Margaret Goss, Realtor Winnetka & North Shore Real Estate

The Cage in Wilmette - clients always ask me what that term means. It's easy: the four parallel streets named Chestnut, Ashland, Greenwood, and Elmwood east of Green Bay Road make up the "Cage."

The present Village of Wilmette is distinct among North Shore communities because it was created by the 1924 merger of two older villages, Wilmette and Gross Point. The origins and development of these two communities differed, and this difference is still visible on the landscape. The east side of Wilmette (the Cage) was developed on a wooded tract bordering Lake Michigan, whereas the area west of Ridge Road, the original Gross Point, was a center of a vibrant German farming community.

One unique feature of the Cage area are it's brick streets. Of the village's 96 miles of road, 11 miles are the original brick streets constructed of clay-fired bricks from the late 1880s. Not only has Wilmette maintained the brick streets, but has also restored many areas that had been covered in ashphalt. Although many of us bemoan driving and biking on these streets, they have two distinct advantges: they are a naturally slow down traffic, and make utility work easier since asphalt patching is not necessary.

Homes in the Cage are some of the most expensive in Wilmette (along with Indian Hill and Indian Hill Estates) and are usually historically significant. The Cage has many "Painted Ladies", Victorian homes that have been imaginatively painted and are often given awards for their creativity.

Shoppers in the area need only go to Plaza del Lago on Sheridan Road to find the Jewel grocery, Crate and Barrel, Burhops Fish, Char Crews, Chicos, Hanig's Footwear, La Colonna Ladies Clothing, Yellow Bird gifts and Starbucks. Plaza del Lago was originally known as Spanish Court for its distrinctive Mediterranean styling. The current location of the Jewel used to be a movie theater called the Teatro.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about what real estate is for sale in the Cage and what's sold recently

Take A Drive Around the Cage

If you or anyone you know is moving, Call Me!

Margaret Goss

Realtor, GRI CRS

847-977-6024

Hubbard Woods Winnetka Homes for Sale and Open Houses for Sunday, July 26 - I am amazed to say that there are 47 listings just in the Hubbard Woods area of Winnetka! There are a total of 234 homes for sale in all of Winnetka!

There is something for everybody here starting at $459,000 all the way up to a lakefront estate for $10,750,000. Let's take a look at some of the homes:'

$459,000 - 1065 Chatfield is being sold as a teardown on a 50 x 150 lot. It's just steps from Hubbard Woods School and is priced at $100,000 less than the current seller/builder paid for it in 2007!

$819,000 - 1054 Tower is on a very busy street . . . but the house is perfect inside. It was rehabbed and redecorated and you would never know the street is just outside.

$1,145,000 - 1430 Edgewood has a 90 x 200 lot which is very large for this neighborhood (stone patio shown at left.)

$1,375,000 - 1496 Scott street is a 3 year old home that was built by noted North Shore builder Orren Pickell.

$1,949,000 - 215 Scott is a classic center entry brick colonial with lovely curb appeal.

$2,395,000 - 717 Locust is a great new construction home built by the Doug Reynolds (shown below.)

$3,975,000 - 675 Blackthorn a new construction home by Heritage Builders is on one of Winntka's nicest streets and a cul-de-sac as well.

Here is a list of open houses this Sunday, July 26 for you to visit:

1275 Scott Ave Winnetka Open House 07/26/2009 12:00 PM $659,000

1182 Chatfield Rd Winnetka DE Open House 07/26/2009 02:00 PM $850,000

1492 Scott Ave Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 02:30 PM $925,000

1285 Asbury Ave Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 01:00 PM $999,000

921 Pine St Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 12:00 PM $1,250,000

945 Ravine Dr Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 02:00 PM $1,295,000

945 Ravine Dr Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 02:00 PM $1,295,000

1496 Scott St Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 02:30 PM $1,375,000

1144 Tower Rd Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 01:00 PM $1,995,000

966 Private Rd Winnetka DE Open House Only 07/26/2009 12:00 PM $2,195,000

For more information about Hubbard Woods in Winnetka, please visit:

Hubbard Woods Winnetka -Close to Everything You Need

or

Getting a Great Education in Hubbard Woods

Of course, this is only a tiny portion of the homes for sale in Hubbard Woods. For more information about homes and condos for sale, please visit www.CallMargaret.com and click on "Search MLS" to find a complete list of exactly what you are looking for.

Or better yet, just give me a call!

Margaret Goss GRI CRS

Baird & Warner Real Estate

847-977-6024

Getting a great education in Hubbard Woods, Winnetka IL is the goal of all parents with school age children. My experience with buyers, particularly out-of-town buyers, is that any house they purchase must be in an excellent school district. Here on the North Shore, inlcuding Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth, and Glencoe all elementary, middle and junior high schools feed into New Trier High School, one of the top high schools in Illinois. All these feeder schools are rigorous in maintaining standards that are conducive to success at New Trier High School.

Hubbard Woods has two schools that serve elementary grades - the public school Hubbard Woods School,(which is kindergarten through fourth grade) and the private Catholic school Sacred Heart. A historical record of Hubbard Woods School can be found at : Hubbard Woods School History. According to GreatSchools, Hubbard Woods School is among the few Illinois public elementary schools to receive a distinguished (their words) GreatSchools rating of 9 out of 10.

The school has approximately 394 students, and averages 13.2 students for every full time teacher. Demographics for the school can be found at: Hubbard Woods Demographics.

How many schools start out their mornings with a full television broadcast, written, read and produced by Hubbard Woods School fourth graders in a basement studio! Innovation is hard at work at studio WGST 6 (World's Greatest School Television) where students rehearse first then report stories, announce student birthdays, make weather predictions, discuss a "word of the day," and do special reports on topics like the third grade Medieval Fair or the kindergarten play.

An alternative to Hubbard Woods School is located just 2 blocks away at the parochial school Sacred Heart.
The school educates approximately 300 children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade with about 17 students in each classroom. The Sacred Heart curriculum is traditional with a solid grounding in spirituality.

If you are relocating or just moving to the North Shore area and are considering the Hubbard Woods area of Winnetka, be assured that the schools will meet rigorous standards and place higher on standardized tests that most schools nationally and in the state of Illinois.

Tomorrow's post about Hubbard Woods will highlight homes for sale in the area as well as an open house list for Sunday, July 26.

If you or anyone you know is moving, call me!

Hubbard Woods in Winnetka is close to everything you need, including schools, shopping, the Metra line, Edens Expressway, forest preserves, Lake Michigan beaches, and did I mention great houses for sale. Hubbard Woods was named for Gilbert Hubbard who arrived in Winnetka in 1872 after the Chicago fire.

The charming area of Hubbard Woods is in the northern end of Winnetka with Tower Road along the north border, Green Bay Road on the east, Forestway Drive along the west and roughly Pine Street on the south side.

Winnetka has three shopping areas: East Elm, West Elm and Hubbard Woods. The shopping strip runs north from Tower Road to Scott Ave. Local moms appreciate The Gap, which is anchored in the center of the block; other clothing shops include E Street Denim, Simon's Boutique, Jolie Femme, Randoons Children's Store and Mattie M.

There is no shortage of design and gift stores in Hubbard Woods, including Material Possessions, Edible Arrangements, Pierre Deux, Ann Sacks Tile, Seagrass and many smaller art print shops, antique stores, and boutiques. Locally, everyone knows that during Winnetka's Sidewalk Sale (held in mid-July) the best "stuff" is found along Green Bay Road in Hubbard Woods, Winnetka.

There are also several restaurants in Hubbard Woods from high end to bagels. There's Panera Bread at the corner of Gage and Green Bay, O'Neils, Frank & Betsie's, and Kyoto Sushi. I can't write this post without mentioning that we have our own McDonalds, sans golden arches.

A few more things you might not know about Hubbard Woods: they have their own Metra Rail station, two car repair shops, a large park that becomes a skating rink in the winter, a separate post office from the main downtown Winnetka office, a paint store, shoe repair, several barbers, many hair salons and spas, many more manicure shops, a thrift store, framing shop, and a UPS store.

In a previous post I discussed Winnetka's Screetscape Plan which is a comprehensive unified streetscape vision for Winnetka's three commercial districts. The plan for beautifying the shopping districts called for many different types of enhancements such as street lighting, landscaping, sidewalk paving, and sidewalk furniture. The first installment and "test" area which solicits comments from residents was done where Green Bay Road meets Tower Road just north of the McDonald's parking lot . . . in Hubbard Woods!

All this plus being just several blocks from Lake Michigan and Tower Road Beach!

My next post will discuss the schools, parks, and recreation of the Hubbard Woods area of Winnetka. On Saturday, I'll discuss housing and include a list of open houses for Sunday, July 26.

If you or anyone you know is moving, call me!

What is a Jumbo loan and why is it so hard to get?

The historically low interest rates that we have been seeing in the last few years apply only to "conforming" loans, or those less than $417,000. If you need to borrow more than that amount, your are applying for a "jumbo" loan. In Winnetka and other North Shore communities (Wilmette, Kenilworth, Northfield, Glencoe) where house prices are high, jumbo loans are more necessary to secure but are also more expensive and difficult to obtain.

In general, jumbo loans require a 20% to 25% downpayment and 6 to 12 months in reserve (PITI) and qualifying has become so much more difficult.

The National Association of Realtors recently did a study:

"The research reveals that limited availability and higher interest rates in the jumbo loan market are adversely affecting the rest of the housing market and holding back a genuine housing recovery."

The current economic crisis and economic credit crunch in the jumbo mortgage market has stymied sales of high-end homes. With Winnetka's average house price being $1,345,627 (2007) I would say jumbo loans would be a prime mortage tool. But issuance of jumbo loans has fallen from 15% of all loans to just 6%. Clearly, the higher jumbo loan standards that are required of buyers are negatively affecting the housing market and any chance of recovery.

Interestingly, some high-end areas of the country such as California and New York qualified for a newer type of confirming loan where the maximum of $417,000 was increased to $729,750. Unfortunately, the North Shore did not qualify because all of Cook County was factored in, lowering our median price.

The jumbo loan market plays a significant role in the overall housing market. The availability of jumbo loans is particularly important in high cost areas such as ours. The National Association of Realtors is working with policymakers to insure that these jumbo mortgage loans continue to be available, and so help stabilize the housing market and help lead to a quicker broad economic recovery.

Call me for good mortgage broker/banker referrals!