Naperville's condos ringing up sales
The graphs illustrate the strength of the Naperville attached housing market. And were not talking just the first time buyers... but the Luxury Condo & Townhomes in Naperville too. As is expected in this "softer" marketplace... the total number of unit sales are down, conversely the average sales price has risen considerably. Throughout 2006 there were three luxury condominiums that were sold for over $1,000,000, all in DePaulo's 520 S Washington Building on the famous Naperville Riverwalk. it looks as if 2007 will bring another strong showing for the year with the anticiapted opening of the Benton Place Condominiums in the heart of downtown.
Despite there being fewer units sold... another vibrant sector has emerged, condominium conversions and they have taken the Naperville community by storm. Throughout the city large scale, successful conversions are taking place.
The First 11 Months of 2005<>
| TOTAL LISTINGS | AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET | MEDIAN PRICE | AVERAGE PRICE | HIGHEST PRICE | LOWEST PRICE | TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME |
|---|
| 962 | 58 | $194,000 | $215,947 | $785,000 | $90,000 | $207,741,081 |
The First 11 Months of 2006
| TOTAL LISTINGS | AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET | MEDIAN PRICE | AVERAGE PRICE | HIGHEST PRICE | LOWEST PRICE | TOTAL DOLLAR VOLUME |
|---|
| 821 | 59 | $214,700 | $254,691 | $1,850,000 | $100,000 | $209,101,406 |
Posted by Angus at 8:25 PM
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Sign in? Who do you think you are?
Why would you want to register on a local real estate website?
Realtor.com is an advertising site owned by a company called Homestore and while it's licensed to operate using the Realtor name it is a for profit company that has yet to turn a profit... forever squeezing out pennies and irritating the agents and companies that it is charged with helping. The properties are used to draw you in so that they can build ads around the listings... this makes the site painfully slow. Realtor.com is an opt-in site missing lots of data... it is notoriously out of date and doen't let you know if a property is under contract... creating an unfriendly and tiresome homesearch. MLS systems are starting to pull out of Realtor.com as it has been discovered that eventually almost everybody chooses to find a local connection.
Eventually, as you get more serious in your home search, you will want to "go local".
Most people don't understand why agents ask them to register on their sites to get more information about properties for sale. The truth is that we don't need it for our own listings or even those of our company (unless they have a rule) the problem lies with showing you another companies listings.
In order to address this... two options were developed; IDX and VOW.
IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange. This is an opt in (or opt out... depending where you are) system. No registration is necessary.. the listings that you are looking at should say something about "compliments of" the listing company (probably in really tiny letters) This is kind of like walking into my office, plopping down in a chair and going through the various homes magazines... it's fun, there is great information but it's lacking in depth and missing a bunch.... and you are so close to all of the information.
VOW stands for Virtual Office Website. This means that I can treat you like the person who walked into my office asking about homes... meaning we plug in your criteria and go through the whole Multiple Listing Service so that you don't miss anything, except that you get to do it in
your own sweet time. The great thing about a VOW site is that you get access to all of the properties... there is no "opt out" for the Real Estate companies and you don't have to wait for days to get the updated info. Some of us can also allow access to recent sold properties... The VOW solution is the ultimate in home information, but it comes with a price... just like if you came into my office, I would have some information about you (you could lie... but that's beside the point) The National Association Of Realtors has set a national policy that all VOW sites require registration.
So, there you go....
I currently feature two different VOW systems... one of them WestSuburban Real Estate was the first of its type in Illinois and has been helping people find their homes since the spring of 2000. The other site that I use: NapervilleLuxury Homes offers a different format for home searches. They both offer multiple pictures, virtual tours and e-mailed updates... it's really
more a matter of preference.
It's not a matter of you giving up your anonymity... it's about empowering you with information for you to enjoy some autonomy. The payoff for us is that we hope you grow comfortable with us and our services, that over time you decide we are the "right ones" to help you with this process.
If not... you can always unsubscribe... I promise, I won't hold it against you :)
Posted by Angus at 4:46 PM
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It's attached... what is it? Condo? Townhome? What's the difference?
They both appear to be townhomes... they've got seperate entrances, no neighbors above
or below, attached garage etc... still one is a townhouse and the other is
a condominium.
What's up with that?? We use the term "townhouse" loosely to describe a
style of attached home, yet in a more specific sense... in a true townhome you
would own the land that the property sits on. In this case you would need true
homeowners insurance, even though the exterior may be maintained by the
association, you still need to insure your share of the structure.
This is a Townhome in Cinnamon Glen at Butterfield in Aurora Illinois
Condominium is a form of ownership. With a condominium association you own
your unit but the association owns all of the exterior walls and the land it
sits on too, you are part of the association so you are one of many owners.
Typically you need insurance that is akin to renters insurance, since your
monthly dues actually pay to insure the buildings.
A Condominium in the Woodlands at Oakhurst North in Aurora Illinois
As you can see, you can't always tell by looking. Obviously if it's
a large building... you are probably dealing with a condo (or a co-op in
some markets), but that's because the term Condo describes the ownership.
In our area Multiple Listing Service (MLS) we lump them all together and call them "single family attached homes" and that that seems to cover it.
Manor homes, coach homes, garden homes are also condominiums, just good marketing offering a pleasant sounding way to describe smaller buildings. These can easily be mistaken for
townhouses as well
To search for single family homes (whether they are attached or not... visit)
Real Estate in Chicago's Western Suburbs where you'll have access to the full
gamut of available properties in the area.
Posted by Angus at 4:22 PM
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