the Sears Auto Center parking lot at the Alton Square Mall. The event runs from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Sponsored by the Sierra Club, Madison County Recycling, Totall Metal Recycling and the mall, the collection event is for Madison County, Illinois residents only. Attendees should be prepared to show proof of residency.

Bring those computers, but remember that no large appliances, vehicle engines or hazardous waste will be accepted. Additional details are available at Madison County Recycles.

In a semi-related event, the village of Glen Carbon and its trash service contractor, Allied Waste Services, will be conducting the spring Large Item Pick Up from Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 1, 2009. Village residents can place the items they'd like to get rid of by the curb on their normal trash day that week.

What is considered a large item in this case? Refrigerators, washers and dryers, furniture, freezers, TV sets, mattresses and carpets are examples. Construction debris is prohibited.

For more information, visit the Glen Carbon Village Web Site at http://www.glen-carbon.il.us,

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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com.

Recently I have noticed an upswing in the number of buyers I help who are acquiring a home for some non-traditional reasons that make a great deal of sense.

These customers tend to fall into two categories -- parents of university students and middle-aged adults with elderly parents. That's why I call these buyers, "Freshmen and Seniors."

Because my home base of Edwardsville is the site of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, savvy parents are looking here for ways to work around the cost of a college dorm room or apartment housing. Four years (or more if your child is on the five-year plan!) is a long time to write a monthly check for a dorm, apartment or house rental that gives you no return on the investment.

While you'll never recover to cost of your SIUE student's tuition, groceries, textbooks and miscellaneous items, a well-thought-out home purchase near the university -- plus some rent-paying room mates to cover the monthly mortgage note -- could get you on the road to smart housing savings. (This scenario makes even more sense when you have more than one son or daughter planning to attend the same university.)

On the other end of the spectrum are adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s who are finding it harder to help their aging parents.

Often mom or dad is still living in the family home. While the sentimental value of their property is important, the too-large space, multiple staircases or sheer distance from the kids is becoming difficult to handle.

For these customers, I have found some good deals on villas, condos and smaller, ranch-style homes that their parents can navigate with much less trouble.

The stress of helping an elderly parent is minimized by moving mom or dad closer and making sure their new surroundings are safe and manageable.

If you're facing either an empty nest or a difficult elder care situation, consider how these housing choices could make your life, and the lives of your loved ones, easier.

Questions? Just call or e-mail and I can tell you how my customers have made these moves work to their advantage here in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville and throughout Madison County, Illinois.

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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com.

Dear Buyer:

I am so glad we've decided to work together to find your next new home. It will be a pleasure to be your buyer's agent.

But before we get started, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I will never, ever sell you a house.

Now, before you decide I'm crazy, let me explain how this works. You and I will have a meeting to talk about your housing needs and wants. A "need" is something like the number of bedrooms in your home. A "want" is something like a fireplace or a three-car garage.

What kind of neighborhood do you see yourself living in? And how long a commute to your job would you like? Do you want a ranch or a two story or maybe a maintenance-free villa? Do you have kids that you want to enroll in a particular school district? The sharper we can focus your desires at this stage, the easier the entire process will be for you.

I'm a great listener, so tell me everything.

To determine the price range in which you'd be comfortable, we'll have you meet with the lender of your choice for a loan pre-approval. Once we've established what what type of home you're after and how much you can spend, I'll search through the available properties that fit your needs and we'll make appointments to see the best matches in your range.

Eventually we'll walk into a place where you'll feel right at home. It meets all your needs and it even includes some of your wants. You'll know this is the one for you.

At that point, I'll put the contract together to get you the best possible deal on the house you've selected. I'll handle the back-and-forth negotiations with the seller's agent at your direction and once we have an accepted contract, I'll guide you through the details during inspections, inspection responses and then finally, we'll have a deal.

On the day of closing, you'll sign a zillion papers and take possession of your new home. You'll take the keys knowing I've been with you every step of the way, watching out for your best interests and making sure you're happy during a stressful -- yet ultimately rewarding -- time in your life.

But you know what? Going back to my original point...I didn't sell you this house. You decided what you needed and wanted in a home. I helped you focus and then acquire the selection at the best possible price and terms and with the least amount of disruption to your busy life.

Let's get started. Aren't we going to make a great team?

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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com. Follow her on Twitter @JustDuckyHomes or "friend" us on Facebook.