1) Buyers want a deal: only a  few buyers say  they want to “steal” a house, but they do want to know that they are getting the most value for the money. 

2) Buyers want a clean house. Not just a tidied-up house, but a house with clean carpets, baseboards, windows, siding, refrigerator and cabinets.

3) Buyers want a house with a neutral palette to make it easy for to imagine their unique decorating plans.

4) Buyers want current light fixtures and hardware  in a brushed nickel, stainless or bronze finish.

5) Buyers want updated kitchens and baths. You may not be able to completely remodel your kitchen, but some freshening up can make a big difference.

6) Buyers want a garage that looks big enough for their cars. A 2 car garage needs to look large enough to hold 2 cars, not 1 car and piles of stuff.

7) Buyers want rooms that look like their intended purpose. A dining room needs to look like it’s for eating and entertaining, not a sports locker or data center.

8) Buyers want a house with reasonable energy costs,  and they want to know what it will cost to heat and cool the house. Have the last 12 months of bills available.

9) Buyers want a house that fits their stage of life and activities.  Don’t be discouraged if your house isn’t a perfect fit for all buyers but you should market aggressively to your target.

10) Buyers want a place to make their own. Make your home into a house that the next owner can easily envision himself living in.

If you are thinking of selling a home in Naperville, I would be happy to show you what the competitive houses look like so you can make your listing look like the pick of the litter. Give me a call at (630)945-7935 and we can arrange a tour.

• Subdivision names are derived from MLS approved names and the City of Naperville Subdivision map. i.e. Naperville Station is the formal name for central Naperville.
• Unincorporated has a Naperville mailing address but not necessarily within the city limits.
• Closing dates were reported in the MLS between 1/1/2012 and 12/31/2012. Private transactions not involving an MLS listing are not included.

Information is available for the other subdivisions in Naperville. Drop us a line if you are interested in the full list.

• Subdivision names are derived from MLS approved names and the City of Naperville Subdivision map. i.e. Naperville Station is the formal name for central Naperville. Unincorporated has a Naperville mailing address but not necessarily within the city limits. 
• Closing dates were reported in the MLS between 1/1/2012 and 12/31/2012. Private transactions not involving an MLS listing are not included.
• Lists for 2011 and 2010 are available in previous posts. Just click the year number.

Numbers are also available for other subdivisions. Just drop us a note and let us know your area of interest. Be on the lookout for our report based upon average sale price by subdivision. The numbers may surprise you.

Original post from: http://www.iarbuzz.com/2013/01/video-energy-encouraging-signs-illinois-housing-market-2013/

Overall, there was a 31% increase in the number of homes sold, from 1,132 in 2011 to 1,434 in 2012. That is definitely a trend we would like to see continue. If the month over month numbers interest you, give us a call or an inbox and we will shoot you the numbers. Experts are predicting a possible jump in housing prices in 2013. If you are interested in seeing how your home would price in today’s market, give us a call at 630-542-7732.

 Here is a quick view at Naperville, single family, October 2011 vs October 2012. 

October 1, 2011

October 31, 2012 

A quick glance at the gauges shows strong movement in our market: Homes under contract and  Sold are up dramatically from same period last year and the inventory of homes for sale is greatly reduced. All three indicators point to strength in the market. These are huge changes from the same period a year ago. Demand is returning.

Are you thinking of putting your home on the market now or next spring? Now is the time to start preparing. Give us a call and let us see what we can do to assist.

New Infographic: Home Buyers and Sellers in 2012.

“To find their new home, the Castro-Donlan family took advantage of a relatively new option in real estate search — the ability to search for homes for sale within a specific school’s attendance boundary.”

All we can say is we are glad the rest of the world is finally catching on to understanding what is important to many homeowners in their search. Users of www.MyNapervilleHomesBlog.com know that we have had this search capability since day 1. So, if you know a friend or coworker who wants to search that way, share our site with them. The Naperville search links are shown below.

Naperville School District 203 Homes

Indian Prairie District 204 Homes

To further refine your search, enter the school name in the search box in the left column. If you need assistance, please give us a call. Happy searching!

Steve Baird, President has this to say, “While I am immensely proud of our performance, the Baird & Warner culture is immeasurably meaningful as well,” said Steve Baird. “It’s you who sets the tone: your tremendous energy, professionalism and work ethic create a positive environment in each and every one of our offices, making this a place where people want to come to work every day.”

Over the last 6 weeks or so there has been much press about new strength in the housing market, including new construction. September Housing Starts Up 15.0%. This metric has always been a crucial indicator of the direction the economy as a whole is headed as it means jobs: trade and craft people back at work. I means material sales, appliance sales, land sales & eventually home sales! All of these are obviously good for the communities where the construction is taking place.

Naperville, and most of the midwest, typically lag national trends. We are down 22.5% over the same time period last year. New construction Units Sold are not significant enough at this point to point to a trend as the average number/month is 4.

Naperville New Construction Homes for Sale showing a downward trend over the last 12 months.

The numbers for DuPage and Will county areas are similar. The number of new construction homes for sale is down slightly from the same period last year. The good news is that sales of new construction are up 37.4% over same period.

DuPage & Will County New Construction showing little change from 2011.

If you have an interest in new construction we can assist you in the process of obtaining the best value for your new home. We work with many of the builders in the area. Similar information is also available for Lisle, Aurora, Plainfield and Oswego.  Give us a call at 630-718-2305 or drop us an email with your request. Additionally, you may have reports emailed directly to you for the zip code area you want to explore.

Information not guaranteed. © 2012 – 2013 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors. (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors).