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I've started changing the way I date our contracts regarding mortgage commitment vs. closing dates. Rarely do I see full buyer commitment a week or more prior to the closing date. In most cases, the commitment is given the week of the closing date and sometimes we have to ask for extensions for one or both dates. I am giving closing dates as follows: 45 days for conventional financing (used to be 30 in the past) 60 days for FHA/VA (used to be 45 in the past) I don't like to ask for extensions... Read Full Post

I was recently on a listing appointment for a gorgeous Orland Park home. It had been up with another agent. Unfortunately, the owners purchased it new in 2006. That was the peak year for Orland Park home prices and it's been downhill since. Some news stories are very positive about the real estate market, but the areas that are rebounding, like much of California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc., are completely different than the southwest Chicago suburbs. Our market is busy and homes are seeing mul... Read Full Post

Palos Park remains in the lead for the highest priced southwest suburb single family homes. It lost that lead in 2010, when Lemont took the top spot. That was a one year fluke and Palos Park once again reigns supreme. Below are the top four southwest suburbs price-wise for 2012: 1. Palos Park - average sale price $363,277 2. Lemont - average sale price $326,735 3. Frankfort - average sale price $319,676 4. Homer Glen - average sale price $299,476 What I find interesting about the above list i... Read Full Post

2012 Single Family Homer Glen Homes Sales Statistics The chart below will show all sales activity from January through December 2012 for Homer Glen homes for sale. Although many areas of the nation are showing reduced inventory, you can see that in 2012 there was too much supply vs. buyer demand. March had the most homes up for sale at 226 December had the least amount of homes for sale at 138 April was the month that the most homes went under contract at 24 March had the least amount of home... Read Full Post

The following chart shows 2012 sales statistics for single family Orland Park homes. I love reviewing the full year charts for the towns I work in. It shows the months that had the least and most activity: June had the most homes up for sale - there were 360 single family Orland Park homes on the market. It's no surprise that December had the least amount of inventory for sale - 251 homes were available. Three months tied for the most homes going under contract - April, June & July had 35... Read Full Post

Spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style Oak Lawn home with beautiful brick family room addition This home is a fooler from the outside. It is beautiful and much larger than it appears. Convenient one-level living with 3-4 bedrooms (office could be a 4th bedroom). The brick family room addition is spacious with a stone fireplace and a convenient bar area. There is extra storage and a 2 1/2 car garage with side drive. View the Virtual Tour for 6438 W. 94th Pl., Oak Lawn, IL Schedule a Showing Se... Read Full Post

With the new year I have a new vendor for our single property websites. See below for details on the related living home in Orland Park located at 15536 Canterbury Ln. that sits on a quiet winding street and offers many possibilities. Spacious Related Living 2-story Home in Orland Park This brick & aluminum sided 2-story home is larger than it appears from a drive-by. There are a lot of opportunities here with 4-5 bedrooms, including the spacious related living addition on the main level.... Read Full Post

That's a lot of properties sold! MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data) is the MLS source for Northern IL real estate, and goes into some border towns of Wisconsin and Indiana. So far in 2012 over 21 billion dollars worth of real estate has been sold via our MLS, which used to be the largest in the nation. With some states trying to create statewide MLS's, like California, MRED has fallen on the list by size, but it still covers a lot of territory. I get a lot of inquiries from people that find my w... Read Full Post

The chart below shows supply and demand for single family Orland Park homes from September 2010 through September 2012. As has been the norm over the past years, there are still many more homes up for sale vs. those that have accepted contracts and those that are sold and closed. Even if you add the blue and green lines together, inventory is still high. Some areas of the U.S. are seeing Seller's Markets again. Many cities in California are seeing this and markets are coming back in those pla... Read Full Post

I was recently in Tampa, FL as my husband Jimmy Herter had a temporary gig with a popular 60's band, Herman's Hermits (only Peter Noone, the singer, is an original member). Jimmy traveled with the band for 3 weeks. The last leg of the tour was 5 days at Busch Gardens in Tampa. My 9 year old granddaughter and I took a trip to Tampa to see the band and have fun. The photo to the right is Peter Noone, me and Elle. The weather was nice in Tampa, as I was hoping it would be. The last day we were t... Read Full Post