NW Chicago housing market decline (Carpentersville, Lake Zurich: sales, 2009, apartment)

[home shopper 2009]

My husband & I are shopping for a home in / around South Barrington. Does anyone have any idea how much the market is down from homes that sold last year? It's hard to judge the market (we live in PA) & comps are given going back 12 mos though I know you aren't supposed to really compare them that old. We are trying to figure out how much lower they would sell for now. We are also looking in just "Barrington". We were told that S Barrington has higher home values, but lower taxes.

[chet everett]

Really a house by house situation. There has been a lot of pent up demand and some encouraging closing in the whole region, but also a lot of sellers that are rather stuck on prices -- if the recent (or maybe not so recent) comps support their price and they do not have some external pressure to sell there is nothing for them to gain by cutting their asking price.

On the other hand some of the sales are of clearly distressed situations and when those are used by lenders for an appraisal it hurts values for all.

12 months ago the market was really NOT all that heated, the real steam went out the market probably in fall of 07 for many areas...

Not sure if that helps you decide much, because you can't shop the past or the future!

There are certainly attractively prices home on the market right now, but also quite a few that are languishing. In my experience offering significantly below ask in the higher price points is not a particularly effective strategy. Even is if you KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that the seller is in distress and needs to sell low offers are not enough to motivate many sellers...

[home shopper 2009]

Thanks for the info ... we'll keep that in mind when shopping.

We are also looking for a short term furnished apartment (like exec u stay) while house hunting -- any suggestions near the Barrington area so that we are convenient for our search?

[middle-aged mom]

I am sending you information about furnished month-to- month corporate housing, in a PM.

I live, work and breath the greater Barrington area. It is not possible to make generalizations about an area that is 100 square miles and resides in 4 different counties ( and property tax structures) and has housing ranging from destined for tear downs to almost $20 Million.

[middle-aged mom]

The greater Barrington area is comprised of many villages:

The Village of Barrington ( Cook and Lake County)

South Barrington* ( Cook County)

North Barrington* ( Lake County)

Lake Barrington* ( Lake County)

Barrington Hills* ( Cook/Lake/ Mc Henry/Kane counties)

Unincorporated Barrington ( Cook/Lake County)

Deer Park * ( Cook/Lake County)

Tower Lakes ( Lake County)

Timber Lake* ( Lake County)

Inverness* ( Cook County)

Port Barrington is not considered a part of the greater Barrington area and it is not in the #220 school district.

Small portions of Hoffman Estaes, Fox River Grove and Carpentersville also feed into District 220.

* Parts of these areas feed into school districts, other than #220.

[home shopper 2009]

Thank you so much .. we have looked in many of these (Inverness, Deer Park and most of the Barringtons) - it's a great area - it's just a matter of finding the right house at the right price...kind of like a needle in a haystack.

[cohdane]

Check out Redfin.com and all it's features. You can zoom in the map to just the area you want, AND there's a "Sales Records" feature that will let you see what all the houses in the area sold for before, during and after the bubble. Also check out the "stats" feature, where you can get an idea of the trend in list to sold prices and price per square foot.

Lastly, a lot of sellers have become accidental landlords. Someone might be willing to do a short term rental even if it isn't listed that way. Especially if you're looking to buy: 1. They might hope you fall in love with their place and keep it, 2. Since it takes a while to close on a house, you could offer them plenty of notice before moving out.

Good luck!

[home shopper 2009]

Thanks - I stumbled onto RedFin somewhere along the search and it is my favorite site!! It really out performs all the others as far as detailed info. I love the property history info & the trend data. The listing price is still much higher than closing price and this is a great source for that info. we did have an offer on a house and it was terrific data for pricing our offer. Unfort the deal fell apart after inspections.

good luck to you too.

[Owensmomma]

Originally Posted by middle-aged mom

....It is not possible to make generalizations about an area that is 100 square miles and resides in 4 different counties ( and property tax structures) and has housing ranging from destined for tear downs to almost $20 Million.

Home Shopper 2009,

What Middle-aged Mom said is true (I lived in that area for 20 years, until 2007). The Barrington area is large and varied. The lifestyles do differ from one to another:

In-Town Barrington: not so much land or nature, but close to a fantastic library, a grocery store and the Metra station to Chicago. Main Street divides the town between Lake County (higher taxes) and Cook County (lower taxes, but God help you if you have to get them to fix an error on your tax bill).

Barrington Hills: Acreage (5 acres +), wide variety and age of homes, very scenic, lots of nature, horsey, nothing within walking distance. Beware: some of the far western edge is in District 300 (ugh).

South Barrington: Manicured lawns, high-end homes (often nouveau riche), closer to the tollway if you commute, nothing within walking distance but not far from shopping near tollway. Home of the famous and enormous Willow Creek church.

Tower Lakes: far from tollway, woodsy, family-friendly, nearby shopping in Lake Zurich.

Deer Park: a mix of the others, but with more traffic nearby.

The remaining areas m-a-m mentioned are also a mix of these. Whatever you decide, do check out the property taxes first, as they will not be cheap and they go up pretty regularly.

Good luck with your move!

[bluescityleon]

Originally Posted by home shopper 2009

My husband & I are shopping for a home in / around South Barrington. Does anyone have any idea how much the market is down from homes that sold last year? It's hard to judge the market (we live in PA) & comps are given going back 12 mos though I know you aren't supposed to really compare them that old. We are trying to figure out how much lower they would sell for now. We are also looking in just "Barrington". We were told that S Barrington has higher home values, but lower taxes.

a realtor is trying to get the highest price, they are required by law.If you have a lot of cash, low ball .