diana's Blog: All Categories

 

Diana and Chuck Ivas of Hinsdale’s RE/MAX Elite Realtor office ranked as the top listers, sellers and commissions earners in their office in March and April. The duo also remains one of the top RE/MAX teams in sales in northern Illinois.   “We’re seeing a lot of healthy, positive signs in the real estate market since the beginning of the year,” said Diana, who has sold a larger proportion of homes lately to transplanted buyers moving in from other states. “Home sales and buyer interest in the western suburbs, particularly the Hinsdale area, are definitely picking up compared to this time last year.”   Chuck credits the uptick in buying and selling activity to a variety of factors, not the least of which is continued low mortgage interest… Read Full Post

We are celebrating 20 years selling real estate in Chicago's western suburbs. Although this market is certainly more challenging than in the past; we still  have the same purpose and direction when selling homes as we have had in better markets.

 Our purpose is to find houses that our clients can call their homes.  We arent about how many houses we sell but how many 'right houses ' we can find for our clients. They have to walk in and know they will be happy in a home they choose. It has to be comfortable and functional for their family's needs. It also should make then say "ah" everytime they pull up to it as they finish off the day and arrive 'at home'. 

 It's not only about resale value or what they can sell it for in 2-3 years, although that is…

Read Full Post

 The media has brought us down to their level of thinking that this market is in the tank. Yes, we all know it is slower but we need to have the facts. We must look at the stats as it may not be as bad as the media  makes it out to be.  This point was made clear to me as my seller and I looked at the recent sales stats for homes between 1 million and two million so we could come back with a reasonable counter during negotiation.  After searching out listings that sold in the last 90 days, our research provided us the facts. For the last few years our average sale to list price has been 95%. We discovered sale to list price from our survey to be 92%. Down - yes-but not doom and gloom.

  I feel we need to have those stats handy and ever ready to combat all…

Read Full Post

 It seems like we are in a much slower market than we have experienced in quite a long time.  We as real estate agents can catch a  complacent attitude since the market is not moving as fast as it has been in recent years.  We have to warn our buyers against having this attitude and thinking that homes wil alwaysl be there in terms 'of their very slow decision making' time frame.

 A couple that I have been showing homes to for quite some time was in for a surprise when the home they put an offer on was also chosen by another buyer at the same time. In this market??!! How could that be!!??  Well, the reason was : pristine home in a nice location and very well priced.  These are the homes that are still selling and selling fast even in this market of a low…

Read Full Post

Mistakes that shouldn't be made if you want a quicker than average sale in this slower than average market...

Not having home in tip-top mechanical shape. A professional inspector often finds something out of order and can make the buyer uneasy causing the deal to go sour.

Too much landscaping to the point that it dwarfs the home. The first impression a buyer has is so important as they wait to enter the home.

Too much clutter in the basement. Too much clutter keeps buyers from seeing storage space and living space in that area. 

Not changing carpet, flooring or removing wallpaper. It is much more beneficial to show the home as neutral as possible even if the buyer will change once moving in. 

Not investing in updating kitchen…

Read Full Post