Margaret Goss, Realtor Winnetka & North Shore Real Estate

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!

Things are looking up! Sales for Winnetka, Wilmette, Kenilworth and Glencoe are definitely higher than comparable sales in May (see May Market Report.)

But if sales are up, what about prices? I've including something different in this report - the percentage of sale price to original list price. Some of these homes came on the market pre-market downturn and are now selling at remarkably lower prices. New homes coming on the market now will not reflect the same % of list/sale price that these numbers reflect.

Winnetka - 21 Sales! (7 sales in 2008)

624 Willow $350,000 (81% of original asking price)

929 Tower 350,000 (61%)

1491 Asbury 460,000 (79%)

1107 Tower 520,000 (95%) on market for 9 days

329 Rosewood 554,000 (83%)

278 Ridge 875,000 (80%)

184 Old Green Bay 950,000 (86%)

1086 Spruce 962,500 (78%)

1250 Forest Glen S 1,025,000 (92%)

88 Indian Hill 1,095,000 (43%)

51 Warwick 1,170,000 (93%)

1426 Asbury 1,245,000 (89%)

130 Old Green Bay 1,422,500 (87%)

100 Church 1,450,000 (73%)

344 Locust 1,515,000 (76%)

1040 Oak 1,717,000 (94%)

400 Sheridan 1,800,000 (92%)

104 Longmeadow 2,000,000 (74%)

1090 Westmoor 2,250,000 (96%)

825 Glen Oak 3,240,000 (62%)

81 Locust 4,800,000 (74%)

Wilmette - 23 Sales!! (26 sales in 2008)

3303 Wilmette 221,000 (70% of original asking price)

322 Romona 330,000 (95%)

3112 Cranston 375,000 (51%)

1925 Birchwood 380,000 (76%)

208 Wood 390,000 (87%)

2124 Schiller 450,000 (86%)

901 Yale 467,500 (94%)

1614 Spencer 535,000 (82%)

514 8th 592,000 (76%)

835 Linden 614,000 (78%)

610 4th 630,000 (97%) on market for 14 days

1514 Lake 695,000 (87%)

1744 Central 712,500 (81%)

510 Washington 760,000 (90%)

1733 Washington 815,000 (94%)

1214 Glendenning 850,000 (85%)

245 Greenleaf 975,000 (93%)

1738 Highland 1,075,000 (96%)

2634 Laurel 1,087,500 (95%) on market for 8 days

715 Laurel 1,093,000 (91%)

221 Linden 1,215,000 (87%)

833 15th 1,450,000 (88%)

211 9th 1,597,500 (95%)

Kenilworth - 1 Sale (6 sales in June 2008)

713 Maclean 1,000,000 (93% of original asking price)

Glencoe -13 Sales - (20 sales in June 2008)

1030 Sheridan 565,000 (83% of original asking price)

550 Sunset 565,000 ((92%)

725 Apple Tree 615,000 (83%)

391 Adams 640,000 (92%)

477 Drexel 655,000 (90%)

500 Monroe 925,000 (95%) on market for 5 days

141 Euclid 1,025,000 (71%)

235 Mary 1,300,000 (79%)

266 Hazel 1,390,000 (50%)

1085 Beinlich 1,500,000 (79%)

1025 Eastwood 2,350,000 (87%)

263 Hawthorn 2,725,000 (85%)

399 Grove 2,950,000 (100%)

10 Lakewood 3,350,000 (64%)

I've noted above several properties in particular where the percentage of sale price was very high and market time very low - the desirable result when a house is priced correctly. I would go further and say that these houses were not only priced correctly, they were viewed as a very good bargain, the idea being that listing at or below market is the place to be.

If you are a seller who is "testing the market" you'll never sell because you are not motivated to price low enough. Although there are many factors that make a home sell quickly, I would argue that pricing properly gets the gold star.

It's time again to celebrate our nation's Independence Day on Saturday, the Fourth of July. This federal holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 which declared independence from Great Britain. Since that day, Americans have hosted parades, fireworks, picnics, and barbecues.

In Winnetka on the the 4th of July:

10:00 am: The parade begins near the corner of Glendale and Elm streets and proceeds east to the Village Green. Anyone can participate and is encouraged to join in. Watch the parade along Elm Street and see bagpipes, marching bands, and floats.

11:00 am: Events on the Green will include a flag-raising ceremony plus races and events for all ages.

6:30 pm: At Duke Childs field, before the fireworks, children can enjoy face-painting, moonwalk, mini golf and other attractions.

7:00 p.m: Concert music at Duke Childs

9:15: p.m: The fireworks begin with musical accompaniment!

For information on Wilmette's Fourth of July celebrations, please visit:

Wilmette Fourth of July

Have a wonderful and safe holiday with friends, family and neighbors!

Winnetka has landed on Business Week's list of "Most Expensive Suburbs to Live In," for the second year in a row along with Atherton, California and Scarsdale, New York. Is this a blessing or a curse? Winnetkans know what a wonderful community we have and we are well aware of local house prices and a tax base that affords us one of the best school districrts in the country.

But I'm wondering - why Winnetka and not Kenilworth or Lake Forest (Kenilworth was chosen in 2007) - on average, their home prices are higher than Winnetka. They have a formula, explained in the link to the article, The Most Expensive Suburbs to Live in 2009, that basically looked at mortgage and utility payments, clothing, food, beverage, property taxes and health care. Based on those statistics, Winnetka has a higher than average cost of living for the state and a median home price of $1.06 million.

Yes, it costs to live here, but along with that comes good schools, low crime, and a great location just twenty miles north of downtown Chicago.

If you or anyone you know is moving, please give me a call!