Archives
March 2008
Mar. 29, 2008 - New Home Sales Decline
Earlier this week the National Association of Realtors released their numbers for existing home sales for February and to most people’s surprise, they were up. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for new home sales.
According to the Commerce Department, new home sales dropped 1.8% from January and were down nearly 30% from February 2007. This is the lowest level of sales for new homes in 13 years.
Now in the third year of declining sales, the building industry is slowing construction of new homes and trying to concentrate on what home buyers are really looking for in today’s market. Many builders, both small and large, have had to close their doors altogether. In the end, the builders who are able to meet the current market’s needs will come out on top.
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View more entries tagged with: New Homes, New Construction, Housing Market, Real Estate, Naperville, Values
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Mar. 26, 2008 - February Home Values in Naperville
I have lived in Naperville my entire life and I could not begin to count how many awards this city has received, even over the recent years. Money magazine has named Naperville in the top 10 cities in the country to raise a family at least 3 times, we have the number one public library system in the country, and two amazing school districts, 203 & 204. Naperville has great shopping & restaurants giving you few reasons to need to leave but if you want to get out it’s only a short ride into Chicago. There a hundreds of reasons to live in Naperville.
Well an article in today’s Sun gives us a few more. Real estate values have traditionally been strong in Naperville and even in a weak market the city’s strong points have helped to keep our values up, at least in comparison to our neighboring cities and towns. The nine county Chicago area had February sales down 26.9% from the same month in 2007, while Naperville was only down 18%.
Naperville is fortunate because many of the things that draw its residents to move, and stay here, are the same things that are helping the property values.
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Mar. 26, 2008 - NAR Releases February Sales Numbers
Tuesday the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released sales numbers for February and nearly everyone was surprised. Expectations were for another reported loss in sales, but nationwide sales rose 2.9% from January to February, the first rise in sales in seven months!
The downside to this good news was that, although volume increased, prices decreased. The NAR also reported national real estate prices declined 8.2%, the largest drop on record.
Although some people are saying that the market has bottomed, it seems the general feeling is one of cautious optimism. These numbers show that seller’s are finally accepting that the market has changed and their house may not be worth what it was a year or two ago. The low interest rates are still attractive to buyers and the tighter lending restrictions aren’t necessarily a bad thing for sellers. Yes the tighter restrictions will keep some buyers out of the market but the ones that are able to get a loan are able to because they have good credit and money to put down. Translated, that’s a strong buyer.
Locally, the nine county Chicago area had an increase in sales volume of about 10% and Illinois as a whole, about 15%. Let’s hope that March can continue the up tick.
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View more entries tagged with: Real Estate, Sales, National Association Of Realtors, February
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Mar. 24, 2008 - Naperville Adds New Online Services
The City of Naperville decided in last week's council meeting to contract with Virchow, Krause & Company to put city meeting minutes online. This will streamline the process for residents to find information from various city departments. It is estimated that the city will save around $3,000 a year in printing costs and they were able to eliminate a salaried position saving an additional $68,000 annually. The site is expected to be up and running by year's end. For more information read the article in today's Naperville Sun.
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Mar. 19, 2008 - Avoid Frozen Pipes This Winter
With the cold, winter weather comes the danger and inconvenience of frozen pipes. According to State Farm Insurance, over a quarter of a million homes experience a frozen pipe each year, and that is only the homeowners who file a claim. There are several things that can be done to avoid unwanted water spilling across your floor.
- Insulate your pipes. This applies to pipes in any exterior walls. Any hardware or home improvement store sells foam wraps for water pipes. If you are in the process of building a home of redoing a room, take this opportunity to move water pipes from exterior walls.
- Turn water off to exterior faucets. If your home has a separate valve, turn the water off to any outside faucets and drain them. If your home does not have separate valves, consider having a plumber install them or install anti-freeze exterior faucets.
- Let your faucet drip. This has been a simple solution for years because it generally works. It will waste water which doesn't fit into today's trend of conservation but if the pipe freezes and bursts, much more water will be wasted and damage to your home could occur.
- Open doors. Many kitchen and bathroom cabinets that house water pipes and are located on an exterior wall or even above a cold garage, basement, or crawl space can trap cold air. By opening the cabinet doors it allows the warm air in the house to circulate around the water pipes.
Hopefully these tips will help you avoid damage to your home this winter from unwanted and preventable water.
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Information on the real estate market in Naperville and the surrounding areas as well as information on current market conditions, forecasts, and ideas for getting homes sold.
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