Chicago Real Estate

Halloween Fun in Arlington Heights

Ken Smith — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:09:36 +0000

Halloween is still one of my favorite holidays because it’s all about having fun. We have a nearly 3 year old daughter and wanted to come up with a few things for her to do over the next month. Figured it would be a list that any parent might have an interest in. Please leave a comment (or contact us) if you know of any other Halloween events for kids in the Arlington Heights area.

The Great Pumpkin Splash (Friday 10/17)

On October 17th Bob for pumpkins at Olympic Indoor Pool. The activity pool contains floating plastic pumpkins filled with candy. When the whistle blows the kids jump in and collect as many pumpkins as possible.

When the pumpkin collection is over feel free to stay for a swim and watch “The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”.

You must pre-register and the fee is $8 for residents and $12 for non residents.

Class 3388-1 for 2-4 year olds from 6:00-6:15 PM on the 17th
Class 3388-2 for 2-4 year olds from 6:15-6:30 PM on the 17th
Class 3388-3 for 5-7 year olds from 6:30-6:45 PM on the 17th

Preschool Halloween Spooktacular (Sat 10/18)

Wear your costume and grab your trick or treat bag. Children, accompanied by an adult, will play games, complete a craft project, and enjoy trick or treat lane out in the park. A costume parade will end the day so bring your cameras.

Dress for outdoor activities.

Location: Olympic Indoor Swim Center

Class 3000-0 for 3-6 year olds on Saturday 10/18 and a fee of $10 for residents or $15 for non residents.

Trunk or Treat (Friday 10/24)

Trick or Treat from car to car in the parking lot of Betsy Ross School. Local businesses and organizations will decorate their vehicles and provide some “Halloween Handouts”. Kids should come in costume and parents must accompany children for this event.

Friday October 24th at Betsy Ross School Parking Lot
Cost $5
Must pre-register for class 3392-5
Ages 3-10

Autumn Harvest (Sat 10/4)

So this one isn’t exactly a Halloween event, but it’s still fun for the kids.

This festival is for the whole family. There will be a petting zoo, scarecrow building contest, story time, face painting, crafts, farmers market, food vendors, and all day entertainment. Don’t miss the kid friendly band “Little Nashville” who will perform at 1pm.

Location: North School Park (at Eastman and Arlington Heights Rd)

Date: Saturday, October 4th from 11am to 4pm

Helping Our Heroes Fall 2008 Clothing Drive

Ken Smith — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:16:49 +0000

The Suburban House Hunters Team and Insurance Agent Bruce Wilcoxson (of Country Financial) are donating our time to help raise funds for Helping Our Heroes. In conjunction with Helping Our Heroes we are organizing a clothing drive to help raise funds which will be used to assist Illinois Firefighters, Police Officers, and Military Personnel.

Added Oct 1st: This event went very well and many people donated clothing and other fabric items. We have received calls asking how to donate while our drives are not going on. All you need to do is call 847-749-3533 and speak with Ken to arrange a pickup. Thank you for your continued support.

We have also been asked about cash donations. We will not take cash, but checks can be made out to Helping Our Heroes and we will be happy to pick them up also. Please call 847-749-3533 to arrange this.

Who is Helping Our Heroes?

Helping Our Heroes is a volunteer-staffed not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Charity who provides assistance to Illinois’ Firefighters, Police, and Military personnel in their time of need. To date assistance has come in the form of assisting Our Heroes avoid eviction and/or foreclosure, sending care packages to our Illinois troops that are stationed in war zones, and other financial assistance to Our Heroes in need.

100% of your tax deductible donations go directly to assisting our Heroes. All administrative and fund raising time/expenses are donated by local residents and businesses. It we raise $1000, then $1000 goes towards assisting Our Heroes.

What can be Donated?

All fabric and clothing items are first sorted and items that can be sold go into resale shops. Those that can’t be sold go straight to a fabric recycling company who pays Helping Our Heroes by the pound for these items.

This system is great as we can even raise money for stained or torn items.

Items that we can use:

Clothes
Coats
Clothing Accessories
Shoes
Linens (Sheets, Pillow Cases)
Towels/Rags
Blankets

How to Donate on 9/30/2008

You can schedule a pickup 3 ways:

Call 847-894-4374 no later then Sunday September 28th, on message leave name, phone number, and address.
Fill out this contact form with your name, “Helping Our Heroes” as the “Subject”, and in the “Your Message section please include: your address and the best number to reach you
Send an email to HOH@suburbanhousehunters.com . Make sure to include your address, name, and contact number

Fall 2008 Pickup Date is 09/30/2008

Important Items for day of Pickup:

Place items for pickup on front porch by 8am
No need to be home
The driver will leave a tax deductible receipt

Clothing Pickup Services Volunteers:

The Suburban House Hunters Team is one of the Northwest Suburbs top residential real estate teams. Our services include helping buyers, sellers, and renters with their residential real estate needs. You can contact the Suburban House Hunters at 847-749-3533.

Bruce Wilcoxon is an insurance agent with Country Financial. His services include a full range of insurance products and financial planning. You can contact Bruce at 847-434-1515.

Arlington Heights Market Update (9-11-08)

Ken Smith — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:39:28 +0000

Arlington Heights is still in a “Buyers Market” and there are some amazing deals to be had. While we have seen a big increase in the number of closed properties over the past 60 days buyers still have the advantage when negotiating.

There is a 10% reduction in the number of single family home on the market compared to our May market update.With the recent drop in interest rates we are also seeing an increase in buyers contacting us looking to purchase a home. These are both good signs and should help stabilize the market.

Single Family Homes in Arlington Heights

Active on Market: 437 (down from 480 in May)
Under Contract: 45 (down from 81 in May)
Closed in past 60 days: 106 (up from 29 in May)

Lowest Price Listing: $189,900
Details of Listing: 2 Bedroom 1 Bath home on Arlington Heights Road. This listing is sold “As-Is” and is bank owned. All offers need to allow 90 days for processing.

Highest Price Listing: $1,895,000
Details of Listing: An amazing home built in 2001 with over 6,000 squire feet of living space. With a large lot located on the gold course this homes location is perfect.

Attached Housing (including Condos and Townhomes)

Active on Market: 500 (up from 483 in May)
Under Contract: 40 (down from 47 in May)
Closed in past 60 days: 69 (up from 19 in May)

Lowest Price Listing: $69,900
Details of Listing: Bank owned 2 bedroom 1 bath condo. This home is priced below market.

Highest Price Listing: $1,175,000
Details of Listing: Penthouse in the soon to be built Parkview Condominiums of Arlington Heights building. This top floor unit includes over 2600 square feet of living space and around 1800 square feet of terrace space.

More information

For more details about any information in this market update contact us or view all of the homes currently on the market with our free Arlington Heights home search.

Palatine Single Family Market Update

Ken Smith — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:51:41 +0000

Here are a few charts that we use to track the market. These charts allow you to see a snap shot of the market based on the last day of each month. While charts do provide a good overview it is only a small part of how we track the markets. For more details about the Palatine market feel free to contact us.

These charts show market activity until the end of August 2008 and include the previous two years worth of data for comparison purposes.

Palatine Single Family Market Overview Chart**
This chart shows the number of properties for sale including their average days on market, number of properties under contract including their average days on market, and the number of properties that closed during the month including their average days on market.

Palatine Single Family Month Supply Chart**
This chart shows the months of inventory as of the last day of the month for the last two years.

The total months supply is a very important indicator as to how the market is doing. When this number increases drastically then you know that homes aren’t selling fast enough to keep up with the amount of inventory coming onto the market. It is the best tracking of supply vs demand.

For the month of August you will notice that in 2006 there was 10.4 months of inventory, then in 2007 we have 11 months of inventory, and this year was 11.1 months of inventory. Really there hasn’t been a drastic change in during this 3 year period.

What does this all mean? Just that we are still in a buyer market and that there are some great homes that are still selling. These homes are taking longer to sell at an average of 93 days for those that closed in August of 2008. If you need to sell there are still buyers out there and yes they can still get a mortgage.

**To access full size views of these charts just click on the chart.

Interest Rates Drop to Lowest Level in 2008 - (09/09/2008)

Ken Smith — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:10:12 +0000

Interest rates have dropped to the lowest levels in 2008. A qualified buyer can lock a rate today (9/9/2008) for 5.75% for a 30 year fixed interest rate. This interest rate drop has been fueled by the decision of the Federal Government to take over failing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If you are thinking of purchasing or refinancing take action quickly as interest rates are very volatile. Looking at the bond market today it doesn’t look like rates will increase for tomorrow, but tomorrows trading could change that very quickly.

Money Saving Tips for around the Home

Ken Smith — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:14:49 +0000

Seems like everyone is looking for ways to save a few dollars these days. High gas prices at the pump are causing many families to make cuts in other parts of their lives. We wanted to provide a few easy ways to save a couple bucks a month and help make your home a little more efficient.

Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs will use much less energy, last longer (lower replacement costs), and give off much less heat. The multi packs at Lowes are a great buy and I like the light produced better then some of the more expensive brands.
Install low-flow shower heads. For years I avoided this tip as a low pressure shower didn’t sound very appealing. Decided to add the low-flow shower head to our second bath as it wouldn’t effect me and test it. While low flow, the pressure is still good and we have since changed the other shower head.
Get a programmable thermostat. With how inexpensive these have gotten there is no reason everyone doesn’t have one. Now if you have one make sure to use it.
Open you windows at night during the summer. Think back to your childhood. Would you have had the A/C on when it was 70 degrees outside? This August each night has fallen into the 60’s at night and still hear the hum of A/C units running while taking an evening walk.
Weather strip your doors and windows. A 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of a 3 foot wide door is 9 square inches of open space. That is a lot of wasted money.
Balance your vents to achieve an even temperature throughout your house. The goal is to close or partially close vents in areas that don’t need as much air flow to increase the flow to other parts of the home. In the summer closing vents in the basement should be your first step, then reducing air flow to rooms that don’t have direct exposure to the sun as they naturally stay cooler. You will ahve to play with this a little, but in the end you will have a much more comfortable and even temperature throughout your home.
Insulate, Insulate, Insulate…. Everyone knows that your attic should be insulated but lets add a couple common areas that people skip. Insulate your attic access doors and insulate your garage door. For both of these tasks there are kits or just use the rigid insulation and cut to size. Don’t forget to insulate your hot water heater. This not only saves you money today but reduces strain on your hot water heater thus increasing it’s life.
Water your grass and flowers at night. Watering when the sun is down reduces the amount of water that evaporates, thus you need to water for a shorter period of time. Also look into soaker hoses for your flower beds as they deliver the water directly to the base of the flowers again increasing efficiency.
Turn the temperature down on your hot water heater. Anything above 125 degrees is typically not needed and you are wasting money. Not all hot water heaters are accurate so you will need to play with this a little, but every 10 degrees you dial down the thermostat can knock 3 to 5 percent off your water-heating bill. In addition, a lower hot water temperature reduces the chance of scalding.
Is your TV really off? Did you know that your TV and many other appliances aren’t actually off when you turn them off. They actually switch to standby mode and are using electric. I am to forgetful to switch the power strip off every time I leave the home, but anytime we will be gone for at least a full day the switch gets turned off. The TV, computer, radio, DVD player, and a few other items all get switched off or unplugged.
Safety Tip: Power Strips and/or Surge Protectors have a limited life. Most should be replaced every 2 years. We had a client who’s home had a fire due to an old power strip and they lost everything. They actually were very lucky as the fire happened when nobody was home so nobody got hurt. Spend the few dollars and replace old strips.

There are so many more ideas that can save you money around the home. If you have any ideas feel free to leave a comment and help others save a few dollars.

Other resources:
Energy Saving Tips to Save More Money
Greening your Home
Going Green Can Save You Money

Will Chicago home prices fall?

Ken Smith — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:26:16 +0000

Are you trying to time the market to purchase at the bottom? If you aren’t there is a really good chance you know someone who is. The media spits out national housing statistics and it scares most people because they forget real estate is local.

What happens in California has little to do with our real estate market, yet what happens in California has a huge impact on the national statistics. The national housing statistics are about as useful as the national education statistics.

One company that keeps a very close eye on the housing market is PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. releases a market risk index every quarter. This is an in depth report on the status of the real estate market as a whole and on a local level with 381 “MSA’s” (metropolitan statistical areas and divisions) tracked. The largest 50 are watched very closely and naturally Chicago metro is one of the largest areas tracked.

Chicago’s Real Estate Market Risk Index

With the background information out of the way it’s time to dive into the key numbers from the report and what they tell us about our real estate market.

The key number that PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. releases is a Risk Index Score. This score is the likelihood that prices will decrease over the next 2 years. If the index score is 100 then there is a 100% chance that the Metro area will see a price decrease over the next 2 years.

Chicago received a Risk Index Score of 1.5, or 1.5% chance of home prices falling over the next two years. This number is down from 2% in the 4th quarter of 2007. It is well below the average of the top 50 metro areas of 29.5%.

Chicago’s Real Estate Market Affordability Index

Another important number released in this report is the Affordability Index which measures how affordable a home is compared to 1995. This number takes into account home prices, incomes, and interest rates. A number above 100 means that homes are more affordable then in 1995 for the average household, a number below 100 means they are less affordable. Metro Chicago has an Affordability Index score of 101.89, this shows that our homeownership affordability is directly in line with 1995.

If you have been trying to time the market and are expecting home prices to continue to fall it might be time to make a move. This report shows even more evidence that the Chicagoland real estate market is at or is very near the bottom. Please keep in mind that this report only takes into account the average median prices for the whole Chicago metro market and that local markets can vary greatly by city, neighborhood, and even block. For information about your neighborhood and it’s current market conditions contact us and we will be happy to provide you with a market report.

Source: Economic Real Estate Trends Published by PMI Mortgage Insurance, Co. (PDF)

A day at the Track (Arlington Park)

Ken Smith — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:43:31 +0000

Arlington Park, or Arlington Racetrack, is a great place to spend an afternoon. A day out in the sun watching horse races is something I can remember doing as a kid with my parents. Now it’s something I enjoy doing with my family, we watch the horses, place a few small ($2) bets, and enjoy the relaxing day.

My daughter (right) is 2 1/2 years old and loves the horses. She hears the trumpet sound and we go running off to watch the horses come out onto the track. We then move over and get a spot at the finish line so we can get the perfect view of the horses at the end of the race. Then naturally we must move back and watch the horses as they make their way off the track. Her natural obsession with horses is amazing and highly entertaining.

The Track

Sometimes photos can say a thousand words, lets hope they can convey the atmosphere of Arlington Park.

Arlington Park Details

Some details you may need to know.

Arlington Park has races from Friday, May 2 through Sunday, September 21

Admission is $7 per adult and children are free

There are more expensive seating options, but in my opinion the free general admission seats are the best

Parking is free, or if you prefer not to have as far to walk there is “preferred” (paid) parking and valet parking

Food at the track

Be prepared for some expensive prices for the food at the track, that is be prepared by bringing a picnic lunch. Yes the track will allow you to bring in a small cooler with food. Basically if you purchase it at the grocery store you can bring it in, but don’t try to bring in commercially prepared food like a pizza or fast food. This can easily save you $15 a person as a burger, fries (or chips), and a drink will cost you at least this amount.

From the Track’s Website:

Small coolers containing unopened plastic bottled non-alcoholic beverages and individually wrapped food items. These coolers are only permitted in the picnic area to the east of the building or on the apron level outside the building. Coolers with outside food or beverages will not be permitted to be consumed inside our building or in our reserved seating areas.

Between being able to bring your own lunch, free parking, and children getting in for free this can be an inexpensive day out for the family.

You can find out details about the track including race schedules, pricing information and more at the Arlington Park website.

Arlington Heights Irish Fest - 2008

Ken Smith — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:56:12 +0000

The 9th Annual Arlington Heights Irish Fest is this weekend, Friday July 18th 6-11pm and Saturday July 19 4-11pm. With Irish dancing, best legs in a kilt contest, face painting, Irish food and drink, Irish music, and balloon creations there is something for all ages.

The fest is held at the Arlington Heights Historical Museum grounds (across the street from the library). The address of the Museum is 110 W Fremont Street and is located at the corner of Euclid and Vail.

With Irish bands, bagpipes, and Irish dancers performing most of the night both Friday and Saturday you will want to make to bring a chair or blanket for watching the events. These events are all children friendly and kids of all ages will have fun. Speaking of kids make sure to stop by the “Wee Folk Tent” for airbrush body painting (Friday 6-8pm & Sat 4-8pm)

Food and beverages will be provided by Peggy Kinnane’s, Arlington Heights’ local Irish Pub which is located at the corner of Vial and Campbell (8 N. Vail Avenue).

Irish Fest Admission

Adults - $7
Children under the age of 15 are free

Saturday:

Adults - $8
Children under 3 are free
Children 3-15 are $3
Seniors (62+) & Historical Society Members are $7

For more information call 847-255-1225.

Inventory levels, what they mean

Ken Smith — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:37:50 +0000

Real estate markets are considered to be “normal” when there is 6 months worth of inventory. This is a number that most of the Chicagoland area hasn’t seen since May/June of 2006. With inventory numbers peaking last October-December at levels around 24 months for most areas.

Technically what that means is that it would have taken 24 months to sell every home on the market if no new homes came on the market and the buyers continued to purchased homes at the exact same rate.

The way real estate inventory levels are calculated is by taking the total number of listings that are “For Sale” and dividing that number by the number of homes that are “Under Contract”. For example if there are currently 500 homes for sale and 50 home currently under contract then you would have 10 months of inventory.

Inventory levels should help sellers get a market snapshot. One that at least tells them how many sellers are attempting to sell their homes and how many homes went under contract during the month. This will give you an idea of how aggressively you need to price and prepare your home to get it sold.

If you would like to know the inventory levels of a specific city or zip code please leave a comment and will be happy to provide the statistics for you. In your comment please include the city or zip code and the type of home (single family or attached).